There is some degree of ignorance about the true basis of Islamic banking and finance among bankers (even Islamic bankers), lawyers and the general public who are the ultimate users of the system. The tendency is to think of Islamic banking and finance in conventional terms and to compare the former to the latter. This will lead to a misunderstanding of the true nature of the system. Ismail Shariff’s Islamic Banking and Finance: The Law and Practice in Malaysia seeks to fill some of the void that currently exists in the market. It covers many areas of the emergent banking system that is novel and intriguing to many who are not familiar with Islamic principles of finance.