CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF POSSESSION IN DIGITAL ECONOMY: A SHARIAH ANALYSIS

Abstract

The digital economy has fundamentally transformed traditional concepts of possession (qabd) in Islamic commercial jurisprudence. While classical Islamic law predominantly associated possession with physical control over tangible assets, contemporary digital transactions involve intangible assets, cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, software licenses, cloud storage, and electronic securities, where physical custody is neither possible nor practical. This study examines the Shariah conceptualization of constructive possession (al, qabd al, hukmi) and its applicability to modern digital economic transactions. Employing a qualitative, analytical, and comparative jurisprudential methodology, the research systematically analyzes the positions of the four major Sunni schools of law (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali) alongside contemporary fatwa, issuing bodies including the Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC), AAOIFI, and various national dar al, ifta institutions. The findings establish that the essence of possession in Islamic law lies not in physical control per se but in the capacity to dispose of property, derive benefit therefrom, and exclude others from its use, criteria that digital control mechanisms adequately satisfy. The study concludes that constructive possession constitutes a valid, necessary, and increasingly indispensable legal construct for ensuring contractual certainty, risk allocation, and dispute prevention in contemporary digital economic transactions. These findings contribute to the ongoing harmonization of classical Islamic legal principles with modern financial technology.