Kuala Lampur, July 14 -- JULY 14 - A single thick patty may contain just as much meat. Yet two distinct layers make a double cheeseburger appear fuller and more satisfying. One patty is the bare minimum needed for it to qualify as a burger rather than a toast. The second is what frees you from hunger.

The same double-patty logic may help us understand the intensifying demand placed on Islamic finance. It is increasingly expected to offer beyond compliance, halal, and to be aligned with what the Islamic law, Shariah, intended to achieve, its maqasid. The first patty ensures that the structure is permissible. The second asks whether its outcome promotes welfare and produces something wholesome, or tayyib.

A cheeseburger may not be the bes...