Scholars & Authors

Islamic Finance Scholars

Browse the Fair Meridian Library by scholar. Every author page lists their full biography, scholarly credentials, and all their works available in the library.

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Vice President, Darul Uloom Karachi · AAOIFI Shariah Board Chairman · Former Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan

The world's foremost Islamic finance scholar. Chairs the Shariah boards of dozens of global Islamic banks and the AAOIFI. Author of the landmark Supreme Court judgment on riba and the most widely read English primer on Islamic finance.

3 resources in library

Mahmoud A. El-Gamal

Chair in Islamic Economics, Finance & Management · Rice University, Houston

Professor of economics at Rice University and one of the most cited academic scholars in Islamic finance. Known for his rigorous economic analysis and honest critique of mainstream Islamic finance practice.

1 resource in library

David Graeber

Professor of Anthropology · London School of Economics · Author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years

Anthropologist and economic historian whose landmark work 'Debt: The First 5,000 Years' demonstrates that interest-based debt has been morally contested throughout human history — essential secular context for Islamic finance.

1 resource in library

Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi

Islamic scholar, political philosopher · Founder, Jamaat-e-Islami

One of the most influential Islamic scholars of the 20th century. His writings on Islamic economics were foundational for the modern Islamic finance movement — one of the first modern articulations of Islamic economics as a 'Third Way' between capitalism and socialism.

1 resource in library

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Egyptian Islamic scholar · Author of Fiqh al-Zakat

One of the most widely followed Islamic scholars of the 20th century. His 'Fiqh al-Zakat' remains the most comprehensive modern scholarly treatment of Zakat and its application to contemporary financial assets.

1 resource in library

Frequently Asked Questions

The Fair Meridian Library features works by the world's leading Islamic finance scholars, including Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (AAOIFI Shariah Board Chairman), Mahmoud El-Gamal (Rice University), Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and others. Each author page lists all their available resources and a full scholarly biography.

For complete beginners, we recommend starting with Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani's 'An Introduction to Islamic Finance' — the most widely read English-language primer on the subject. Mufti Usmani is the world's foremost Islamic finance scholar and chairs the Shariah boards of numerous global Islamic banks and the AAOIFI.

Many works by scholars in this library are available as free PDFs where the author or publisher has made them publicly available. Each book page clearly shows available access options. For commercially published works, we link to the official purchase page.

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185+ lessons, every one with a real action

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Practical Islamic finance guides