Foundations of Shari'ah Governance of Islamic Banks

Chapter 7Authority of the Sharī‘ah Supervisory Board and Conflict Management

Chapter Summary

This chapter explores the authority of the SSB and probes the responsibilities of the BOD and management towards this entity. It examines SSB decisions and contrasts them with those of Islamic judges and muftis. The chapter then discusses the possibility of conflicts arising between SSB members and other parties and possible reasons for such discord.

7.1 SSB Authority

The word “authority” means a vested power to make decisions. Such power could be derived from knowledge and expertise of a discipline, or influence of character.¹ Richard Sennett elaborates:

…the root of authority is “author”; the connotation is that authority involves something productive. Yet the word “authoritarian” is used to describe a person or system, which is repressive […] Of authority it may be said in the most general way that it is an attempt to interpret the conditions of power, to give the conditions of control and influence a meaning by defining an image of strength. The quest is for a strength that is solid, guaranteed, stable.²

In Islamic legal terminology, wilayah means guardianship and one who is entrusted with such a responsibility is known as a wali. The Qur’ān identifies God, the Creator, as the ultimate Wali, as He leads and guards the universe: “It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days; then He established Himself above the Throne. You have not ...