To synthesize Islamic finance scholarship (2000–2023) and examine how technological innovation interacts with regulatory harmonization, mapping dominant themes, regional trajectories and future research priorities.
A preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses-guided systematic review identified 616 records and retained 95 studies after quality screening. The authors applied latent dirichlet allocation topic modeling (k = 5; coherence-optimized) and triangulated with bibliometrics (co-citation, author networks, keyword co-occurrence; interrater κ ≈ 0.85). Qualitative triangulation included ten expert interviews and five institutional case studies to validate and interpret quantitative patterns.
Five interlinked themes structure the field: (1) Shariah-compliant products, (2) risk and governance, (3) Sukuk/green Sukuk, (4) regulation and standardization and (5) fintech/digital Shariah/social finance. The literature evolves across four stages – foundation, expansion, regulatory consolidation and innovation/integration – culminating in digitalization and environmental, social and governance (ESG) convergence. Regional analysis highlights Malaysia’s innovation-led regime, Gulf Cooperation Council’s conservative yet modernizing architectures and Indonesia’s scale potential with literacy and inclusion gaps. Persistent challenges include cross-jurisdictional standardization, risk modeling for PLS contracts and rigorous impact measurement for ESG-aligned instruments.
The sample is limited to peer-reviewed literature (2000–2023) with English-language emphasis; database coverage and methodological heterogeneity may bias topic prevalence. Future work should widen non-English sources, replicate with alternative models (e.g. BERTopic) and couple macroreviews with microdata on product performance and inclusion outcomes.
Guidance for regulators on mutual recognition and Shariah governance harmonization; for institutions on embedding digital Shariah controls, cybersecurity and AI assurance; and for issuers on robust KPI/impact frameworks for green Sukuk.
Digital Islamic finance can advance financial inclusion and sustainable development goals if paired with credible impact verification, consumer protection and equitable data-use practices.
Combines a systematic review with machine-learning topic discovery, bibliometric validation and qualitative evidence to deliver an integrated map of Islamic finance’s evolution, a conceptual ecosystem framework and a concrete agenda linking fintech, governance and sustainability.
