Islamic Accounting and Reporting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Islamic Accounting and Reporting - Assignment Example The time period is also referred to as Ijarah period (Siddiqui, n.d.). The Ijarah contract is based on Islamic principles and has emerged as a popular asset financing concept. This contract is also used for transactions related to employment and hire of services. This contract of Ijarah is a mode of financing which provides customers with short to medium term financing to lease items such as buildings, real estates, computers, equipments, machineries and other items which are not forbidden of haraam. The contract is almost similar to conventional leasing contract but not identical to it (Ibrahim, 2001). The Ijarah rental amount is paid in installments over the time to cover the costs or the value of the investment for the bank in addition to the fair return on the investment (Ghuddah, 2007). In Ijarah the ownership of the asset is not transferred to the lessee. Risk associated with the ownership of the assets should remain with the banks and the asset is supposed to be reverted to th e bank at the end of Ijarah period. The cash flows of the asset are structured in such a way that they cover the price of the asset and provide a return on the same. Some of the important features of the Ijarah contract are as follows: ïÆ'Ëœ The asset which has been leased must have a valuable use that is compliant with the Shari’a laws. ïÆ'Ëœ ... Usufruct means the right of using another’s property for profit (Abdullah, 2010). The rental payment must occur after the delivery of the leased asset. For example by giving the keys of the building to the lessee musta’jir. If there is a loss to the usufruct then the Ijarah contract stands terminated (Shariff and Rahman, n.d.) Islamic accounting is less accepting towards the concept of time value of money and that is why in Ijarah accounting the lease and the transfer amount will be accounted as separate transaction even if these transactions are linked with each other (Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, 2010). In conventional leasing it is acceptable to have a lease and sale in one accounting transaction; however to have more than one accounting transaction with more than one result is prohibited in Islamic accounting. The results derived from the lease transaction differ from the sale transaction and that is why they cannot be combined into a single transaction und er Islamic accounting which is also known as Akad. In conventional leasing finance there are usually two types of leases known as operating lease and financial lease. In operating lease the lessor owns the asset and bears the risk and the maintenance costs. In financial lease the ownership of the asset remains with the lessor and the risk and operating costs are borne by the lessee. Conventional leasing provides options to the lessor and lessee to terminate the lease contract unanimously. Ijarah contract on the other hand gives option to the lessor and lessee to terminate the contract within a stipulated time frame. This option is valid for a particular time period under the framework of Al-Khiyar. In conventional leasing, in case of termination of the contract, the remaining rental payment

Battle of Thermopylae (c. 480BC) Research Paper

Battle of Thermopylae (c. 480BC) - Research Paper Example King Leonidas was held out with mere 300 hoplites and was against thousands of best Great King’s troops. The battle of Thermopylae was during the invasion of Persian between 480-479 BC. The battle was first and between the Greeks and Persians. The force of Greek was very minute and was very much determined to fight and stand against thousands of Persian army. In central Greece, association of Greek-states at the pass of Thermopylae fought with the invading Persians. Greeks were outnumbered but they fought and held back Persians for three days and is known as history’s one of the most famous last stands. King of Sparta Leonidas blocked the road which was the only road to pass by the massive force of Xerxes I of Persia. The 300 Spartans fought till the end but were all killed and they would have known in advance that they would be killed. The courage shown by the Sparta provided a sense of belief and inspiration to the Greeks1. Spartans were never afraid of enemies and th eir numbers. Opposing forces According to Herodotus, Greek city-states consisted of around more than 6,200 men who fought with Persian army and were totally outnumbered. Persian army was about 2,242,000+. Greek army included 300 Spartans, 1000 Phocians, 500 Tegeans, other Arcadians 1000 and others. But comparing with the Persian army it is very minimal and very small army force. Persian army included 500,000 fleet crew, 1,500,000 infantry, 320,000 Greek allied troops, etc. numbers are very large indeed. 300 Spartans who fought for Greek city were an elite group of Spartan hoplites2. Each man of 300 Spartans had a living son. And it is said that each of the 300 Spartans had someone to fight for. 300 elite Spartans were led by the king Leonidas. Strategic and tactical considerations of the Opposing forces The Spartans didn’t have many options. But the king of Sparta Leonidas decided to place scorched earth policy. Policy was placed so that Greeks went out and destroy all buildi ngs, livestock and grain and polluted the main water supply. And all the work was done before the arrival of Persians. When Persians arrived with their huge force at Thermopylae they had to rely on food which is being sent to them. They also found that they could not leave the land and that is not the situation to be in. The Greeks decided that they would make a stand at Thermopylae which is a narrow pass where northwest of Athens met at the sea. From the strategic point, Greeks have used best possible way to stop huge army of patricians. The Greek style of warfare was tactically suited in the pass at Thermopylae3. Leonidas used forces in a narrow pass so that Persians could not attack from flanks. The Greeks deployed in a phalanx. And this basically means Greeks stood in firm lines and used large shields to protect them. They stood firmly in lines and locked their shields together. They locked their shields so tight and close that there isn’t any gap between the shields for enemy to attack. Battle of Thermopylae First day The Phocians built a large ancient wall to stop raids from Thessaly. But it was destroyed and fallen apart. Leonidas went on to rebuild the wall and also send some local Greeks to protect the people who are rebuilding the wall. The Persians saw that rebuilding of the wall but were not concerned by the small force of Greeks. Persians