Socio-Economic Disparities

The Sachar Committee Report (2006) highlighted the socio-economic backwardness of Muslims in India. Despite constituting about 14% of the population, Muslims held only 7.4% of bank deposits and received just 4.7% of bank credit. This disparity limits their ability to access institutional credit for significant endeavors, such as starting businesses or pursuing higher education, thereby affecting their representation in business and wealth accumulation.

A 2015 analysis by the ET Intelligence Group of the BSE 500 companies further revealed that Muslim representation in director and top executive positions was a mere 2.67%, indicating a significant underrepresentation in corporate leadership.

Further, Muslims hold only 9.2% of gold assets, compared to 31% held by Hindu high castes and 39% by OBCs, highlighting their limited access to collateral for financial transactions.

Theological Foundations of Islamic Finance

Islamic finance is grounded in principles that promote justice, welfare, and ethical economic practices. Central to these principles is the prohibition of ‘riba’ (interest), as it is considered exploitative and unjust.

“Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, “Trade is [just] like interest.” But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] – those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 2;275]

“O you who have believed, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied, but fear Allah that you may be successful.” [Surah ‘Ali-Imran: 3;130]

Instead, Islamic finance encourages (1) asset-backed transactions:

Narrated by Hakim b. Hizam :  “I asked Messenger of Allah , I said: ‘A man came to me asking to buy something that I did not have. Can I buy it from the market for him and then give it to him?’ He said: ‘Do not sell what is not with you.'” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1232]

(2) profit and loss sharing:

Narrated ‘Urwah Al-Bariqi: “The Messenger of Allah gave me on Dinar to purchase a sheep for him. So I purchased two sheeps for him, and I sold one of them for a Dinar. So I returned with the sheep and the Dinar to the Prophet , and I mentioned what had happened and he said: ‘May Allah bless you in your business dealings.’ After that we went to Kunasah in Al-Kufah, and he made tremendous profits. He was among the wealthiest of the people in Al-Kufah.” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1258],

Wealth in Islam is viewed as a means to promote circulation and mutual support,

Legal and Institutional Challenges

The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, forms the backbone of India’s banking system, which is predominantly interest-based. This framework presents challenges for integrating Islamic finance, which operates on principles contrary to interest-based lending.

Various committees have examined the feasibility of Islamic banking in India. The Anand Sinha Committee (2005) deemed it incompatible within the existing legal framework, while the Raghuram Rajan Committee (2008) acknowledged that interest-free banking could provide financial access to excluded communities. However, in 2017, the proposal for Islamic banking was rejected, citing the need for equal opportunities for all citizens.

International Models and Secularism Concerns

Countries like the UK and Germany have implemented faith-based banking models, providing services that align with Islamic principles. Similarly, Muslim-majority nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia have successfully integrated Islamic banks alongside conventional ones, demonstrating that dual systems can coexist.

Critics argue that introducing Islamic banking in India could challenge secularism by creating a parallel economy. However, India already accommodates religious diversity in its economic and legal systems—such as Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) accounts enjoying tax benefits and the operation of Muslim personal law and waqf boards. Therefore, allowing financial models that address the ethical concerns of Muslims may enhance substantive equality without undermining secularism.

Potential Solutions: NBFCs and Cooperative Models

Establishing full-fledged Islamic banks in India faces significant legal and political challenges. However, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) offer a viable alternative. Since NBFCs are not governed by the Banking Regulation Act, they can operate with asset-backed transactions in line with Islamic finance principles. An example is Cheraman Financial Services in Kerala, approved by the Reserve Bank of India in 2013, which provides interest-free financial services.¹

Additionally, cooperative models and Islamic banking windows within existing institutions can provide services that align with Islamic principles, fostering economic inclusion and narrowing the participation gap between the Muslim community and others.

Conclusion

The debate on Islamic banking in India underscores a broader tension between a uniform legal framework and the need for economic inclusion of minorities. While establishing full-fledged Islamic banks may be legally and politically challenging, NBFCs, cooperative models, and Islamic banking windows within existing institutions offer feasible alternatives. What is needed is not rejection but regulatory innovation—approaches that can reconcile India’s secular commitments with the financial participation of one of its largest minority communities.

Related:

– Perpetual Outsiders: Accounts Of The History Of Islam In The Indian Subcontinent

– Meaningful Money: How Financial Literacy Amplifies Your Giving

The post Can India’s Financial System Make Room For Faith? appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

No. 1. This is not a fatwa (an Islamic legal ruling), I do not have the authority to issue one. This article is simply a summative analysis of some of the possible options available to Muslims, particularly those living in the United Kingdom, to purchase a suitable accommodation and the Islamic positions regarding these options. If you need a fatwa for your specific circumstance, please seek out a qualified, competent, and respected scholar in your locality.    

