Mohamad Falah is an analyst at the Central Bank of Malaysia specialising in Shariah advisory, policy, research and regulation. He graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah and is a Certified Shariah Advisor, with research interests in central banking, monetary economics, CBDCs, and digital assets.

Central Bank of Malaysia (Abnk Negara Malaysia-BNM) is a statutory body which started operations in 1959 and governed by the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009. The role of BNM is to promote monetary and financial stability, in order to provide a conducive environment for the sustainable growth of the Malaysian economy.

Fundamentals of Modern Money and its Application to CBDC: An Exploratory Shariah Analysis

This presentation provides a foundational analysis of the nature of modern money and its Shariah implications, serving as a basis for determining appropriate Shariah rulings on contemporary monetary instruments, including Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It  presents three key insights: (1) Modern money fundamentally operates as credit-money; (2) Classical Shariah conceptions of money — rooted in commodity-based views of the nature of money — are limited in addressing the realities of today’s monetary system;  and (3) A renewed Shariah approach is essential to support the application of Islamic principles to emerging innovations such as stablecoins and CBDC.