Smart Market Jurisprudence: Reconstructing Shariah Governance of the Digital Economy

Abstract

This study examines the transformations of the contemporary economy under digitalization and the emergence of “smart markets,” which have generated significant jurisprudential challenges regarding the adequacy of traditional Shariah regulatory tools in governing digital transactions. The research aims to reconstruct Shariah governance mechanisms for the digital economy through an analytical approach based on the descriptive-analytical method, supported by a maqasid-oriented framework that aligns legal rulings with modern economic realities.

The study is structured into three main sections. The first section outlines the conceptual framework of smart market jurisprudence, addressing the concept of smart markets, the definition of their jurisprudence, and the key characteristics of the digital economy. The second section analyzes the major jurisprudential challenges associated with digital economic practices, including issues of digital transactions, the limitations of classical regulatory tools, and contemporary governance challenges. The third section focuses on reconstructing Shariah governance by discussing its maqasid-based foundations, modern regulatory instruments, and proposing a contemporary jurisprudential model for regulating smart markets.

The study concludes that Islamic jurisprudence possesses sufficient flexibility to accommodate digital transformations; however, this requires methodological renewal grounded in maqasid principles and the development of adaptive regulatory tools capable of balancing economic innovation with Shariah compliance.

The findings revealed that relying solely on traditional jurisprudential tools is insufficient for regulating the digital economy. This necessitates a restructuring of Sharia-compliant frameworks in light of the objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shari'ah), thereby achieving a balance between innovation and regulation.

The significance of this research lies in its examination of a contemporary economic phenomenon with increasing influence, by linking it to the fundamental framework of Islamic economics. This contributes to providing a scholarly perspective that helps regulate economic activity in the digital environment.