Takaful as an Islamic Alternative to Conventional Insurance: A Thematic and Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Islamic insurance, or Takaful, offers a Sharia-compliant alternative to conventional insurance, circumventing the prohibitions on uncertainty, interest, and speculation. This study presents a bibliometric review of 228 Takaful research articles from the Scopus database, using RStudio® for visualization from 1989 - mid 2023. The analysis encompasses science mapping techniques such as co-citation analysis, bibliometric coupling, word analysis, and trending topics on alternative investments. The findings reveal Malaysia as the leading nation in Takaful research, with significant contributions from International Islamic University Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Prominent journals in this domain include the Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, Journal of Islamic Marketing, and International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management. This study found the article entitled; “Establishing construct validity and reliability: Pilot testing of a qualitative interview for research in takaful (Islamic insurance)” written by Dikko (2016), as the most global cited document with 61 citations. Notably, the research focus has evolved from operational, shariah principles, and risk management to awareness, family Takaful innovations, micro-Takaful and relationship commitment. This study serves as a valuable resource for researchers, offering quantitative bibliometric insights and thematic analysis, and highlighting areas for future investigation.