Manipulation of Smart Contracts From an Islamic Perspective

Abstract

Smart contracts are contracts that are executed using blockchain technology and operate in a decentralized, pseudonymous manner and recorded digitally based on computer protocols. However, their implementation raises concerns from an Islamic perspective due to potential ethical and legal issues, such as ambiguous contractual terms, lack of transparency, and potential manipulation of the system by malicious parties. These issues can lead to activities that contradict Islamic principles. This qualitative study, which employs the content analysis for collecting data, aims to examine the potential for manipulating smart contracts from an Islamic perspective. Smart contracts are permissible in Islam as long as they fulfill all the fundamentals and requirements of a contract as well as do not contain elements that may contradict an Islamic contract, including uncertainty of the contracting parties, as well as manipulation of the autonomous system, contract’s subject matter, and the contract’s objectives. This paper found that smart contract transactions contain several elements that are inconsistent with Islamic contract principles, including elements of uncertainty on the part of the contracting parties, as well as manipulation of the autonomous system, and the contract’s subject matter and objectives. Therefore, the controller of smart contracts needs to design an approach that is Shariah-compliant to prevent conflicts and enable its widespread use, especially by Muslims.