<![CDATA[The formalization of Islamic finance in Aceh under Qanun No. 11 of 2018 transformed the province’s formal financial system and strengthened the institutionalization of Sharia-compliant financial practices. Yet the extent to which this formalization provides practical financial inclusion for vulnerable groups remains insufficiently understood. This study examines how grassroots communities and micro-enterprises experience access to formal Islamic financing and how these experiences relate to illegal digital lending. Using a qualitative field-study design, the research was conducted in selected suburban communities in Aceh Besar and Pidie through semi-structured interviews with 18 informants and institutional stakeholders, focus group discussions, and documentary analysis. The findings indicate that formalizing Sharia finance has not necessarily ensured practical financial inclusion. Collateral requirements, administrative procedures, repayment-capacity assessments, and mismatches between formal financing mechanisms and informal economic activities constrained access for some vulnerable borrowers. These conditions were associated with a financing gap in which illegal digital lending emerged as an accessible, albeit problematic, source of liquidity. Borrowers remained aware of the religious concerns surrounding interest-based lending, while their accounts are interpreted through ḍarūrah as a lens for understanding financial decisions made under perceived necessity. Drawing on Merton’s structural strain theory, the study conceptualizes this tension as the Sharia Paradox and extends anomie theory into the analysis of Islamic financial governance.]]>
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