Islamic business contracts may have different classifications based on various criteria. For example, from an Islamic legal perspective, contracts are divided into two main categories:

• bilateral contracts
• unilateral contracts

Unilateral contracts comprise transactions that favor the recipient, such as gifts (hadiah, hibah), debt offset (ibra), wills (wasiyyat), endowments (waqf), and loans (qard). While bilateral contracts are bound by strict rulings and guidelines and require the consent of both parties, unilateral contracts are gratuitous in character and do not require the recipient's consent.

Although contracts in Islamic law are classified into different categories, the fundamental types in many cases and situations are those of:

• exchange
• utilization of usufruct

The exchange contract presupposes the transfer of ownership, while the latter involves the transfer of the usufruct of a property from one party to another. In Islamic law, a sale is defined as 'the exchange of one commodity for another, one of which is called the object and the other the price,' or 'the transfer of ownership of property for another.' Hire, or 'ijarah', is defined as the transfer of usufruct for a consideration. These two contracts constitute the main activities of business operations because the remaining contracts are largely dependent on them. This means that these two contracts can generally be concluded between two parties without needing additional supporting agreements. For example, debt transfer (hiwalah), guarantee (kafalah), and collateral (rahn) cannot stand independently, as they all rely on a foundational contract of sale or lease/hire. 

From the nature of the profit agreed upon in the contract, the nature of the price, and other approaches, the same fundamental Islamic business contracts may be known under different names, though the underlying objectives and principles of the contract remain unchanged. For example, in sales contracts: a contract with a markup on the price of goods is called 'Murabahah,' a sale where there is no initial cost for the goods is called 'Musawama', and from the nature of a sale with deferred payment is called 'Bai' Mu'ajjal’, etc.

Based on the principles of transaction, the types of Islamic business contracts can be classified as follows:

1. Exchange Principle:

• Murabahah: Cost-plus sale.
• Salam: An agreement for future delivery of goods (usually used in agriculture and the extraction of minerals).
• Istisna: An agreement for future delivery of goods or assets (commonly used in manufacturing and construction).

2. Profit and Loss Sharing Principle:

• Mudarabah: A partnership agreement (investment capital management).
• Musharaka: A partnership agreement (joint ventures).

3. Leasing Principle:

• Ijara: Leasing agreement.

4. Fee-Based Principle:

• Wakala: An agency agreement with a fixed fee.
• Ju'alah: An agreement for rendering services for a fee.

5. No-Fee Principle:

• Qard al-Hasan: Interest-free loan.

6. Security or back-up principle for Contract:

• Kafala: Third-party guarantee.
• Rahn: Collateral.
• Hawala: Transfer of obligations or rights regarding debt.