Academic Authority
IFA serves as an Academic Authority for Islamic finance scholarship — safeguarding rigorous juristic process and authoring the reference-grade standards that institutions rely on. Our current appointment is the Foundations of Legacy Fiqh Symposium 2026.
Safeguarding the scholarship, producing the standard
The symposium examines one of the most significant contemporary questions in zakah governance: whether, and under what conditions, zakah may be deployed in relation to public-interest and community-serving activity in Muslim minority contexts.
As Academic Authority, IFA safeguards the academic integrity of that process — ensuring every scholarly contribution is captured, preserved, and faithfully translated into authoritative guidance. Following the symposium, IFA drafts and publishes the resulting reference-grade fiqh standard.
Our role is not to determine outcomes, but to ensure the scholarly process is conducted, documented, and translated with rigour and fidelity to the juristic tradition.
From convening to standard
IFA's responsibility runs across the full arc of the symposium and beyond — five stages, from safeguarding the method to publishing the standard.
Academic Oversight
Ensuring the symposium's methodology stays grounded in the recognised Sunni juristic tradition, while engaging contemporary realities through disciplined scholarly inquiry.
The hands behind the record
IFA's rapporteurs capture, structure, and consolidate the symposium's scholarship into the final standard. Select a member to read their profile and reflections.
A reference-grade standard, and what supports it
IFA's flagship output is a multi-madhhab fiqh standard — supported by three further contributions, all produced under its academic authority following the 2026 symposium.
Multi-Madhhab Fiqh Standard
A reference-grade standard on the use of zakah in community-serving and advocacy-related activity, incorporating the evidences and positions of the four Sunni schools.
- 01
Zakah Governance Framework
A practical framework for trustees and institutions — decision-making, accountability, oversight, documentation, and risk.
- 02
Academic Proceedings
A consolidated record of the research papers, responses, and deliberations, preserving the symposium's contribution to contemporary fiqh.
- 03
Institutional Impact
Clearer, principled guidance for charities, mosques, and zakah administrators on the responsible deployment of zakah.