No. 2. The fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) scope of this article:

Fiqh is either madhab-based (according to one of the four established legal schools) or comparative, and in both approaches, precise attribution is very important. Therefore, due to my own personal limitations, the fiqh sections of this study will rely on the Ḥanbali madhhab from the works of both classical and contemporary sources. 

Where relevant, I will also refer to the following Fiqh councils and Sharia boards: The European Council for Fatwa & Research; Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI); The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA); and The Islamic Council of Europe. It should be noted that these respected organisations do not always strictly adhere to a single madhab (some may do so depending on the background of its scholars and the community that they serve) and therefore these institutions may incorporate elements from different madhabs when issuing fatwas (legal rulings) and resolutions.  

_____________________

Introduction

Muslims in the UK will have a number of reasons for wanting to purchase a home: a genuine need for a place to live for themselves and their families, or even economic reasons such as investing or retirement planning. Differing scholarly views on the methods to purchase a house have always been one of the most intensely debated topics for the last few decades. Despite the numerous fatwas, articles, books, lectures, workshops, and podcasts on the topic, Muslims are far from reaching a decisive conclusion on the matter. This has caused a huge amount of alarm and concern for many Muslims.

In this article, I want to delve into the following topics before concluding: 

1. Social and Private Renting;
2. Social Dealings and Transactions in Islam;
3. Conventional Interest-Based Mortgages; 
4. Islamic Home Purchase Plans;
5. Other alternative ways to purchase a house; 
6. Summary; and
7. The responsibility on the average Muslim 

Before that, let us have a brief look at how the Qur’an and Sunnah view the concept of a home or dwelling.

A Necessity and Place of Peace

A home is one of the basic necessities for a wholesome and balanced life. Allah says in the Qur’an: 

“And Allah has made your homes a place to rest…” [Qur’an: 16:80]

“A house in Arabic is called a ‘maskan’ because it offers inhabitants a place away from the demands and pressures of the outside world to find peace, tranquillity, and rest.” [PC: Julian Hochgesang (unsplash)]

In fact, the Arabic term ‘maskan,’ which also means house, is derived from the Arabic verb ‘sakana,’ which means to calm down, to be at ease, and to feel tranquil. Hence, the words ‘sukun’ and ‘sakinah’ mean calmness, tranquillity, peacefulness, serenity, etc.²

Therefore, a house in Arabic is called a ‘maskan’ because it offers inhabitants a place away from the demands and pressures of the outside world to find peace, tranquillity, and rest.³

The Prophet said: 

“Part of a man’s happiness includes a good neighbour, a comfortable mount and a spacious abode.”⁴

In another Hadith, he (saw) said: 

“Four things are part of happiness: a righteous wife, a spacious abode, a good neighbour, and a comfortable mount. And four things are part of misery: a bad wife, a bad neighbour, a bad mount, and a small abode.”⁵

We are also taught by the Prophet (saw) to make dua to Allah (swt) for a spacious home. The Messenger (saw) is reported to have said in dua one night: 

“Oh Allah, forgive me my sins, make my house spacious and bless me in that which You have provided for me.”⁶

Now that we have established that a home is a necessary part of the life of every human being and a cause for their worldly delight, let us explore some of the ways Muslims can secure a place to live in the UK. Some have argued that a residential home can be acquired through renting, whether in the social or private sector, and therefore, purchasing a home is not really required. 

Let us start by exploring these two options:

SECTION 1: SOCIAL AND PRIVATE RENTING

Social Housing

Gone are the days when anyone who applied for a home through their local council would eventually be given one to rent (after spending a period of time on the waiting list). Nowadays, for the vast majority of local councils, socially rented homes are reserved for those who have a particular need (e.g., those with a disability) who are unable to rent in the open market. 

This is due to the housing crisis in the UK, which is one of the biggest economic and social challenges the country faces. Soaring housing prices, leading to a shrinking social housing stock and increasing homelessness, have left millions of households without the ability to secure stable and affordable housing.⁷

Furthermore, the Localism Act 2011 has seen an end to ‘lifetime tenancies’, allowing local authorities and registered housing associations to offer fixed-term tenancies (ranging between one, two, or five years, depending on the local council) and also introduce different levels of rent (social and intermediate).⁸  Even those with ‘lifetime tenancies’ could face massive rent increases pegged to their earnings or local private rent levels, which has been debated by the Government several years ago. ⁹

Nevertheless, if you are one of those few people in the country with a council home and a lifetime tenancy, and social rent, you are in an extremely rare and privileged position, one that you should be very thankful to Allah for!

