Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Mansoori
Former Vice President (Higher Studies & Research), IIUI · Professor of Islamic Law · Scholar of Islamic Commercial Law, Islamic Banking & Finance, Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Mansoori is a senior Pakistani scholar of Islamic law whose academic career has been closely associated with the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) and its constituent institutions. His scholarship is particularly concentrated in Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic commercial law, Islamic banking and finance, Muslim family law, fiqh, usul al-fiqh, and the application of classical Shariah principles to contemporary financial and legal problems.
Academic Formation
His educational background combines traditional Islamic learning with modern university education, an important feature of his later scholarship. An archival academic profile records that he earned a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, in 1997 and an LLM (Shariah), First Division, from the International Islamic University Islamabad in 1983. He also completed an MA in Arabic from the University of the Punjab in 1984 and an MA in Political Science, with distinction, from the University of Karachi in 1978. Earlier, he obtained a BA (Hons) in Political Science, First Position, in 1977. Virtual University academic profile.
His traditional religious education included Moulvi Alim and Moulvi Fazil studies, covering subjects such as the Qur’an, Hadith, fiqh, usul al-fiqh and Arabic literature. Banking-sector and other institutional biographies likewise identify his traditional qualifications alongside his LLM and PhD.
Academic and Institutional Career at IIUI
Dr. Mansoori’s career at IIUI spans teaching, research, academic administration and institutional leadership. Publications in Islamic Studies identified him as an Associate Professor at the Islamic Research Institute (IRI) and subsequently as Head of the Fiqh and Law Unit. Islamic Studies / IRI record.
He later became Dean of the Faculty of Shariah & Law, IIUI. He also served twice as Director General of the Shariah Academy. The Academy’s official historical record gives his first tenure as 1 December 2005 to 2 September 2006, and his second tenure as 28 October 2011 to 18 November 2014. Shariah Academy — former Directors General.
In October 2014, the IIUI Board of Governors appointed him Vice President (Higher Studies & Research). The university noted at the time that he had already held the deanship of Shariah & Law and had established a national and international scholarly reputation. IIUI — October 2014 appointment record.
Later IIUI and Shariah Academy publications consistently refer to him as former Vice President, Higher Studies & Research, while continuing to involve him in scholarly and professional activities.
Scholarship and Intellectual Contribution
A central characteristic of Dr. Mansoori’s scholarship is the attempt to connect classical fiqh al-muʿāmalāt with modern banking, finance, commercial law and regulatory practice. His work does not treat Islamic commercial jurisprudence merely as a historical discipline; rather, it examines how rules of contracts, sale, partnership, financial maxims, maqāṣid, takaful, microfinance and contemporary financial instruments can operate in modern institutions.
His book Islamic Law of Contract: Applications in Islamic Finance develops this applied approach by linking the classical law of contract to contemporary Islamic financial practice. Institute of Policy Studies — book profile.
His well-known article “Is ‘Islamic Banking’ Islamic? Analysis of Current Debate on Shari‘ah Legitimacy of Islamic Banking and Finance”, published in Islamic Studies, examines hiyal, makhārij and talfiq in contemporary Islamic finance. It argues that while much modern Islamic banking fulfils the formal requirements of Shariah contracts, some structures need to be assessed more critically in light of the objectives of Shariah. Islamic Studies — article record.
His scholarship consistently combines juristic authenticity with institutional application, asking not only whether a financial structure satisfies contractual form, but also how effectively it advances the wider legal, ethical and socioeconomic purposes of the Shariah.
Muslim Family Law
Dr. Mansoori’s scholarship also extends significantly into Muslim family law, including marriage, divorce, matrimonial relations and comparative legislation in Muslim jurisdictions. His Family Law in Islam: Theory and Application examines both classical jurisprudence and modern personal-status legislation, with attention to areas where the two interact or diverge. National Book Foundation — book profile.
