ISLAMIC FINANCIAL SERVICES AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM SOME SELECTED ECONOMIES

Abandoned housing projects remain a long-standing issue in Malaysia, affecting buyers, developers, and financial institutions. Although various studies have examined their legal, financial, and administrative dimensions, the research landscape remains fragmented, and the role of Islamic finance in addressing these problems remains insufficiently explored. This study addresses this gap through a systematic review of peer-reviewed research to map the main areas of discussion, patterns of methodologies, and emerging issues related to abandoned housing projects. The purpose of this study is to identify emerging issues and proposed solutions highlighted in Islamic finance research on abandoned housing projects from 2023 to 2025; determine the frequency and percentage distribution of the major research areas discussed between 2015 and 2022; and examine the most commonly used research methodologies in previous studies. This review analyses 30 peer-reviewed journal articles retrieved from Google Scholar. The data, although qualitative, were quantified into frequencies and percentages to classify the thematic areas and methodological choices of existing studies. The results show that 40% of the articles discuss causes of abandonment, 16.7% examine impacts on stakeholders, and 20% focus on potential solutions. Qualitative approaches dominate the literature, with 56.7% using document analysis predominantly. 30% of the articles use quantitative methods with descriptive statistical Analysis or the analytical hierarchy process, and only 13.3% use mixed methods. Between 2023 and 2025, none of the reviewed studies link Islamic finance to abandoned housing projects. The significant findings further show that research remains concentrated on economic, legal, and managerial factors, with Islamic finance perspectives largely absent despite their conceptual relevance to risk mitigation and consumer protection.