Private Renting

In the private sector, there are huge differences in rent levels across the country, making main cities very expensive for those on an average salary. This has led to a new diaspora of young people moving out of big, expensive cities like London to more affordable places in the UK. 

Moreover, if you rent from a private landlord, the landlord is entitled to take their property back at any time. They can serve you a notice for eviction and ask you and your family to vacate the property.¹⁰ Coupled with this huge risk of lack of security, private renters also often have to accept very poor living conditions due to the lack of affordable housing in their local area.¹¹

These are some of the challenges that lead some Muslims to the decision of wanting to own their own home in order to avoid the pitfalls of being trapped in private renting. 

SECTION 2: SOCIAL DEALINGS AND TRANSACTIONS IN ISLAM 

It is important at the beginning of this section to point out the following:¹²

1. Islam encourages work, development, and progress, as the Messenger of Allah said:

“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak one. Be keen to do what benefits you; rely on Allah and do not act as though you are powerless. When you have a problem, do not say: ‘If I had done such and such, the result would have been such and such’. Rather, you should say: ‘This was decreed by Allah, and Allah does what He wills.’ For saying ‘If’ opens the gate for Satan.”¹³

2. Allah has entrusted us with the responsibility to care for and cultivate the earth. 

3. While Islam recognises the brokenness of the heart before Allah to be a virtue, it does not condemn wealth and prosperity, nor does it condone poverty. This is clearly shown where the Messenger of Allah said to ‘Amr ibn al-Aaṣ:

“Lawful money is excellent for a righteous man.”¹⁴

In this hadith, there is a reference to the two factors that determine whether or not money is a blessing for someone: how the person acquired it (lawful, i.e., halal money) and how he or she spends it.

4. Islam cautions that one must rely on Allah , for it is He Who decides who earns money and how much they will earn. A person who seeks money through haram (forbidden) means will not truly benefit from it by becoming content and feeling blessed. The Messenger of Allah said:

“O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden.”¹⁵

5. Finally, wealth is condemnable if it distracts the heart from seeking Allah’s Pleasure, or if it causes one to be arrogant and disrespectful.

Therefore, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to purchase a home, whether one is driven by a genuine need or even a wish or desire, as long as purchasing a house can be done in a halal (permissible) manner.  Before we look at the means by which Muslims purchase homes in the UK, let us explore the conditions for valid transactions that are found in our books of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). 

Selling and Trading in Islam 

Selling is permissible by consensus.¹⁶

“Muslim scholars agree on the permissibility of trade in general, as Allah subḥānahu wa ta’āla (glorified and exalted be He) has widened its rulings and has not prevented transactions except if they contain harm for the creation in their religion or their wealth.” [PC: Cytonn Photography (unsplash)]

Allah says: 

“But Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba.” [Qur’an: 2: 275]

Therefore, many aspects of trade are halal (permissible) according to the Qur’an, Sunnah, the consensus of the scholars, and qiyas (analogical deduction).¹⁷ Muslim scholars agree on the permissibility of trade in general, as Allah has widened its rulings and has not prevented transactions except if they contain harm for the creation in their religion or their wealth.¹⁸

Pillars & Conditions required for Halal (Permissible) Transactions in Islam and their possible Hinderances or Impediments

The following is a summarised framework based on the authorised Hanbali view from ‘Sharḥ al-Muntaha al-Iraadaat’:¹⁹

• Pillars:

1. The two contracting parties 

2. The object of sale 

1. The format of offer and acceptance, whether verbal or non-verbal 

• Conditions: 

1. Legal maturity of both parties 

2. Mutual consent 

3. The object is inherently sellable 

4. It is owned by the seller 

5. It is deliverable 

      6 & 7. It is known to both parties, as is the price 

• Hindrances: 

1. Sales during a prohibited time, such as during the Friday khuṭbah

2. Sales that entail riba or lead to harm

      3. Sales that damage social cohesion, such as outbidding or soliciting another’s offer 

      4. Sales by a city dweller on behalf of a nomad 

Parties to a contract can also place conditions within a contract; these conditions within trade transactions can either be valid or invalid.²⁰

Valid Conditions:

• Valid conditions are those that do not invalidate the aims and objectives of the contract and therefore must be fulfilled. 

