Purpose: This paper aims to systematically review the existing studies on the relationship of Sharī'ah governance (SG), as represented by the Sharī'ah supervisory board (SSB), with firm performance of Islamic banks (IBs), to suggest opportunities for future research in this field.Design/methodology/approach: By adopting a systematic literature review, 21 empirical and theoretical papers published in Scopus concerning the relationship between SSB and performance of IBs were selected for review and analysis.Findings: In light of the existing research studies' limitations, this paper suggests that the effect of SSB on IBs' performance still requires more empirical analyses using alternative analytical methods, alternative measures, and different periods (during crisis and non-crisis). Besides that, these studies should take into account the differences across jurisdictions in their SG models, the degree of agencies' intervention in SG practices, the control over cross-memberships of scholars, and the differences across IBs in the position of SSB in the organization structure.Practical implications: The analysis undertaken in this paper would address the literature gaps on the effect of SSB on IBs' performance as this study serves as a guide for the researchers, academicians, and interested researchers from Islamic international autonomous non-for-profit organizations, e.g. AAOIFI and IFSB in research related to this important area. Importantly, the findings of this study would support regulators and related authorities across jurisdictions with suggestions on improving the current SG practices.Originality/value: This paper presents a critical review of the existing research on SSB and IB performance and suggests new variables, measurements, analytical methods, and new issues for researchers in this area. Thus, it identifies the literature gap that still needs further empirical investigation and a suitable way to close it.

Purpose: There is much debate in the literature about how the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) should be measured. Basically, IBs’ business models are different from that of conventional banks; thus, the performance of IBs should be measured by using a Sharīʿah-based approach. This paper considers zakat (Islamic tax) as an alternative indicator to measure the performance of IBs. This paper aims to examine whether zakat ratios can be used as Islamic performance (ISPER) indicators for IBs besides the conventional performance (COPER) indicators.Design/methodology/approach: The investigation covered a sample of 214 yearly observations of 37 IBs located in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the period 2007–2015. This study used a single-factor congeneric model and confirmatory factor analysis, performed using the AMOS 23.0 software.Findings: The findings assert that the discriminant validity of multi-bank performance, as measured by ISPER [zakat on assets (ZOA) and zakat on equity (ZOE)] and COPER indicators (return on assets, return on equity and operational efficiency in terms of assets), is very high. Hence, ISPER and COPER measurements are valid, either together to measure the multi-performance of IBs from both the Islamic and conventional perspectives, or independently as each measurement is valid to measure the Islamic and conventional performance if it is used separately.Research limitations/implications: This paper does not investigate whether the findings are constant across time. This represents one of the limitations of this study.Practical implications: It is strongly recommended that IBs calculate and disclose zakat ratios, particularly ZOA and ZOE, in their annual reports. Researchers and academicians should use these ratios for measuring the ISPER of IBs, either along with COPER or separately.Originality/value: Empirical evidence is provided in this paper on the development and validity of zakat ratios as ISPER indicators in the Islamic banking industry. Zakat ratios are suitable indicators that can measure IBs’ performance and achieve the goals of IBs as well as those of Islamic economics. Technically, zakat has a dynamic ability to reflect the profitability of IBs. The more the IBs generate profit, the more they pay zakat. Furthermore, the greater the total assets of IBs, the higher the amount of zakat that they should pay. Thus, zakat ratios can be used as profitability measurements as in the case of tax ratios.

This study employs samplet-tests and panel pooled OLS regression to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Islamic versus conventional stock markets returns. The study uses daily data from 15 countries over the period of September 01, 2019–April 30, 2020, which covers two main periods and over four sub-periods. Findings reveal that the returns of Islamic indices begun to be positive instead of negative by mid-April 2020, while returns of conventional ones remain negative throughout the periods. Furthermore, the results suggest a negative and statistically significant impact of COVID-19 on the performance of both stock indices. Nevertheless, this impact is weak on the Islamic indices and strong on the conventional ones. Overall, the findings indicate that Islamic stock markets perform better before and during COVID-19 than the conventional ones, and the adverse impact of the pandemic on the stock markets is relatively lesser for the Islamic indices.

The rapid rise and widespread global adoption of cryptocurrencies in recent years has fundamentally transformed the international financial landscape, with digital assets increasingly being recognized for their potential to influence the stability and performance of traditional capital markets. Against this backdrop, this study aims to empirically investigate the impact of cryptocurrency returns on Islamic vs. conventional stock returns in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The salient distinctions between Islamic and conventional stock markets include fundamental differences in principles, investment allocations, and risk profiles, underscoring the importance of examining the impact of cryptocurrency returns on these distinct equity segments. Daily data were collected from stock indices in five GCC countries over the period 2016–2019, including two sub-periods: before and after the 2017 crypto crash. Pooled OLS, fixed effects, random effects, and generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to analyze the data collected during the study. With the GCC increasingly focusing on cryptocurrency markets, there is growing concern about these markets’ potential impact on regional stocks. This study addresses the important questions of whether the impacts of the cryptocurrency market on Islamic vs. conventional stock markets differ throughout the GCC region and how these impacts have evolved since the crypto crash period. The findings reveal that cryptocurrency returns had a negative impact on both GCC Islamic and conventional stock market returns for the full sample period (2016–2019), and the negative effect was far more pronounced for conventional stocks. For the two sub-periods before and after the crash, only the cryptocurrency market and conventional GCC stocks remained negatively correlated, while the cryptocurrency market and the GCC Islamic stock markets became uncorrelated. Thus, for the calmer sub-periods before and after the crypto crash, the rise in cryptocurrency returns may have enticed GCC investors away from conventional stocks, perhaps resulting in a decline in their investment in these stocks. Meanwhile, those who invest in Islamic stocks may not be exposed to this temptation.

Shari'ah Supervisory Board (SSB) plays a crucial role in the Shari'ah governance (SG) and legal framework of Islamic banks. One of the main functions of SSB is to ensure that the products and services of Islamic banks conform to Shari'ah as set by the regulators. However, despite the essential role of SSB in the context of Shari'ah governance, bibliometric analysis in this topic is very limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to review the SSB and SG of Islamic banks to capture what has been done in this area of research and to suggest prospects for future research. Specifically, this study is to answer the following three research questions. First, how has SSB and SG research evolved and been disseminated; second, what key topics have been discussed in SSB and SG; and third, what are the characteristics of scientific collaborations in SSB and SG research between authors from various countries? This paper employed a systematic literature review (SLR) as its research methodology to identify the relevant studies, followed by a bibliometric analysis to gain insight into the role of SSB in the SG of IBs research and trends in its dissemination. This study finalised 148 publications between 2006 and 2022 upon screening the title and abstract using relevant keywords to address the research questions.