Financial transactions
Riba
Halal and haram
Prohibitions and alternatives
A simple guide to working out your zakat Checklist identify the date you first reached nisab (your zakat start date) one lunar year later, total your zakatable assets (cash, gold/silver, shares as applicable, business inventory as applicable) subtract immediate debts that are actually due (and apply your chosen view on longer-term debts consistently) if you…
The general principle of prompt burial The starting principle in Islamic law is that the deceased should be buried without unnecessary delay. The Prophet ﷺ said: «أَسْرِعُوا بِالْجَنَازَةِ» “Hasten with the funeral.” (Agreed upon) This hadith establishes that burial should not be postponed without need. The scholars understood from this that delaying burial for emotional…
If you are licked by a dog, what are the rulings regarding cleaning the saliva? The Prophet ﷺ said: طَهُورُ إِنَاءِ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا وَلَغَ فِيهِ الْكَلْبُ أَنْ يُغْسَلَ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ أُولَاهُنَّ بِالتُّرَابِ “The purification of the vessel of one of you when a dog licks it is to wash it seven times, the first of…
What is ghusl? Ghusl is the full ritual bath required in Islam to lift major impurity and enter a state of purity. It is not simply washing for physical cleanliness but a spiritual purification, preparing the believer to stand before Allah in a state of dignity and purity. When ghusl becomes obligatory Ghusl becomes required…
Umrah is a highly rewarded act of worship performed by entering the state of ihram, completing tawaf around the Kaʿbah, praying two rakʿahs, performing saʿi between Safa and Marwah, and finally trimming or shaving the hair. This guide is written to be practical, simple to follow, and based on mainstream Sunni fiqh. The pillars and…
The fiqh of dual residents Imagine you live part of the year in London and part of the year in Karachi, or you split your life between your parents’ house in one city and your own flat in another. When you go from one to the other, are you a traveller (musafir) in the shariʿah…
Contemporary practice of mudaraba In modern settings, the most common example of mudaraba (profit sharing) is when you deposit money into an Islamic bank. The bank acts as the mudarib, investing the money in Sharia-compliant ventures, while you, the depositor, are the rabb al-mal. You remain a silent partner, and the bank conducts the business….
Introduction to Mudaraba In this section, we will explore the contract of mudaraba, following the sequence of Imam al-Ghazali, in his renowned work Ihya Ulum al-Din, particularly in the section about al-kasb (earning). Imam al-Ghazali divided earning into six common contracts that people frequently use in business transactions. We have already discussed most of them,…
Are string instruments permissible in Islam? The permissibility of music In Islam, any ruling of prohibition has to be based on authentic evidence and clear meaning. In music there is no such evidence, so we can’t pronounce it haram. The use and the accompanied actions might be haram, that’s a different discussion. If a…
Continuing the series, Seeking the Halal, the Ijarah contract is the fifth type of contract, based on Imam al-Ghazali’s categorisation in Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din, in Kitab al-Kasb (The Book of Lawful Earning). Imam al-Ghazali divided the subject of earnings into six main types of contracts, around which most forms of trade and business revolve. We have…
Istisnaʿ is a sale contract where a buyer (the mustasniʿ) requests a manufacturer or seller (saniʿ) to produce or construct a specific item according to agreed specifications, for an agreed price and delivery time. In the previous session, we mentioned that the salam contract originally began in an agricultural society. Farmers usually lacked cash…
Seeking halal earnings (part 6) – The Salam contract As part of our series on finance, we will look at one of the forms of contracts. In this, I am following Imam al-Ghazali, in his book Iḥyaʾ ʿUlum al-Din. He has a section that speaks about halal earnings, and under that he mentioned the common…
Surrogacy in Islam The issue of surrogacy has been considered by Islamic scholars. Within Shiʿa thought, some jurists view surrogacy as a form of assisted reproduction that can help couples struggling to conceive naturally. In contrast, the vast majority of Sunni scholars have ruled that surrogacy is entirely prohibited (haram) in Islam, and thus not…
Snakes in Islam Snakes are generally considered ḥarām (forbidden) to eat because they are predatory and harmful. However, clothing and leather rulings are not always the same as food rulings. Leather and tanning The Prophet ﷺ said: “Any hide that is tanned becomes pure.” (Sahih Muslim) Many scholars (especially in the Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi’i…
The difference between conventional and Islamic mortgages For Muslims, one of the greatest financial challenges of our time, is purchasing a home without falling into riba (interest), which is strictly prohibited in Islam. Conventional mortgages are based on interest-bearing loans, while Islamic banks and financial institutions offer alternatives that aim to comply with Shariah. Among…