The Prophet said: 

“Muslims must keep to the conditions they make.”²¹

• The first type of valid conditions of trade agreements is those that support and facilitate the contract by conferring a benefit on the seller or the buyer, e.g., taking a deposit or deferring payment. 
• The second type of valid conditions of trade agreements is those that stipulate using the product in a certain way. E.g., a seller of a house can stipulate that the new owner stay for a certain period before selling again. 

Invalid Conditions:

• The first type of invalid condition is that which nullifies the whole contract, e.g., stipulating a contract within the main one. An example is when someone says, “I will sell this item to you on condition of you renting me your house.” This is because the Prophet forbade concluding a selling contract based on another conditional contract.²²
• The second type of invalid condition is a condition that is null and void itself, but it does not nullify the entire contract. For example, a seller imposing on a buyer that he must never sell the item that he had bought. This is invalid because the Prophet said: “If anyone imposes a condition which is not in the Book of Allah, then that condition is invalid even if he imposes it one hundred times.”²³ This condition is invalid, but that does not invalidate the whole contract. 

Therefore, a sale is permissible (halal) as long as the above-mentioned pillars and conditions of a valid sale are fulfilled and the transaction is free of any hindrance to validity and free from an invalid condition that nullifies the whole contract. This opens up the possibilities of options in a contract where either party (the buyer or the seller) can cancel the deal before parting²⁴ or after parting if there was a violation (cheating or deception).²⁵

Riba (usury)

The greatest hindrance in a contract is Riba (usury). Dealing in Riba is one of the gravest sins. All of the heavenly revelations have prohibited dealing in Riba, and Allah warns those who deal in it with the severest of threats.  

Allah, the Most High, says in the Qur’an: 

“Those who consume Riba will stand (on Judgement Day) like those driven to madness by Satan’s touch.” [Qur’an: 2: 275] 

And: 

“Allah has made Riba fruitless and charity fruitful. And Allah does not like any ungrateful evildoer.” [Qur’an: 2: 276]

He (swt) also says: “O believers! Fear Allah, and give up outstanding Riba if you are (true) believers.”  [Qur’an: 2: 278]

Because,

“If you do not, then be aware of a war with Allah and His Messenger! But if you repent, you may retain your principal – neither inflicting nor suffering harm.” [Qur’an: 2: 279]

In addition to these Qur’anic verses that warn against Riba, the Prophet has also stated that Riba is one of the great destructive sins.²⁶

What is Riba?

Linguistically, the word Riba in Arabic means an increase, while in Fiqh, it refers to an increase in particular things. It is divided into two categories²⁷: Riba al-Nasi’ah (Riba of Delay) and Riba al-Fadl (Riba of Excess):

A. Riba al-Nasi’ah (Riba of Delay)

This type of Riba refers to a delay of two types: 

• First Type – increasing the debt on the borrower of money (by way of an interest rate). This is the origin of Riba al-Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period of ignorance)²⁸. This is when a creditor lends money, then, when the time comes to pay, he offers the person in debt more time to pay in return for more money to be paid in addition to the principal debt. This results in an excessive increase in debt and the inability of the borrower to be able to pay off the debt. 
• Second Type – selling goods of the same type but in excess, with a delay in the delivery. There are many examples of this, such as selling gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, as the Prophet said: 

“Gold is to be paid for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, like for like and equal for equal, and payment is to be paid hand to hand.”²⁹

This type of Riba also includes selling any type of these items for the same on credit.

B. Riba al-Fadl (Riba of Excess)

This type of Riba refers to selling an item for another of the same type but in excess or taking something of a superior quality for its inferior quality. The Prophet stated that this kind of transaction is prohibited in six items: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, and salt.³⁰

As for the modern currency that exists, such as banknotes, the same ruling of gold and silver also applies to money as they share the same property as gold and silver (value that can be measured).  

Riba can also occur when lending money against a specified interest rate. This is where a person or institution (like a bank) gives a loan to a customer with the condition that the loan be paid back (either in full or in instalments) with additional interest. The ‘interest’ here falls into both types of Riba (an-Nasi’ah and al-Fadl) and therefore, paying it is from amongst the major sins. The same applies to loaning someone money with the condition that they pay back the loan with additional ‘interest’ on top. This is the most common form of Riba in the modern financial systems, and it is the complete opposite of what Allah describes a qard’ hasana (goodly loan) should be. 

