From Farmers to Financiers

About the Book

Financial systems have evolved over the centuries. The roots of many modern-day financial products can be found in use in many agricultural economies of the past. In the Muslim world, the contract of salaam helped farmers secure a price for their crops and allowed brokers and grain buyers to lock in a price for the future. Money has been in circulation for centuries, as has been credit. In this book we explore, albeit in brief, how each development or discovery of financial intermediation changes the face of an a small ecosystem consisting of farmers and craftsmen. We also attempt to examine the underlying principles upon which a system of credibility and credit develops.

About the Author

Hussain Kureshi brings to the field of banking and finance an experience of close to fifteen years. Having worked for such institutions as Barclays Bank, Hussain witnessed the carnage of the global financial crises, firsthand. His curiosity over how institutions that are entrusted with the savings of millions of people worldwide can allow traders to gamble with these monies, and lead these institutions to bankruptcy led Hussain to further develop his understanding of the architecture of the major financial systems. He explored what possibilities Islamic finance had to offer as an alternative system and has published two works on the subject: Contracts and Deals in Islamic Finance: A User's Guide to Cash Flows, Balance Sheets and Capital Structures (Hayat: Kureshi, Wiley) and Financial Engineering in Islamic Finance, the Way Forward: A Case for Islamic Derivatives (Hayat: Hussain: Mukhsia, Patridge). Hussain is a regular contributor to the journal Islamic Finance News and offers lectures in various universities in his home country of Pakistan. He can be contacted at husseinkureshi@gmail.com.