In this accessible but profound work, Dr. Mohamed Ghanem illustrates the importance of some key Islamic principles as they affect economic activity. Focusing on the nature of money and the shari'ah rulings applying to contracts of trade and investment, Mohamed explains the impossibility of 'Islamising' the current model of commercial banking, given its foundations in usury and the use of fractional reserves. He goes on to define and explain the use of Transaction Map Theory as a tool for determining whether any given contract, including those applied by modern day Islamic banks, satisfies shari'ah requirements. His analysis begins with a detailed examination of the methods by which relevant texts in the Qur'an and hadith should be understood. The various shari'ah rulings on money, usury and zakah are depicted as an 'Islamic Monetary Triangle' which helps to ensure the economic and social vitality of a society.