Allah says: 

“Who is that would loan Allah a goodly loan, so He may multiply for him times over.” [Qur’an: 2: 245]

This verse refers to all forms of spending for the sake of Allah which includes lending money to those in need. It likens these acts of spending to giving a loan to Allah which indicates a great reward and virtue of giving interest-free loans to people.³¹

Also, the Prophet said: 

“Whenever a Muslim gives a fellow Muslim a loan twice, it will be like giving charity once.”³²

Therefore, although lending money when someone who is in financial difficulty contains a risk, it is ultimately considered an act of kindness. Relieving the distress of any believer is greatly appreciated by Allah, who will, in turn, relieve the distress of the lender.³³

Thus, lending money is from amongst the best types of sincere actions; it is a contract of excellence and kindness. However, if there is a stipulation for compensation or benefit, and this becomes part of the agreement, then all of these types of loans that bring about benefit are usurious.³⁴

A War with Allah and His Messenger !

It is this type of Riba (Riba al-Jahiliyyah)³⁵ where the lender lends money and then (for additional time / late payment) adds more interest when the customer is unable to pay is the type of Riba threatened with a war with Allah and His Messenger (saw). Allah (swt) doesn’t mention anyone with the threat of war in His revelation except for three people:³⁶ 

a) the polytheist;

b) the usurer; and

c) the one who shows hostility to His walee’ (close servants of Allah).³⁷

Moreover, Allah does not confine the sin to the lender on interest alone; the borrower who pays the interest, the writer of the promissory note, and the witness to it are also accomplices to this major sin as the Prophet warned: 

“Allah has cursed the one who takes interest, the one who pays it, the two persons who witness the deed, and the one who writes the contract.”³⁸

Therefore, depositing money into a bank and receiving interest is also prohibited as it is a form of Riba.  

Wisdoms Behind the Prohibition of Riba

The underlying reason for the prohibition of Riba is that it involves injustice, unfairness, and encourages inequality, which Islam forbids due to its deep concern for the moral, social, and economic welfare of mankind.³⁹

Some of the wisdoms include: 

(a) protecting foodstuffs from being monopolised by people who can get larger quantities of the food used by poor people, in exchange for the better kinds that they possess;

(b) Earning money through interest means there is less incentive to work;

(c) It allows raising the value of capital in the face of labour by allowing money to beget money rather than through real investment and dependency on labour;

(d) Interest can lead to greater gaps between the economic levels in society;

(e) Interest has the power to trap the poor into vicious cycles of debt, leading to bankruptcy; 

(f) Charging interest on loans makes people less likely to do the good deed of offering interest-free loans; 

(g) People are more likely to take part in productive business ventures that involve some reasonable risk if there is no interest;⁴⁰

Thus, in a society where interest is lawful, the rich benefit from the suffering of the poor and as a result the rich continue to get even more wealthier while the poor get poorer. This creates socio-economic classes separated by huge gulfs, leading to anger, envy, hatred, and contempt of the poor towards the rich, which in turn, threatens the social order of society and encourages civil unrest.⁴¹

‘Interest’ vs Riba – are they not the same thing?

It should be noted here that although the word interest has become synonymous with Riba in our modern age, not every ‘interest’ equates to the major sin of Riba. It is important to clarify the difference between the financial term ‘interest’ and the Sharia (Islamic Law) term ‘Riba.’ They are not always the same thing, as there are some transactions that contain ‘interest,’ however, they are permitted by the Shariah as that particular type of interest does not equate to Riba. 

One example is ‘bay’ al-ajil (deferred payment sales).⁴² It is permissible even if the instalment price is higher than the upfront cost, as agreed by The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (formerly the Organization of Islamic Conference), in Resolution # 51 (6/2), where they stated: 

“Increasing the price for deferred payment over the immediate payment is permissible. It is also permissible to state the price of the commodity for the immediate and deferred payments. However, the transaction is not valid unless the two parties of the contract agree on the form of the transaction: immediate or deferred.⁴³“

For example, if someone purchases a phone and it has two prices: an upfront purchase price of £500 or an instalment price of £550 (to be paid in twelve instalments with the additional interest of 10% – £45.83 each month). This additional £50 added to the price of the phone is due to the 10% added interest. However, because the timeline and figures have been agreed upon from the onset, the vast majority of scholars would permit such a transaction. This is provided that the item is going from the seller to the new owner without the intervention of a third-party finance company.⁴⁴

As we have illustrated, many types of transactions are permitted in Islam, but for the purpose of this article, let us focus on the following halal (permissible) transactions in Islam:  

1. Buying;⁴⁵
2. Selling;⁴⁶
3. Renting/leasing;⁴⁷
4. Loans (giving and receiving);⁴⁸ and 
5. Mortgages.⁴⁹

It is well known that buying, selling, renting, and giving/taking a loan are all permissible so as long as conditions of the Sharia are met (e.g., consent, ownership, etc) and none of the impediments are present (e.g., invalid condition, Riba, etc). A lesser-known fact is that a mortgage is actually allowed in Islam.  