Major Books and Publications
Among his frequently cited works are Islamic Law of Contracts and Business Transactions, Islamic Law of Contract: Applications in Islamic Finance, Shariah Maxims: Modern Applications in Islamic Finance, Family Law in Islam: Theory and Application, the Arabic work Al-Madkhal al-Masrafi / Introduction to Islamic Banking, and the Urdu work Ahkam-e-Bayʿ.
A more recent addition is Maqasid al-Shariah and Modern Islamic Banking and Finance, published by IIUI’s Shariah Academy. At its launch, Dr. Mansoori discussed the development of Islamic banking in Pakistan, wealth concentration and the need to assess Islamic finance against broader socioeconomic purposes rather than contractual form alone. IIUI — Shariah Academy publication announcement.
By the time of his 2014 appointment as Vice President, IIUI reported 31 research articles in English, Arabic and Urdu and nine scholarly books. Later institutional profiles report more than forty academic articles, indicating continued scholarly publication after that date. IIUI institutional profile.
Research Supervision and Academic Mentoring
His contribution also includes substantial postgraduate supervision. At the time of his appointment as Vice President in 2014, IIUI reported that he had supervised eight PhD dissertations and twenty MPhil/LLM theses. University records subsequently show his supervision of doctoral research in areas such as juristic eclecticism in Islamic banking, agricultural Islamic finance and deposit management in Islamic banks. IIUI appointment and academic profile.
Islamic Finance, Regulation and Shariah Governance
Dr. Mansoori’s influence extends beyond the university into Pakistan’s Islamic financial regulatory architecture. IIUI identified him as a member of the State Bank of Pakistan’s Task Force on Islamic Banking and a member of the Religious Board for Modaraba companies. IIUI profile.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) appointed him as one of the Shariah scholars on its Shariah Advisory Board. Official SECP records show him participating in deliberations concerning Shariah-compliant capital-market products, governance standards and AAOIFI standards. SECP — Shariah Advisory Board record.
He has also had a long-running role in the banking industry. Askari Bank’s published Shariah Board material records his service as a Resident Shariah Board Member. Internationally, institutional profiles of the Islamic Bank of Afghanistan have identified him in senior Shariah supervisory roles and highlighted his work in Islamic banking, contract law and Shariah governance. Islamic Bank of Afghanistan institutional profile.
Recognition
Multiple institutional profiles describe Dr. Mansoori as a recipient of presidential recognition from the Government of Pakistan in 2004 for his distinguished contribution to education. The available institutional sources use differing English titles for the award; therefore, this profile conservatively records the established fact of presidential recognition without adopting a disputed English rendering of the decoration.
Major Areas of Expertise
Islamic Law · Fiqh al-Muʿāmalāt · Usul al-Fiqh · Islamic Commercial Law · Islamic Law of Contracts · Islamic Banking and Finance · Shariah Governance · Shariah Maxims · Maqāṣid al-Shariah · Muslim Family Law · Takaful · Islamic Microfinance · Islamic Financial Regulation · Contemporary Financial Transactions
Scholarly Contribution and Legacy
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Mansoori’s career represents a sustained engagement with both the theoretical foundations of Islamic jurisprudence and their practical application in modern institutions. His record spans the Islamic Research Institute, the Faculty of Shariah & Law, the Shariah Academy, IIUI’s senior academic leadership, postgraduate supervision, regulatory Shariah work and banking-sector governance.
His work is particularly significant for its insistence that modern Islamic finance should be evaluated through both juristic validity and the wider purposes of Shariah. In this respect, his scholarship occupies an important place between classical Islamic legal reasoning and the institutional realities of contemporary banking and finance.
Selected Institutional Sources
International Islamic University Islamabad — appointment and academic profile
Shariah Academy, IIUI — former Directors General
Virtual University — academic qualifications profile
Islamic Studies — “Is ‘Islamic Banking’ Islamic?”
Institute of Policy Studies — Islamic Law of Contract
National Book Foundation — Family Law in Islam
SECP — Shariah Advisory Board
IIUI — Shariah Academy publications
