Jami‘ah

Definition of "Jami‘ah"

Lit: An association or a group. Tech: An association of persons got together with the purpose of pooling savings and financing the needs of the members on a rotational basis. It is popular in various countries under different names. In Egypt, it is called jami‘ah. A typical jami‘ah operates on an annual basis and its members turn over a given sum every month to the administrator of the association. The pooled sum is paid to one member on an agreed sequence basis. Thus, the earlier ones get interest-free finance while the later ones are able to make forced savings.