Mortgaging refers to placing an item with a lender in order to secure a loan; collateral in case of non-fulfilment of the loan. This is permissible according to the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Scholars.⁵⁰

Allah says in the Quran:

“… And if you are on a journey and cannot find a scribe, then a security deposit [should be] taken.” [Qur’an: 2: 283]

It is also known that the Prophet himself took a mortgage when borrowing from a Jewish trader in Madina.

A’ishah narrated: 

“The Prophet passed away while his shield was mortgaged with a Jew for thirty sa’⁵¹ of wheat.”⁵² 

Hence, it can be seen that there is nothing inherently haram (unlawful) regarding mortgages in enough of themselves. So, what is it then that makes conventional interest-based mortgages a forbidden transaction and therefore clearly haram?

SECTION 3: CONVENTIONAL INTEREST-BASED MORTGAGES 

In a conventional mortgage transaction, four things are taking place: 

1. Buying and selling: person A is purchasing a house from person B, who is intending to sell his/her house.;
2. Borrowing money: Person A is borrowing money from a bank to pay person B for the purchase price of the house; 
3. Mortgage: the bank that is lending the money will only do so by placing the house at their disposal (as collateral) to guarantee that the debt is repaid; and then 
4. Repayment with added ‘interest ’: the money that was borrowed from the bank will now have to be repaid over 25-30 years in monthly instalments with added interest on top of the principal loan. This interest rate is reviewed every two to five years, depending on when the fixed rate of interest expires.   

As we have seen, the above three transactions appear in our classical books of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and are therefore considered to be valid transactions. If that is the case, then why are mortgages considered haram? 

Islamic mortgaging. [PC: Jakub Zerdzicki (unsplash)]

However, the European Council for Fatwa and Research states that it is permissible to use a conventional mortgage to purchase a house in one limited situation.⁵⁴

The scholars who advocate this view still reiterate the clear Sharia position – that dealing with interest is haram (forbidden) and is one of the greatest sins; however, they make an exception to someone purchasing a house for the purpose of residence only.⁵⁵ 

These respected Scholars urge Muslims living in the West to do their best to establish alternatives that are acceptable to Islam, and if a person can rent without causing himself much hardship, then he should be content to do so. However, if a person has no other place to live and does not have enough money to purchase the house outright, and taking a mortgage is the only alternative, they state that a person can do so as long as the following conditions are strictly observed: 

1. The house to be purchased must be for the buyer and his household;
2. The buyer must not have another house; and
3. The buyer must not have any surplus of assets that can help him buy a house by means other than mortgage.

This fatwa is based on the following two major juristic considerations:

Juristic Consideration No. 1: The agreed-upon juristic rule, which states that extreme necessities turn unlawful matters lawful. 

This rule is derived from five Quranic texts, amongst them:

“But whosoever is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits; (for him) certainly, your Lord is oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [Qur’an: 16: 115]

Moreover, jurists have established that hajah (need), whether for an individual or a group, can be treated in equal terms with darurah (extreme necessity). Hajah or need is defined as those things that put Muslims into some difficulty. Darurah (extreme necessity), on the other hand, is that which Muslims cannot manage without. Allah has lifted difficulty as stated in Surat Al-Hajj and Al-Maidah:

“And He has not laid upon you in religion any hardship” [Qur’an: 22:78], and “Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His favour to you that you may be thankful.” [Qur’an: 5: 6]  

Any house that meets the criteria set up by the definitions of hajah and darurah, as mentioned above, is one that is suitable for the Muslim family in terms of size, location, locality, and amenities.

The fatwa is built on the rule of darurah or hajah, which is treated in a similar manner to darurah; the Council stresses that there is another rule that governs and complements the rule of extreme necessity and need. This rule states that what has been made permissible due to extreme necessity must be dealt with great care and taken in measure. It should be restricted to the category of people who are in real need of a house. Moreover, this fatwa does not cover taking up a mortgage to buy a house for commercial reasons or for any purposes other than personal use (residence).

Juristic Consideration No. 2: It is permissible for Muslims to trade with usury and other invalid contracts in countries other than Islamic countries. 

