Contemporary Money in Modern Financial Transactions and Its Fiqh Characterization (Al-Takyīf Al-Fiqhī) in Light of Islamic Economic Rulings: A Foundational Jurisprudential Study

Hasbullah; Jaih Mubarok; Yulizar Djamaluddin Sanrego; Ibdalsyah

doi:10.53515/alqodiri.v24i3.292

Authors

Hasbullah Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor Indonesia Author
Jaih Mubarok Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor Indonesia Co Author
Yulizar Djamaluddin Sanrego Universitas Darussalam (UNIDA) Gontor Ponorogo Jawa Timur Indonesia Co Author
Ibdalsyah Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor Indonesia Co Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53515/alqodiri.v24i3.292

Keywords:

al-Takyīf al-Fiqhī, CBDC, Contemporary Money, Cryptocurrency, Islamic Economics

Abstract

Background of study: The transformation of money from banknotes to electronic value, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and privately issued crypto-assets has complicated the juristic classification of monetary instruments in Islamic law.
Aims and scope of paper: This study compares contemporary forms of money through al-Takyīf al-Fiqhī by examining issuer, legal recognition, monetary function, basis of value, and transfer mechanism, and then identifies the Sharīʿah consequences of those characterizations.

Methods: The study used qualitative library research with a juridical-normative and comparative approach, drawing on classical and contemporary fiqh works, peer-reviewed studies, fatwas and resolutions of Islamic legal institutions, and Indonesian monetary regulations.

Result: Fiat banknotes are best characterized as independent money based on legally recognized thamaniyyah and general acceptance. Electronic money generally follows the ruling of the sovereign monetary value it stores and transfers. A state-issued CBDC may acquire the status of money when it constitutes sovereign monetary value recognized by the competent authority, although particular design features require separate Sharīʿah assessment. Cryptocurrencies require asset-specific characterization because legal status, utility, valuation, volatility, and transaction structure vary across assets.

Conclusion: Fiqh characterization should proceed from the instrument’s economic reality, legal recognition, monetary function, and effective legal cause before rules concerning ribā, ṣarf, zakāh, and monetary capital are applied.

References

Abedifar, P. (2023). Formalism versus purposivism in Islamic jurisprudence: The case of Islamic finance law. Religions, 14(4), 465. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040465

Agur, I., Ari, A., & Dell’Ariccia, G. (2022). Designing central bank digital currencies. Journal of Monetary Economics, 125, 62–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2021.05.002

Ahmed, W. M. A. (2021). How do Islamic equity markets respond to good and bad volatility of cryptocurrencies? The case of Bitcoin. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 70, 101667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2021.101667

Aldohni, A. K. (2023). Understanding the inherent limitations of crypto finance in the Islamic finance context. Capital Markets Law Journal, 18(4), 573–588. https://doi.org/10.1093/cmlj/kmad017

al-Ghazālī, A. H. M. (n.d.). Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn (Vol. 4). Dār al-Maʿārif.

al-Maqrīzī, A. I. (2008). Ighāthat al-ummah bi kashf al-ghummah. Sharikat Abnāʾ Sharīf.

al-Miṣrī, R. Y. (2005). Al-nuqūd wa al-maṣārif fī al-fiqh al-Islāmī. Dār al-Qalam.

Alshater, M. M., Saba, I., Supriani, I., & Rabbani, M. R. (2022). Fintech in Islamic finance literature: A review. Heliyon, 8(9), e10385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10385

al-Zarqā, M. A. (1998). Al-madkhal al-fiqhī al-ʿāmm (Vol. 1). Dār al-Qalam.

al-Zuḥaylī, W. (1997). Al-fiqh al-Islāmī wa adillatuh (Vol. 4). Dār al-Fikr.

Azizah, S. N. (2023). The adoption of fintech and the legal protection of digital assets in Islamic/Sharia banking linked with economic development: A case of Indonesia. The Journal of World Intellectual Property, 26(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12257

Baeriswyl, R., Reynard, S., & Swoboda, A. (2024). Retail CBDC purposes and risk transfers to the central bank. Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, 160, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41937-024-00124-3

Bank Indonesia. (2018). Peraturan Bank Indonesia No. 20/6/PBI/2018 tentang uang elektronik.

Bank Indonesia. (2022). Project Garuda: Navigating the architecture of Digital Rupiah.

Bayyah, A. B. (1998). Tawḍīḥ aujuh ikhtilāf al-aqwāl fī masāʾil min muʿāmalāt al-amwāl. Dār Ibn Ḥazm.

Bian, W., Ji, Y., & Wang, P. (2021). The crowding-out effect of central bank digital currencies: A simple and generalizable payment portfolio model. Finance Research Letters, 43, 102010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2021.102010

Chen, H., & Siklos, P. L. (2022). Central bank digital currency: A review and some macro-financial implications. Journal of Financial Stability, 60, 100985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2022.100985

Choi, S., Kim, B., Kim, Y. S., & Kwon, O. (2025). Central bank digital currency and privacy: A randomized survey experiment. International Economic Review, 66(2), 823–847. https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12746

Davoodalhosseini, S. M. R. (2022). Central bank digital currency and monetary policy. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 142, 104150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2021.104150

Elsayed, A. H., & Nasir, M. A. (2022). Central bank digital currencies: An agenda for future research. Research in International Business and Finance, 62, 101736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101736

