Securities known as "Sukuk" in international financial markets, issued in accordance with Islamic principles, were developed as a halal alternative to bonds, which are medium- and long-term funding instruments in the conventional financial system.

The yield on bonds and bills in the modern financial system is interest (riba), which is strictly prohibited in Islam. Lease certificates (Sukuks) offer a halal income opportunity based on the principle of generating income through ownership, thus avoiding this interest.

The basic operating principle of a lease certificate (Sukuk) is that the investor owns a specific asset for a specific period and receives income from the cash flow (rent, dividends, etc.) generated by the asset during this period. This necessitates that the issuance and operating processes of a lease certificate differ from traditional debt instruments.

Lease certificates (Sukuk), a relatively new product in financial markets, were first officially defined in 1988 by the Fiqh Board of the Organization of Islamic Conference. Since then, they have been used as an interest-free alternative to bonds in global markets, particularly in Islamic countries. While there were limited examples previously, lease certificate issuances in Türkiye made a significant start with the issuance by the Treasury in 2012. Today, lease certificates are widely used in both public finance and private sector financing through participation banks operating on the principle of interest-free financing.

The prohibition of interest in the Islamic financial system necessitates the development and implementation of alternatives to interest-based models in all areas of life. The purpose of this study is to examine in detail the historical development of lease certificate (Sukuk) issuances, which are critical to the implementation of the Islamic economic model, globally and particularly in Türkiye.

Using data published by the public and private sectors, the evolution of lease certificate use in Turkey over the past thirteen years will be analyzed and whether these interest-free instruments are being used as a genuine alternative to interest-bearing debt instruments. The analysis results aim to reveal the development of lease certificates and the steps needed to ensure their wider use in the future.