This opinion is held by a number of renowned jurists, such as Abu Hanifah, his colleague Muhammad As-Shaybani, Sufayn At-Thawri, Ibrahim An-Nakha`ie, and, according to one opinion of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, which was declared as true by Ibn Taymiah, according to some Hanbali sources. It is also the declared opinion of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.⁵⁶

However, despite the arguments put forward by senior scholars such as the late Dr Shaykh Yusuf al-Qardawi (rh), this fatwa has been extensively challenged by many notable scholars⁵⁷, including Dr. Shaykh Salaah as-Saawi (AMJA) in his book ‘A Polite Reconsideration of the Fatwa Permitting Interest-Based Mortgages for Buying Homes in Western Societies.’

Dr Shaykh Salaah as-Saawi argues that the two juristic principles upon which this fatwa relies have been misapplied and therefore the fatwa is erroneous. Here is a summary of his examination of the fatwa:  

(I) Regarding Juristic Consideration No. 1 (extreme necessities turn unlawful matters lawful), Dr. as-Saawi argues:

• In fiqh, hajah (need) is whatever is required for ease and the removal of constriction, which usually leads to difficulty and hardship, accompanied by the loss of benefit. If it is not taken care of, then in general, it causes difficulty and hardship;
• The concessions are only valid to take advantage of when the person is practically involved in their causes, e.g., one intending to travel cannot benefit from the concessions of travelling merely through the intention; rather, he must be practically involved in travelling.
• As for the difference between hajah (need) and darurah (necessity), the two can be differentiated from several aspects, including: 

1) Necessity is more severe than need – necessity is based upon doing what is an absolute must, and a person cannot leave it, whereas need is based on making things easier, which a person can do without; 

2) Necessity allows the forbidden, whether the necessity affects an individual or the community. In contrast, need does not entail allowing the forbidden, unless the need is that of the general community. This is because every individual has unique needs all the time, and it is not possible to have a specific law for every person, unlike necessities, which are rare; 

3) The exclusive ruling that applies to necessity is a temporary allowance of what is forbidden by the text of the Shari’ah. This allowance ends with the disappearance of that necessity and is limited to the person for whom the allowance is due to his necessity. 

• As for rulings which are established based on need, they do not revoke any text of the Qur’an & Sunnah, but only oppose principles and qiyas (analogical reasoning), and they are established in a permanent manner by which those in need and others can benefit from them.

Therefore, even though a home is, without doubt, one of the necessary needs of the human being that must be fulfilled, it does not have to be acquired through ownership only. Rather, this need can also be fulfilled through renting or any other way in which a home can be acquired.

(II) Regarding Juristic Consideration No. 2 (the permissibility for Muslims to trade with usury and other invalid contracts in non-Muslim countries), Dr. as-Saawi argues:

• In the presence of clear, definite texts transmitted regarding the prohibition of riba al-nasi’ah, the evidence, which is assumed to be from the Hanafi school, is very weak and cannot be relied upon; 
• The other widely-followed Madhabs (schools of jurisprudence) did not accept the view of the Hanafis in this matter, and even Abu Yusuf, student of Imam Abu Hanifah rejected this view.;
• Thus, Hanafis do not permit riba or other definitely prohibited matters in non-Muslim countries, as is often mistakenly assumed.

A summary of Shaykh as-Saawi’s study: 

1) The prohibition of riba in both its forms, fadl and nasi’ah (which includes the prohibition of bank interest) must be emphasised and endorsed. This is what was established by all the fiqh assemblies in different parts of the Islamic world; 

2) Riba can only be permitted by necessity. Anyone who is faced by a situation of necessity must turn to the people (of knowledge) who have the authority to issue a fatwa whom the person trusts regarding their knowledge, so that they can determine the extent of his necessity; 

3) Need is treated like a necessity in allowing the forbidden when the required conditions are fulfilled. These conditions can be summarised as follows: 

1. The occurrence of need according to its Islamic legal understanding. This is to repel harm and weakness, which diverts people from engaging in and carrying out the matters of livelihood, not for comfort and luxury; 
2. The absence of valid alternatives. This means that the haram is widespread, and all paths to the halal (e.g., renting) are blocked; and
3. The lack of capability to move to other areas where valid alternatives can be found. 

