Assessing Islamic Banking Performance Using the Maqasid al-Shariah Index: Evidence from Islamic Banks

Abstract

This research is motivated by the phenomenon of differing institutional characteristics between Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), a result of a major merger, and Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI), the pioneer of pure Islamic banking. Although both banks operate under the same regulations, there is a debate regarding the extent to which asset scale influences the achievement of the substantive goals of Islamic law. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the Maqashid Sharia performance of BSI and BMI during the 2021–2024 period. The methodology employed is a descriptive comparative quantitative approach using the Maqashid Sharia Index (MSI) method, covering three primary dimensions: Tahdhib al-Fard (Education), Iqamah al-Adl (Justice), and Jalbi al-Mashlahah (Public Interest). The results indicate that BSI achieved a higher aggregate MSI score of 0.676 compared to BMI's score of 0.546. BSI consistently excels in the educational and macro-interest dimensions due to strong capital support, while BMI demonstrates better resilience in the justice dimension, particularly in customer profit-sharing distribution. The recommendation of this study is for BSI to increase its portion of profit-loss sharing financing to strengthen the justice dimension, while BMI is advised to accelerate digitalization and operational efficiency to enhance its social interest reach.