Central Bank Digital Currency from an Islamic Legal Perspective: Reinterpreting Digital Money through the Lens of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Qawaid Fiqhiyyah

Abstract

Background: The disruption of digital payment systems prompts central banks to issue Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Transitioning to digital assets like the Digital Rupiah requires Sharia compliance and mitigates systemic risks of data centralization. Objective: This study analyzes the legal standing and Sharia boundaries of CBDCs using Ibn Taymiyyah's jurisprudential maxims (qawa'id fiqhiyyah) on freedom of contract. Methodology: Utilizing a qualitative, library-based method grounded in doctrinal legal analysis, this research examines Ibn Taymiyyah's primary literature and central bank policies. Data analysis applies conceptual and ushuliyyah approaches via thematic deductive reasoning. Result: The findings confirm that CBDCs ontologically fulfill the criteria of money. Their fundamental legal status is permissible (mubah) based on the maxim of original permissibility in contracts. However, this legitimacy is constrained by substantial justice: remuneration in wholesale CBDC triggers riba (usury), and privacy-infringing programmability precipitates zulm (injustice), violating the la dharar wa la dhirar (do no harm) maxim. Consequently, CBDC adoption is legally permissible if it is strictly adhered to algorithmic ethics. Regulators must formulate comprehensive guidelines on programmability to protect user rights. Future research should empirically measure public acceptance and potential operational gharar (uncertainty) during trial phases.