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May 12, 2022
Investors who have been active in the securities market for past few years are now sitting on substantial capital gains on some stocks. Every trade of […]
February 14, 2021
Published by admin on February 14, 2021
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This post compares Living Trusts vs. Wills. The post was authored for us by Ms. Eman Patricia Katbi. She is a licensed attorney and a licensed […]
February 8, 2021
Published by admin on February 8, 2021
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This is a zakah calculation spreadsheet which allows you to calculate zakah based on various fiqh positions on investment portfolios. This was developed by Dr. Zillur […]
January 25, 2021
Published by admin on January 25, 2021
Categories
Ethical investors are curious about Sharia position on stock options trading. As we mentioned in an article a couple of years ago, “Some scholars have allowed […]
April 9, 2020
Published by admin on April 9, 2020
Categories
As Ramadan approaches, Muslims assess their savings to calculate zakat they have to pay the poor. General information on Fiqh issues of zakat is available across […]
April 7, 2020
Published by admin on April 7, 2020
Categories
All securities investments carry the risk of loss. The risk and return are directly related. Higher risk usually results in higher return. The goal is to […]
October 24, 2018
Published by admin on October 24, 2018
Categories
Once you have decided to follow ethical investing guidelines, the next step is to select the assets to invest in. It would have been easy to […]
October 23, 2018
Published by admin on October 23, 2018
Categories
Since Muslims do not want to deal with interest, the discussion on compounding hardly ever comes up. Usually, compounding is always mentioned in the context of […]
October 10, 2018
There are four major players in the US for Sharia Compliant Financing. Riba free or interest free does not mean there is no cost to borrowing. […]
August 31, 2018
Corporate Governance is a prerequisite for promotion of growth and competition in the financial services industry. It protects both customers and investors. Takaful provides an Islamic […]
August 25, 2018
Conventional insurance companies collect premiums from policyholders and assume from them the risks of insured losses. There is always a risk of insolvency for the insurance […]
August 20, 2018
General Takaful provides protection for non-life matters such as fire, home, automobile, liability, marine, crops, and various business matters. General Takaful contracts are usually one year […]
August 18, 2018
Muslim jurists and Shari’ah scholars have objected to life insurance schemes as life and death is ordained by Allah and cannot be insured. Further, conventional life […]
August 10, 2018
The evolution of Takaful is a relatively new phenomenon in Islamic Finance and comparatively less research has been done on this topic. All Takaful business models […]
August 5, 2018
The Takaful agreement is similar to other standard contracts requiring contracting parties, legal capacities, offer and acceptance, consideration, subject matter, insurable interest, and good faith. However, […]
August 1, 2018
There was no direct equivalent of insurance in classical Islamic traditions. Since Insurance is about risk mitigation, the scholars had to look for equivalent strategies in […]
June 30, 2018
The banks converting from conventional to Islamic banking can continue to have demand and time deposits with different maturities. The main difference is that no interest […]
June 1, 2018
Islamic banking provides financial services to both Muslims and non-Muslims. In that sense, it is similar to a conventional bank and requires meticulous studies of banking […]
May 20, 2018
The following are the accounting definitions in a general conceptual framework of an Islamic bank’s financial statements. Assets An asset is defined as having possession of […]
May 15, 2018
Conventional accounting provides information related to financial position, operations, and cash flows about an entity to allow interested parties to make informed decisions about the entity. […]
May 5, 2018
Published by admin on May 5, 2018
Categories
Shari’ah Boards perform the all-important role of reviewing, approving, and overseeing the services and transaction of an Islamic bank. The boards consist of recognized scholars who […]
May 1, 2018
Published by admin on May 1, 2018
Categories
A functioning economy requires a stable and reliable banking and financial services sector. Banks cannot be relegated to a totally laissez-faire market where all transactions are […]
April 1, 2018
Published by admin on April 1, 2018
Categories
Sukuk are Islamic equivalent of fixed income bonds found in the western markets. Shari’ah scholars have varying opinions about legitimacy of Sukuk structure in Islam. This […]
March 31, 2018
Published by admin on March 31, 2018
Categories
Islamic funds maintain a committee of scholars who work independent of the fund managers and advise the managers about Shari’ah compliance of various securities. The opinion […]
March 30, 2018
Published by admin on March 30, 2018
Categories
A Western Ethical Fund invests in companies based on certain principles which include positive contribution to the world and avoids those companies which are harmful. Before […]
March 30, 2018
Published by admin on March 30, 2018
Categories
Shari’ah scholars are almost unanimous in approval of investing in equity shares of joint stock companies as long as these companies are not involved in any […]
March 20, 2018
Published by admin on March 20, 2018