Fad, M. F., & Imron, A. (2022). A halal cryptocurrency model under the Maqashid al-Shari’ah scheme. Journal of Islamic Economics Lariba, 8(1), 229–241. https://doi.org/10.20885/jielariba.vol8.iss1.art14

Ferrari Minesso, M., Mehl, A., & Stracca, L. (2022). Central bank digital currency in an open economy. Journal of Monetary Economics, 127, 54–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2022.02.001

Genc, H. O., & Takagi, S. (2024). A literature review on the design and implementation of central bank digital currencies. International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, 18, 197–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42495-023-00125-9

Hafiz, A., Napisah, N., Jalili, I., Armasito, A., & Solihu, A. K. H. (2025). Crypto currency investment from an Islamic law perspective: An overview of guidelines and considerations. Nurani: Jurnal Kajian Syari’ah dan Masyarakat, 25(1), 200–218. https://doi.org/10.19109/nurani.v25i1.26315

Halim, D., & Alkatiri, A. F. (2026). Sharīʿah standard for crypto assets in Indonesia: A localised framework. Al-Muamalat, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.15575/am.v13i1.55121

Hudaefi, F. A. (2023). Exploring the development of Islamic fintech ecosystem in Indonesia: A text analytics. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 15(3), 514–533. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-04-2022-0058

Jabbar, A., Geebren, A., Hussain, Z., Dani, S., & Ul-Durar, S. (2023). Investigating individual privacy within CBDC: A privacy calculus perspective. Research in International Business and Finance, 64, 101826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101826

Jun, J., & Yeo, E. (2021). Central bank digital currency, loan supply, and bank failure risk: A microeconomic approach. Financial Innovation, 7, 81. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-021-00296-4

Kamaluddin, I., Irawan, I., Al Fanani, A. Z., Hidayah, A., & Fauzan, A. N. N. (2026). Central bank digital currency from an Islamic legal perspective: Reinterpreting digital money through the lens of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Qawaid Fiqhiyyah. Suhuf: International Journal of Islamic Studies, 38(1), 130–142. https://doi.org/10.23917/suhuf.v38i1.16664

Khaira, H. Q., Irawan, A., & Tamam, M. (2025). Cryptocurrency in Islamic economics: A critical analysis of Dogecoin’s compliance with Sharia principles. Al-Risalah: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah dan Hukum, 25(1), 133–152. https://doi.org/10.24252/al-risalah.vi.55707

Kim, Y. S., & Kwon, O. (2023). Central bank digital currency, credit supply, and financial stability. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 55(1), 297–321. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmcb.12913

Kılıç, G., & Türkan, Y. (2023). The emergence of Islamic fintech and its applications. International Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance Studies, 9(2), 212–236. https://doi.org/10.54427/ijisef.1328087

Kumhof, M., & Noone, C. (2021). Central bank digital currencies—Design principles for financial stability. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71, 553–572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.06.012

Kwon, O., Lee, S., & Park, J. (2022). Central bank digital currency, tax evasion, and inflation tax. Economic Inquiry, 60(4), 1497–1519. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13091

Laboure, M., Müller, M. H.-P., Heinz, G., Singh, S., & Köhling, S. (2021). Cryptocurrencies and CBDC: The route ahead. Global Policy, 12(5), 663–676. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13017

Luu, H. N., Nguyen, C. P., & Nasir, M. A. (2023). Implications of central bank digital currency for financial stability: Evidence from the global banking sector. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 89, 101864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2023.101864

Majelis Ulama Indonesia. (2021). Keputusan Ijtima Ulama Komisi Fatwa se-Indonesia VII: Hukum cryptocurrency.

Oh, E. Y., & Zhang, S. (2022). Informal economy and central bank digital currency. Economic Inquiry, 60(4), 1520–1539. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13105

Suhirman, S. (2024). Cryptocurrency as an Islamic financial entity: The Nahdliyin’s istinbath fiqh approach. AL-ARBAH: Journal of Islamic Finance and Banking, 6(2), 181–200. https://doi.org/10.21580/al-arbah.2024.6.2.23548

Tekdoğan, Ö. F., & Güney, N. (2024). Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): An evaluation from Islamic law and Islamic economics perspectives. International Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance Studies, 10(2), 106–126. https://doi.org/10.54427/ijisef.1455932

Tercero-Lucas, D. (2023). Central bank digital currencies and financial stability in a modern monetary system. Journal of Financial Stability, 69, 101188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2023.101188

Tlemsani, I., & Matthews, R. (2023). Digitalization and the prospects of cryptocurrency in Islamic finance. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, 22(2), 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1386/tmsd_00072_1

Unal, I. M., & Aysan, A. F. (2022). Fintech, digitalization, and blockchain in Islamic finance: Retrospective investigation. FinTech, 1(4), 388–398. https://doi.org/10.3390/fintech1040029

Wang, Y., Lucey, B. M., Vigne, S. A., & Yarovaya, L. (2022). The effects of central bank digital currencies news on financial markets. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 180, 121715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121715

Wang, Z. (2023). Money laundering and the privacy design of central bank digital currency. Review of Economic Dynamics, 51, 604–632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2023.06.004

Wartoyo, W., & Haerisma, A. S. (2022). Cryptocurrency in the perspective of Maqasid al-Shariah. Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies, 18(1), 110–139. https://doi.org/10.18196/afkaruna.v18i1.14164

Xu, J. (2022). Developments and implications of central bank digital currency: The case of China e-CNY. Asian Economic Policy Review, 17(2), 235–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/aepr.12396