The Gray area Beyond Raised Objections (Sharia’h Perspective) Regarding In-practice Islamic Banking System

Shari‘ah’s teachings are perfect and forever. They leave everlasting impacts on society towards its spiritual as well as material purification (Tazkia) if implemented properly according to Qur’an and Sunnah. Interest (Sood/Rib┐) has been forbidden by Almighty Allah whereas Trade (Ba‘a) has been legitimated. To bring the Muslims of today out of Interest-based Banking System, religious scholars have outlined and introduced Islamic Banking System which, although, has got fast growth in market but still, a number of objections are being raised by different scholars leading to an impression that this system is not working in accordance with Shari‘ah. This not only discourages the entry of new ones to Islamic Banking Sector but also create confusions in the minds of the enlisted customers. Keeping in view the above scenario, need is felt to assess, evaluate and analyze the Objections raised with special emphasis on Islamic Concept of Bank, Charity Fund (Iltez┐m be tasaduq) and Mur┐ba╒a being the major points of objections of the critics. The present study investigates different aspects and dimensions of these objections in the context of Shariah and ground realities in order to know the extent of validity of these objections, highlight the gray areas giving rise to objections and give real picture to the public in general and enhance the satisfactory level of the enlisted Islamic Banking customers in particular.

Impact of Psychosocial Factors on Academic Achievement of University Students in Punjab, Pakistan.

Mental illness is an important but, until recently, neglected agenda in global health. Various types of psychological disorders have always been observed in any society but adolescents are more vulnerable towards these problems than any other age group. In the proportion of young people, students seem to be at high risk of psychiatric diseases. The reason behind this involves the perception that psychological problems are significantly dependent on the individuals’ social circumstances. Hence, students not only experience stressful situations in a society but also in their academic environment. The present study was conducted in Pakistan and the main purpose of this research was to explore the impact of psychosocial factors on academic achievement (AA) of university students in Punjab province. Descriptive studies can use quantitative methodologies therefore; survey type of research was employed for the collection of data. All the public sectors universities of Punjab along with undergraduate students were the population of the present study. Sample of 3000 participants (five hundred male and female undergraduate students) from six public sector universities of Punjab province was taken by using multistage sampling technique. A valid and reliable questionnaire with five subscales namely: Undergraduate Stress Survey (USS), Undergraduate Anxiety Survey (UAS), Undergraduate Depression Survey (UDS), Undergraduate social support survey (USSS), Undergraduate life satisfaction survey (ULSS) was developed for the students in order to record their perceptions about psychosocial factors that influence their AA. National language of Pakistan is Urdu hence; for making the instrument more understandable to the respondents’ researcher used Urdu translation versions of the scale along with English statements and revised in the light of expert opinions. Collected date was analyzed by using SPSS 19th version. xvi Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) endorsed the organization of research scale. The data obtained were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted regarding objectives of the study by applying statistical techniques of frequency, percentage, independent sample ttest, ANOVA, regression and Pearson correlation coefficients. On the basis of analysis, findings of the present study showed that prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression among undergraduate students were high at the rate of 59.1%, 62.6%, and 46.0% respectively. Higher levels of psychological diseases not only affect students’ ability to perform well but also all aspects of their health. Results also showed that undergraduate students overall experienced severe levels of stress and moderate levels of anxiety and depression. For the perception of social support, it was concluded that undergraduates had moderate level of social support while more than half of the total sample reported low level of life satisfaction. It was recommended that university administration; educationists and health practitioners should immediately plan and implement such effective counseling services that help students in reducing and preventing the severity of psychological disorders in university life.