Categories
Venture capital (VC) companies and funding mechanism have much similarity to Mudarabah and Musharakah Islamic investment contracts offered through Islamic banks. Both VC and Islamic banks […]
March 10, 2018
Published by admin on March 10, 2018
Categories
The essence of financial engineering (FE) is to develop products to address the need of times and help in the growth of economy. The evolution of […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Derivatives are innovative products designed by financial experts to control or exploit the risks of trading. Derivatives track market prices like interest rates, foreign exchange rates, […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Islamic equity investments are very similar to socially responsible investments where a set of guidelines determines which companies meet the criteria for investment. In case of […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Islamic approach to capital market requires adherence to Shari’ah principles. Most of the financial instruments in conventional markets involve interest, unfruitful speculation (Gharar) or even wagering […]
February 20, 2018
Central banks are important building block of the financial economy of a country or a group of countries. They are responsible for managing the money supply, […]
February 20, 2018
fees charged by Islamic banks Islamic banks cannot deal in interest yet they are for profit institutions and have to remain competitive against their conventional counterparts. […]
February 20, 2018
Many international transactions require exchange of foreign currencies. The transactions could be related to travelers’ checks, cash, drafts, drafts, fund transfers, remittances, investments, or trade. In […]
February 20, 2018
Letters of Credit (L/C) are commonly used documents in international trade. L/C is a form for guarantee by the bank to the exporter or seller that […]
February 20, 2018
LIBOR as a bench-mark Since Islamic banking is centered on the avoidance of riba or interest based transactions, any mention or reference to interest raises doubts. […]
February 16, 2018
Credit cards are an essential element of modern life and Islamic banks have to provide this service in order to stay competitive. Most credit cards allow […]
February 16, 2018
Mudarabah or profit and loss sharing account is a common feature of Islamic banking. The customer provides the capital and the bank acts as the Mudarib […]
February 16, 2018
Islamic banks provide current accounts for customers to safeguard their cash and to pay for their day to day life expenses. This cash is a trust […]
February 16, 2018
Although Islamic banks cannot provide interest based accounts with fixed incomes, there are products available which provide fixed or quasi-fixed incomes without compromising Shari’ah principles. Islam […]
February 15, 2018
Commercial banks are important pillars of the modern economy. They serve as the intermediaries for the financial system. The banks are “for profit” organizations and generate […]
February 15, 2018
The central banks manage the fiscal policy of a state or group of states. They control the money supply and supervise the activities of member banks. […]
February 15, 2018
The commercial and investment banks had operated in their independent domains for a good part of the twentieth century. The former catered to individuals and businesses […]
February 11, 2018
Islamic banks use many other accessory contracts including Wakalah, Jua’lah, Tawarruq, Kafalah, Rahn, Hawalah, Istijrar, Amanah, Wadiah, and Hibah. Ju’alah is a reward or payment for […]
February 10, 2018
The instrument of Ijarah brings Shari’ah compliance to the traditional lease contracts of commercial institutions. Elements of Riba or gharar present in many lease contracts make […]
February 10, 2018
Salam is a cash sales agreement where the seller promises to provide the buyer with an agreed product at a future date in exchange for an […]
February 6, 2018
Both traditional and Islamic banks have to deal with short term cash issues. They either have too much cash which needs to be invested to […]
February 5, 2018
Murabaha is an instrument where the bank acquires a product upon request from the customer and sells it at an agreed upon profit. This is an […]
February 5, 2018
Mudarabah and Musharakah are the preferred methods of interest-free financing. However, they are not well suited for modern day acquisition of property and other tangible assets. […]
February 3, 2018
Qard is any kind of loan given by one party to the other and which is due back to the lender within an agreed upon contract. […]
May 12, 2022
Investors who have been active in the securities market for past few years are now sitting on substantial capital gains on some stocks. Every trade of […]
February 14, 2021
Published by admin on February 14, 2021
Categories
This post compares Living Trusts vs. Wills. The post was authored for us by Ms. Eman Patricia Katbi. She is a licensed attorney and a licensed […]
February 8, 2021
Published by admin on February 8, 2021
Categories
This is a zakah calculation spreadsheet which allows you to calculate zakah based on various fiqh positions on investment portfolios. This was developed by Dr. Zillur […]
January 25, 2021
Published by admin on January 25, 2021
Categories
Ethical investors are curious about Sharia position on stock options trading. As we mentioned in an article a couple of years ago, “Some scholars have allowed […]
April 9, 2020
Published by admin on April 9, 2020
Categories
As Ramadan approaches, Muslims assess their savings to calculate zakat they have to pay the poor. General information on Fiqh issues of zakat is available across […]
