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Is Crypto Halal? (2026) – Research Paper
In late June 2026, at the direction of Shaykh al-Islam Mufti Taqi Uthmani (Ḥafiẓahullah), I was invited by the Darul Iftaa Committee of Darul Uloom Karachi to present research on the Sharīʿah classification of digital assets…
SAFE Notes from a Shariah Perspective
Introduction Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs) are frequently mischaracterised as loans (qard). That is not accurate. A SAFE has no repayment obligation…
The 1,400-Year-Old Blockchain: Isnad
No code. No miners. No gas fees. Just rigour. Long before anyone hashed a block, Muslim scholars engineered a human protocol for truth: Isnād—the named chain of…
Kafalah: the trust engine of markets
What is Kafālah? Kafālah is a Sharīʿah-based guarantee in which a third party voluntarily adds their liability to that of the principal debtor, so the creditor may…
New Essay: Making Sense of Riba
This essay presents a comprehensive exploration of the prohibition of Riba, situating it within the broader framework of Islamic legal and economic philosophy…
Income Sharing Agreements: A Sharia Compliant Revelation or a Departure from Sharia Principles?
Introduction Income Share Agreements (ISAs) are a type of alternative financing arrangement. These agreements are financial structures in which an individual or…
The Impact of Inflation
Inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the general price level rises, each…
Sharia Thoughts on Brand Acquisition and Brand as an Asset
Introduction Branding is one of the core features of today’s companies as it is the brand which gives identity, look, and feel. As the saying goes, “People buy…
Designing a Transformative Programme with Islamic Social Finance Instruments
Introduction One of the hallmarks of Islam is the prominence of social finance. The early revelation is categoric and clear on two elements: duty to Allah and duty…
The Convergence of Institutional Islamic Finance and Grassroots Islamic Finance
It is common to read about the Islamic Finance industry worth over £3 trillion USD, with Islamic banking having the lion’s share of the market; According to…
The Shariah Breaches of Preference Shares
Definition of a Preference Share Preference shares are shares that rank above other share types and classes in terms of dividends or capital but have restricted…
How to Structure a Shariah Compliant Convertible Note
Data compiled in the last couple of years suggests that the start-up economy is worth over $3 trillion USD. This roughly equates to the GDP of the G7[1]. Start-ups…
12 Characteristics of Money from the Lens of Shariah
Money is not just something which concerns Islam and Muslims, it is something which is a universal concern. Every human of every economy is impacted by the medium…
Combining Business and Hajj, Profit and Spirit
The greatest days of the year are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. The Prophet (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) said: ‘There is no day more honourable in Allah’s…
An Exploration of the Meanings of Riba in the Qur’an | Riba Exposed Series – 3
The word Riba is constructed of three root letters, namely Ra, Ba and Waw. Interestingly, the word for profit in Arabic is Ribh, which is constructed of three root…
Sifting Through The Crypto Junk
According to CoinMarketCap’s data, there are nearly 20,000 cryptos in circulation and 527 exchanges[1]. Based on this data, an average of 22 cryptocurrencies…
Simplified Shariah Structures Guide: Salam
In this simple guide, we will look at the following: What is Salam? Benefits of Salam Key terms of Salam Key requirements of Salam Contemporary Applications of…
Reimagining Shariah Governance for Emerging Technologies and Innovative Products
Product development and innovation is key to continuous growth and wider delivery of Islamic financial services. Often, creativity is impeded or restricted out of…
Zakat vs Riba | Riba Exposed Series – 2
Two forces have been at odds since the beginning of time; the forces of good and the forces of evil. These battles are manifest in every arena of life, including…
Shariah Controls on Crypto Market Manipulation
The Crypto industry is prone to manipulation and exposed to fraudulent activity. Due to the unregulated nature of such markets at present, there is much more…
Price: A Divine Manifestation
The Role of the Market The sale of goods and services is central to the market. That particular exchange is what markets are all about. The market plays a vital…
Integrating Blockchain in Islamic Finance
Blockchain is called blockchain because data is stored in blocks and the data is connected in a chain. A very simple explanation is that blockchain is a digital…
Creating a Waqf-Based Economy: The Inter-Mosque Money Market
Imagine the impact of a network of a thousand mosques, each of which had one million pounds in assets under management, giving a combined market value of one…
Can we Really Understand Riba? | Riba Exposed Series – 1
This is part one of several posts to be released breaking down Riba piece by piece. The more we dwell and ponder on the Shariah framework and principles, the more…
Designing a Shariah-compliant Metaverse
Defining the Metaverse Metaverse is a combination of the prefix “meta”, meaning beyond, and “universe”. A simple way to appreciate ‘the…
Shariah Decryption of Real, Financial and Digital Assets
With the advancement in technology and finance over the centuries, the world has seen the growth of different forms of assets. Real assets were something the world…
Shariah Principles of Royalties in NFTs
Introduction to Royalties Royalties are payments to owners of property for use of that property. Royalties often deal with payments for the right to use…
Simplified Shariah Structures Guide: Mudaraba
In this simple guide, we will look at the following: What is Mudaraba? Key requirements of Mudaraba Applications of Mudaraba 1. What is Mudaraba? Mudaraba is a…
Understanding Ownership and Possession in NFTs from a Shariah Perspective
NFTs Recap An NFT is a secure, blockchain-based certificate that represents an entitlement its owner has to a (usually) digital or physical asset (eg artwork or…
The Anatomy of NFTs from a Shariah Perspective
Introduction to NFTs NFT is short for Non-Fungible Tokens. An NFT is a secure, blockchain-based certificate that represents an entitlement its owner has to a…
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: The First Teacher and Practitioner in Islamic Finance
Introduction The most beloved personality is the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He is unlike any other human being. He is the final messenger of Allah and the noblest…
Is Gold the Currency of Islam?
