A CRITICAL STUDY OF CLINTON BENNETT’S THOUGHTS TOWARDS SIRAH OF THE HOLY PROPHET ﷺ

Sirah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the topic on which a lot of work has been done both in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. For Muslims it was the source of aspiration and adaptation for the practical purposes of social life while for the non-Muslims it was the source of inquisitiveness and understanding Islam as a successful religion in the past and present time. Therefore, Muslim enthusiastic interest in the biography of the Holy Prophet ﷺ developed and evolved into a regular science while the west has modified the knowledge of biography according to their own order of preference but within the same biographic precedents. Both have tried to reconstruct the biography of the Holy Prophet ﷺ historically, chronologically and logically. Clinton Bennett is one of the western scholars who has contributed not only in the Islamic literature but also the biographic field. His work consists of numerous issues in Islam. Whatever he has learned from Islam and the Sirah of Holy Prophet and thus concluded in the form of his own thoughts, he has expressed most of them in his famous five books for example ‘In Search of Muhammad’, ‘Muslims and Modernity’, ‘Studying Islam’, ‘Interpreting the Qur’an’, and ‘Victorian Images of Islam’ (doctoral thesis)’. This study focuses on Clinton Bennett’s work on Sirah specifically with his broader view of the subject. This research is descriptive and analytical in nature and presents a detailed analysis of the work it is based upon.

Risk Management in Islamic Banking: Throwing Caution to the Wind or Playing It Safe.

Effective risk management is essential for the growth and safety of the banks, either Islamic or conventional, and its importance is increasing over time, particularly after the great recession. Although risk management in Islamic banking is one of the major concerns of the sector, it is still an under-researched area of study, especially in the local context. Effective risk management in Islamic banking deserves priority attention unless the sector establishes its own genuine risk management architecture. Therefore, the study of risk management issues of the Islamic banking sector is an important but complex area, in the age of black swans, difficulties and complications.This study reviews the relevant literature on Islamic banking risk management from diverse methodological strands and synthesizes its conclusions to make an addition to the available literature. This study adopts a mixed method sequential triangulation methodology in which qualitative research is followed by quantitative research, where both research designs carry equal weight. The sample of the study consists of five full-fledged Islamic banks and sixteen conventional banks with Islamic windows in Pakistan. The study collects and analyze primary data. It is conducted in two sequential phases to achieve the study goals. Firstly, this study develops a qualitative system dynamic model by using system thinking approach to sketch causal relationships among risk management policies and various types of Islamic banking risks. For this purpose, primary data is collected from the experts of the field through semi-structured interviews. This system dynamic model provides a detailed and comprehensive explanation of the risk management structure of Pakistani Islamic banking institutions. Quantitative research is conducted in the second phase of the study to evaluate and examine some vital facets of risk management policies that are in practice in the Pakistani Islamic banking institutions. To achieve this objective, the study utilizes survey method using self-administrated questionnaires for data collection and performs descriptive statistics, regression and correlation analysis to answer the research questions. According to the results, it is vital for Islamic Banking Institutions to develop an effective risk management framework for identifying, analyzing, measuring, monitoring and controlling various important conventional and non-conventional risks. Furthermore, by considering the principles and guidelines provided by the State Bank of Pakistan, development of a rigorous and comprehensive risk management structure in the Pakistani Islamic banking Institutions is not only useful for the fulfilment of regulatory requirements, but it is also vital for the success and survival of these institutions. It should also be noted that the findings of the study have policy-making implications which could benefit regulatory bodies, academia, policymakers, practitioners, Shariah scholars and institutional stakeholders.