April 7, 2020
Published by admin on April 7, 2020
Categories
All securities investments carry the risk of loss. The risk and return are directly related. Higher risk usually results in higher return. The goal is to […]
October 24, 2018
Published by admin on October 24, 2018
Categories
Once you have decided to follow ethical investing guidelines, the next step is to select the assets to invest in. It would have been easy to […]
October 23, 2018
Published by admin on October 23, 2018
Categories
Since Muslims do not want to deal with interest, the discussion on compounding hardly ever comes up. Usually, compounding is always mentioned in the context of […]
October 10, 2018
There are four major players in the US for Sharia Compliant Financing. Riba free or interest free does not mean there is no cost to borrowing. […]
August 31, 2018
Corporate Governance is a prerequisite for promotion of growth and competition in the financial services industry. It protects both customers and investors. Takaful provides an Islamic […]
August 25, 2018
Conventional insurance companies collect premiums from policyholders and assume from them the risks of insured losses. There is always a risk of insolvency for the insurance […]
August 20, 2018
General Takaful provides protection for non-life matters such as fire, home, automobile, liability, marine, crops, and various business matters. General Takaful contracts are usually one year […]
August 18, 2018
Muslim jurists and Shari’ah scholars have objected to life insurance schemes as life and death is ordained by Allah and cannot be insured. Further, conventional life […]
August 10, 2018
The evolution of Takaful is a relatively new phenomenon in Islamic Finance and comparatively less research has been done on this topic. All Takaful business models […]
August 5, 2018
The Takaful agreement is similar to other standard contracts requiring contracting parties, legal capacities, offer and acceptance, consideration, subject matter, insurable interest, and good faith. However, […]
August 1, 2018
There was no direct equivalent of insurance in classical Islamic traditions. Since Insurance is about risk mitigation, the scholars had to look for equivalent strategies in […]
June 30, 2018
The banks converting from conventional to Islamic banking can continue to have demand and time deposits with different maturities. The main difference is that no interest […]
June 1, 2018
Islamic banking provides financial services to both Muslims and non-Muslims. In that sense, it is similar to a conventional bank and requires meticulous studies of banking […]
May 20, 2018
The following are the accounting definitions in a general conceptual framework of an Islamic bank’s financial statements. Assets An asset is defined as having possession of […]
May 15, 2018
Conventional accounting provides information related to financial position, operations, and cash flows about an entity to allow interested parties to make informed decisions about the entity. […]
May 5, 2018
Published by admin on May 5, 2018
Categories
Shari’ah Boards perform the all-important role of reviewing, approving, and overseeing the services and transaction of an Islamic bank. The boards consist of recognized scholars who […]
May 1, 2018
Published by admin on May 1, 2018
Categories
A functioning economy requires a stable and reliable banking and financial services sector. Banks cannot be relegated to a totally laissez-faire market where all transactions are […]
April 1, 2018
Published by admin on April 1, 2018
Categories
Sukuk are Islamic equivalent of fixed income bonds found in the western markets. Shari’ah scholars have varying opinions about legitimacy of Sukuk structure in Islam. This […]
March 31, 2018
Published by admin on March 31, 2018
Categories
Islamic funds maintain a committee of scholars who work independent of the fund managers and advise the managers about Shari’ah compliance of various securities. The opinion […]
March 30, 2018
Published by admin on March 30, 2018
Categories
A Western Ethical Fund invests in companies based on certain principles which include positive contribution to the world and avoids those companies which are harmful. Before […]
March 30, 2018
Published by admin on March 30, 2018
Categories
Shari’ah scholars are almost unanimous in approval of investing in equity shares of joint stock companies as long as these companies are not involved in any […]
March 20, 2018
Published by admin on March 20, 2018
Categories
Venture capital (VC) companies and funding mechanism have much similarity to Mudarabah and Musharakah Islamic investment contracts offered through Islamic banks. Both VC and Islamic banks […]
March 10, 2018
Published by admin on March 10, 2018
Categories
The essence of financial engineering (FE) is to develop products to address the need of times and help in the growth of economy. The evolution of […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Derivatives are innovative products designed by financial experts to control or exploit the risks of trading. Derivatives track market prices like interest rates, foreign exchange rates, […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Islamic equity investments are very similar to socially responsible investments where a set of guidelines determines which companies meet the criteria for investment. In case of […]
March 1, 2018
Published by admin on March 1, 2018
Categories
Islamic approach to capital market requires adherence to Shari’ah principles. Most of the financial instruments in conventional markets involve interest, unfruitful speculation (Gharar) or even wagering […]
February 20, 2018
