This text focuses on options and futures as trading tools and explores their validity from an Islamic legal point of view. After reviewing the existing rules of Islamic law of contract and verifying their relevance or otherwise to futures trading, the author advances a new perspective on the issue of futures and options based on an interpretation of the Qur'an and the Sunna and referring to the principle of mashala (consideration of public interest) as enshrined in the Shari'ah.