Corporate Social Responsibility of Islamic Financial Institutions: A Look from the Maqasid Al-Shariah (Purpose of Shariah) Approach

The Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to business practices by corporations and institutions such as banks, insurance companies etc. involving initiatives that benefit society. This research aims to look at the CSR of the Islamic financial institutions and to what extent they achieve maqasid al-Shariah through this concept. It is found that several Islamic financial institutions are involved in activities that promote corporate social responsibility, such as payment of Zakat to the needy, charity takaful product, donations, program funding and institutions of social services, training students, and protecting the environment which is in line with maqasid al-Shariah. It is recommended that the Islamic financial institutions should engage in more activities that will bring more benefits to the society to ensure that they are not left behind in serving the community - which is the main purpose of the Shariah- when compared to its conventional counterpart.