Central banks are important building block of the financial economy of a country or a group of countries. They are responsible for managing the money supply, […]
February 20, 2018
fees charged by Islamic banks Islamic banks cannot deal in interest yet they are for profit institutions and have to remain competitive against their conventional counterparts. […]
February 20, 2018
Many international transactions require exchange of foreign currencies. The transactions could be related to travelers’ checks, cash, drafts, drafts, fund transfers, remittances, investments, or trade. In […]
February 20, 2018
Letters of Credit (L/C) are commonly used documents in international trade. L/C is a form for guarantee by the bank to the exporter or seller that […]
February 20, 2018
LIBOR as a bench-mark Since Islamic banking is centered on the avoidance of riba or interest based transactions, any mention or reference to interest raises doubts. […]
February 16, 2018
Credit cards are an essential element of modern life and Islamic banks have to provide this service in order to stay competitive. Most credit cards allow […]
February 16, 2018
Mudarabah or profit and loss sharing account is a common feature of Islamic banking. The customer provides the capital and the bank acts as the Mudarib […]
February 16, 2018
Islamic banks provide current accounts for customers to safeguard their cash and to pay for their day to day life expenses. This cash is a trust […]
February 16, 2018
Although Islamic banks cannot provide interest based accounts with fixed incomes, there are products available which provide fixed or quasi-fixed incomes without compromising Shari’ah principles. Islam […]
February 15, 2018
Commercial banks are important pillars of the modern economy. They serve as the intermediaries for the financial system. The banks are “for profit” organizations and generate […]
February 15, 2018
The central banks manage the fiscal policy of a state or group of states. They control the money supply and supervise the activities of member banks. […]
February 15, 2018
The commercial and investment banks had operated in their independent domains for a good part of the twentieth century. The former catered to individuals and businesses […]
February 11, 2018
Islamic banks use many other accessory contracts including Wakalah, Jua’lah, Tawarruq, Kafalah, Rahn, Hawalah, Istijrar, Amanah, Wadiah, and Hibah. Ju’alah is a reward or payment for […]
February 10, 2018
The instrument of Ijarah brings Shari’ah compliance to the traditional lease contracts of commercial institutions. Elements of Riba or gharar present in many lease contracts make […]
February 10, 2018
Salam is a cash sales agreement where the seller promises to provide the buyer with an agreed product at a future date in exchange for an […]
February 6, 2018
Both traditional and Islamic banks have to deal with short term cash issues. They either have too much cash which needs to be invested to […]
February 5, 2018
Murabaha is an instrument where the bank acquires a product upon request from the customer and sells it at an agreed upon profit. This is an […]
February 5, 2018
Mudarabah and Musharakah are the preferred methods of interest-free financing. However, they are not well suited for modern day acquisition of property and other tangible assets. […]
February 3, 2018
Qard is any kind of loan given by one party to the other and which is due back to the lender within an agreed upon contract. […]
February 2, 2018
Indexation is a part of financial contract where the amount due is adjusted for the change in value of currency based on a defined index. In […]
February 2, 2018
The Arabic Qard and Dayn usually translate to “loan” and “debt” in English, however, these terms are also used interchangeably. The Islamic banks follow the Shari’ah […]
January 31, 2018
The need for cash for personal use is a genuine necessity of modern living and Islamic banks have developed innovative ways to provide such cash. Bai […]
January 30, 2018
Islamic Shari’ah is a rational and just code which is flexible enough to be interpreted according to needs of the time. It promotes trading as long […]
January 30, 2018
The famous command in the Quran from Chapter 2, Verse 275, “Allah has permitted trade and prohibited riba” encourages Muslims to be involved in trade and […]
January 25, 2018
As Islamic banking has evolved over last few decades, the scholars and bankers have had to develop Shari’ah-compliant products which offer means of conducting riba-free transactions. […]
January 25, 2018
The traditional banks serve the important role of financial intermediaries to pool the resources from many small investors to finance large capital projects. This role is […]
January 20, 2018
Islamic economics is governed by Islamic beliefs. The sources of beliefs include, in order, Quran (revealed scripture), Hadith (traditions of the Prophet (pbuh)), Ijma (consensus of […]
January 19, 2018
The Quranic term “riba” means usury or more commonly used term, interest, in modern economics. Riba is a gain in monetary or physical assets without providing […]
January 15, 2018
The Arabic term Gharar is translated as uncertainty, risk, speculation or hazard. Islamic anticipates the inherent uncertainty and risk of business transactions. Gharar refers to speculative […]
January 10, 2018
Islamic economics is governed by the principles of Sahri’ah and Sharia’h is mainly concerned with human welfare. Islam is complete way of life and accounts for […]
December 7, 2017
Islam is often called the natural religion. While it promotes individual freedoms to maximize human potential, it regulates economic activities under divine principles ensure justice in […]