Abstract

The role of joint stock companies is of utmost importance in contemporary economy. The capital required for the formation of these companies is divided into smaller units. Each unit is termed as a share. The buying and selling of shares continues in stock exchange. The Shariah status of buying and selling of shares is one of the modern issues of the Islamic economy. The resolution of such issues is sought in the light of the Quran and Sunnah through the mode of ijtihad. The tradition of collective ijtihad in various matters has been existed among Muslims since the earliest times. Contemporary jurisprudential academies are a modern form of collective ijtihad. The buying and selling of shares has also been discussed and evaluated by various jurisprudential academies. It has been declared permissible to buy shares of a company doing halaal business while it has been declared illegal to buy shares of a company doing haraam business. However, there are some companies whose core business is halal, but for some reasons their profits are mixed with haraam, such companies are called mixed business companies. Some jurisprudential academies have allowed Muslims to buy their shares in view of need and necessity. The article examines the views of five jurisprudential academies on this issue and how they applied the rule of necessity (darurat wa-hajat) in their interpretations for resolving the issue.