A STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF ISLAMIC PAWN BROKING SERVICES IN FULFILLING SOCIO –ECONOMIC NEEDS: A CASE OF TWO CITIES-KUANTAN AND KUALA TERENGGANU IN MALAYSIA

In this paper we aim to examine the effectiveness of Al-Rahnu (Islamic pawn broking) services in fulfilling and enhancing socio-economic needs of its users as an alternative source of managing short term cash flow problem. To achieve our objectives we conducted a survey in two cities of Malaysia: Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu in the states of Pahang and Terengganu respectively. A sample of 128 users of Ar-Rahnu services were used to collect data through distributing a semi-structured questionnaire. The results were analyzed via the cross tabulation using excel spreadsheets. The findings from this study revealed that the community, especially the Malay ethnicity found Al-Rahnu services effective in fulfilling their needs of getting access to small short term loans with fast and hassle freeway and hence making them loyal to Al-Rahnu services. This implies that the Ar-rahnu services are well accepted as a better mean to ease short term financial difficulties and hence able to empower socio-economic needs of the people. The fulfillment of needs are derived from two main components of Al-Rahnu survey questions i.e. the loan tenure and the loan sufficiency

Dyeing studies and fastness properties of brown naphtoquinone colorant extracted from Juglans regia L on natural protein fiber using different metal salt mordants

In this study, wool fibers are dyed with a natural colorant extracted from walnut bark in presence and absence of mordants. The effect of aluminum sulfate, ferrous sulfate, and stannous chloride mordants on colorimetric and fastness properties of wool fibers was investigated. Juglone was identified as the main coloring component in walnut bark extract by UV visible and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. The results showed that pretreatment with metallic mordants substantially improved the colorimetric and fastness properties of wool fibers dyed with walnut bark extract. Ferrous sulfate and stannous chloride mordanted wool fibers shows best results than potassium aluminum sulfate mordanted and unmordanted wool fibers. This is ascribed due to strong chelating power of ferrous sulfate and stannous chloride mordants

An eco-friendly dyeing of woolen yarn by Terminalia chebula extract with evaluations of kinetic and adsorption characteristics

In the present study Terminalia chebula was used as an eco-friendly natural colorant for sustainable textile coloration of woolen yarn with primary emphasis on thermodynamic and kinetic adsorption aspects of dyeing processes. Polyphenols and ellagitannins are the main coloring components of the dye extract. Assessment of the effect of pH on dye adsorption showed an increase in adsorption capacity with decreasing pH. Effect of temperature on dye adsorption showed 80 °C as optimum temperature for wool dyeing with T. chebula dye extract. Two kinetic equations, namely pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order equations, were employed to investigate the adsorption rates. Pseudo second-order model provided the best fit (R2 = 0.9908) to the experimental data. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption behavior accorded well (R2 = 0.9937) with Langmuir isotherm model. Variety of eco-friendly and sustainable shades were developed in combination with small amount of metallic mordants and assessed in terms of colorimetric (CIEL∗a∗b∗ and K/S) properties measured using spectrophotometer under D65 illuminant (10° standard observer). The fastness properties of dyed woolen yarn against light, washing, dry and wet rubbing were also evaluated

An essay on the ethics of Islam towards environmental resources

In this paper, we have discussed the Islamic attitudes towards the environmental resources and the importance of its protection and preservation for sustaining life on earth. The paper maintains the view that the today’s outcry for environmental crisis is man-made. It is a consequence of humans’ irresponsible, irrational and thoughtless development activities for material gains. The environmental problem is so acute and widespread today that it becomes virtually impossible to get rid of. It is now a global concern. The paper stresses that a true believer who realizes and imbeds into his or her behavior or attitudes with the fundamental values of Islam such as- the concept of divine unity, trusteeship or amanah, justice and the responsibility as taught by the holy Qur’an and the prophetic traditions will be morally and spiritually uplifted which in turn will prepare him/her to use environmental resources rationally and responsibly. Rational and responsible use of environmental resources is a gesture of mans’ gratitude to Allah and His commands to ensure respects or honor towards the rights of other creatures which is essential to pave the way to maintain a state of balance in the environmental system. In other words, a true believer will abide by his/her creator to behave as a guardian of the earth, uphold His trust he/she is entrusted and behave not like a predator that can jeopardize the balance in the environment

Optimal hedge ratio and the hedging performance of commodity futures: the case of Malaysian crude palm oil futures market

This paper aims to examine the hedging performance of the crude palm Oil futures Market in Malaysia. The optimal hedge ratios and the hedging performance are examined for two different futures contracts denoted as futures 1 and futures 2 using daily settlement prices from January 4, 2010 to October 31, 2017. Four econometric models comprising of the standard ordinary least square (OLS), vector auto-regression (VAR), vector error correction model (VECM) and the bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (BGARCH) models are employed to compute hedge ratios. The first three models estimate constant hedge ratios while the last model estimates time varying hedge ratio. The effectiveness of the hedge ratios for two contracts is evaluated in terms of in-sample and out-of-sample performance. For in-sample performance, January 4, 2010 to October 31, 2016 period is used while for out-of-sample validation, a one year data from November 2016 to October 31, 2017 is used. The empirical results show that the bivariate GARCH model performs better in the reduction of risk for both periods and the nearest futures contract (next one month contract) appears to be better in hedging than the far futures contract (next two month contracts). This suggests that the investors can use crude palm oil futures contract particularly the nearest futures contract as an effective instrument to hedge the risk and the bivariate BEKK-GARCH as an efficient model for designing hedging strategy

Constant & time-varying hedge ratio for FBMKLCI stock index futures

This paper examines hedging strategy in stock index futures for Kuala Lumpur Composite Index futures of Malaysia. We employed two different econometric methods such as-vector error correction model (VECM) and bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (BGARCH) models to estimate optimal hedge ratio by using daily data of KLCI index and KLCI futures for the period from January 2012 to June 2016 amounting to a total of 1107 observations. We found that VECM model provides better results with respect to estimating hedge ratio for spot month futures and one-month futures, while BGACH shows better for distance futures. While VECM estimates time invariant hedge ratio, the BGARCH shows that hedge ratio changes over time. As such, hedger should rebalance his/her position in futures contract time to time in order to reduce risk exposure

Total quality management practices in Islamic banking system: a study in banking sector of Malaysia

Total quality management is evolving over time and like many other industries, it is practicing by Islamic banks in Malaysia. The objective of this study is to identify the need of TQM in Islamic banking system, to understand its role and challenges for implementation. We have used qualitative research methods by taking five interviews and observations of three banks that follow Islamic Shariah principles, located in International Islamic University Malaysia. The findings from this research were comprehensive. TQM significantly impact the performance of Islamic banking system by enhancing customer satisfaction with limited challenges. Continuous improvement of processes involves training of employees. More data can be collected from other banks in available course of time if permits. Research findings can be helpful for those banks who did not implement TQM yet