Allameh Tabataba’i University Strategic Recommendations for  Administrative Bodies

Allameh Tabataba’i University Strategic Recommendations for Administrative Bodies

The Necessity of Separating the Qard al-Hasan Institution from the Banking Institution in the Monetary and Banking Law and Reforming the Relevant Law

Author
Department of Business Economics, Allameh Tabataba'i University
Abstract
Qard al-Hasan, as one of the authentic instruments of Islamic financing, has expanded in Iran across two contexts: "local and family funds" and "banks and credit institutions." However, the experience of recent decades indicates that merging this institution with commercial banking mechanisms has led to functional deviation and the erosion of its social capital. Within this framework, a loan (Qard) and a bank are two institutions with distinct natures: a loan is based on altruism and the waiver of opportunity cost, with the objective of meeting real needs without profit, whereas a bank is inherently profit-oriented, evaluated on indicators such as profitability and risk reduction. The continued placement of Qard al-Hasan within the structure of banks has reinforced the potential for abusing low-cost resources, unhealthy competition to attract loan deposits through prizes, imbalanced allocation of facilities, reduced banking inclination to pay mandated Qard al-Hasan loans, and the formation of doubtful loans, even causing religious skepticism regarding a portion of banking activities. From the perspective of institutional justice, this intermingling of institutions leads to the encroachment of the bank upon the domain of loans and the erosion of this religious tradition. The proposed strategy emphasizes the complete separation of loans from banks, the removal of Qard al-Hasan-related articles from monetary and banking laws, and the establishment of a central loan institution to supervise and control Qard al-Hasan funds and institutions, accompanied by a ban on any commercial activity for them.
Keywords