The Dinar is typically referred to as the ‘currency of Islam’. The idea stems from the fact that the initial currency minted by an Islamic government was that of…
What can Islamic Finance learn from Hajj?
Everything in Islam is related; the different pillars all have connections. There are patterns within Islam that appear the more you observe and the more you…
Asset, Service, Right or Debt? | Fiqh Series
This article is part of our Fiqh blog series which aims to discuss more advanced subjects relating to Islamic Finance and Fiqh al-Mu’amalat. This blog piece…
Dropshipping: the Halal and Shariah compliant way
By Mufti Faraz Adam and Suleman Muhammad Ali, Head of Products Muzn Islamic Bank A lot has been written on dropshipping and the Shariah concerns about it. Yet…
Simplified Shariah Structures Guide: Murabaha
In this simplified guide, we will discuss the following: What a Murabaha is Key principles of a Murabaha structure The typical process of a Murabaha Applications of…
Defining Islamic Fintech
In this short article, we want to simply define Islamic Fintech not from a user perspective, but rather from its linguistic roots. Why is it called Islamic? and…
Simplified Shariah Structures Guide: Ijarah
In this simple guide, we will look at the following: What is Ijarah? Key requirements of Ijarah Applications of Ijarah 1. What is Ijarah? Ijarah is simply a Shariah…
Why is there extensive regulation on lending in Islamic Finance?
Qard (loan agreements) is not a very common product provided to customers of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) bar some products such as Ujrah-based credit…
Simplified Shariah Guide on Timeshares
This simplified guide looks at timesharing and the Shariah considerations of the different forms of timesharing. What is time-sharing? Timeshare allows a person to…
Shariah Dynamics of SAFE Agreements
Summary: We believe that generic SAFE agreements have a level of Gharar (uncertainty) and ambiguity in terms of the treatment of the investment for Shariah…
Does Shariah Compliant Mean Ethical?
A debate regularly emerges on the issue of ethics and Shari’a compliance. Start-ups grapple with the issue and wonder whether to use both or either of them. Some…
NFTs: Shariah Compliant?
What are NFTs? One of latest hypes in the crypto-space is Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs are described as a special type of token that represents a unique asset.…
My Thoughts on Crypto-assets
by Mufti Faraz Adam, Amanah Advisors from the book “Introduction to Islamic Fintech” The Nature of Crypto-assets My personal view regarding crypto-assets is that…
Islamic Finance in One Principle
The Islamic Finance industry is a thriving US $3 trillion industry. It spans across several sectors such as banking, capital markets, insurance and…
The 5 Highs and 5 Lows of being a Shariah Advisor
Being a Shariah advisor can be a dream career for many; I mean, you are engaged daily in matters of Shariah, learning, teaching and promoting Islamic Finance. You…
The Obsession with Possession in Islamic Finance
In almost all contemporary Islamic Finance structures and products, a fair amount of attention is given to how assets are being possessed, transferred and how the…
The Life of a Transaction in Islamic Finance
I often describe the sale item or the subject matter of a contract as the ‘heart’ of a transaction; everything revolves around the sale item and it is central to a…
Making Sense of the 30% Rule in Islamic Finance
To determine the Shariah compliance of an equity investment, a company’s business and financials are screened. Investors commonly ask the nature and evidence behind…
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