4) Therefore, the basic principle regarding one who is unable to own a home in a halal way involving no riba or doubt is to be content with renting; 

5) When renting entails difficulty and clear hardship due to the size of the family or other factors, it is allowed to grant them a concession to own a house in this manner, in light of the rules mentioned above. This is only after consulting with the people of knowledge to determine the extent of this need;

6) It is a necessity to provide Islamic alternatives to the problem of financing housing. This is either by creating Islamic institutions or by persuading the Western banks to amend their contracts in dealing with the Islamic minorities in such a way as to agree with the requirements of Islamic Law; 

7) Appealing to those capable in the Islamic world to build investment projects to provide housing for those needing it amongst the Muslims settled in Western societies. Such projects could be via the well-known forms of valid transactions such as musharakah, murabahah, istisna’, renting-ownership schemes, etc.⁵⁸

SECTION 4: ISLAMIC HOME PURCHASE PLANS

“Legal maxims play an important role in interpreting and applying Sharia principles to contemporary financial practices.” [PC: Signature Pro (unsplash)]

A note on the Maxims of Islamic Law (Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyya)

In terms of the acceptance of legal maxims of the Sharia among the scholars, they are divided into the following two categories: a) maxims, which are accepted and utilised by all scholars from different schools of Islamic law (madhabs); and b) maxims that are accepted by scholars from certain madhhabs, but rejected by others. The following are five comprehensive major maxims in Islamic Law (fiqh) that are accepted by scholars from all four of the legal schools (madhabs), even though they may disagree on how they are applied to specific matters of fiqh: 

1. Matters are determined according to intentions; 
2. Hardship entails ease; 
3. Harm must be eliminated
4. Certainty is not overruled by doubt; and 
5. Custom is a basis for judgment.⁵⁹

These five major maxims also have branches that lead to further corollary maxims which can be applied to Islamic financial contracts.⁶⁰

Some of the other important Islamic legal maxims that are applicable specifically to Islamic financial contracts include (but are not limited to):⁶¹ 

1. The default position of contracts is that all contracts and transactions are halal (permissible) and correct, and no contracts can be considered as haram (impermissible) except with evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Messenger (saw);⁶²
2. All contracts must be free from gharar (gross uncertainty), dhulm (harm), and Riba (usury);⁶³ and
3. The essence of contracts is their goals and meanings, not their words or forms.⁶⁴

Therefore, in order for HPPs to be considered Islamically impermissible, a scholar would have to prove in a substantial way, the presence of one or more of the following in the contract:

1. Gharar (gross uncertainty/ambiguity);
2. Dhulm (harm);
3. Riba (usury);

With these principles and rules in mind, let us now look at Islamic mortgages – more commonly known as Home Purchase Plans (HPP), which are intended to be structured in a way to help avoid Riba. Currently, there are three different types of HPPs:⁶⁵

     A. Ijara (a rent-only agreement – the alternative to the conventional ‘interest-only’ mortgage):

The bank buys the property you want to buy, and you pay them rent with the condition that you buy the property from them at the end of the term.

The bank also leases the house to you for a fixed term at an agreed monthly rent.

     B. Murabaha (profit sale).

The bank buys the property and gradually sells it to you at a mark-up price, which you pay in monthly instalments.

The ijarah model is most commonly used for buy-to-let properties, whereas murabaha is most commonly used for commercial properties. These type of agreements are rarely used for UK residential home purchases.  

   C. 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗵 (partnership):

This is the most common way residential home purchases are currently conducted. In this model, the bank will own most of the house (typically 80%), and the customer will own the remaining 20%. The bank will lease the customer their portion, the customer then pays the bank monthly rent for the portion that the bank owns, while also slowly buying back shares of the house – purchasing equity, until the customer eventually has 100% ownership. 

Examining the different contracts that are currently available in order to discuss their merits and defects according to the Sharia is a highly laborious and technical exercise that is beyond the scope of this article. Therefore, let us limit our exploration to the most common way banks offer Islamic finance products finance residential homes, which is the Diminishing Musharakah + Ijarah contracts. 

Case Study: a closer look at the Diminishing Musharakah + Ijarah method

The next few steps will illustrate what happens in an Islamic Bank HPP contract, which will help us establish the facts and thus help us understand the substance of the contract:

Step 1: The bank and the customer purchase a house together for an ‘acquisition cost’ of £100K. The customer pays £20K and the bank pays the remaining £80K. This gives the customer a 20% ‘initial share’ of the house, and the bank retains the remaining 80% of the share. 

Step 2: The customer then signs a co-ownership agreement to reflect his/her shares. In the same co-ownership agreement, the customer must agree to buy the bank’s ‘Initial Share’ of the Property for the ‘Acquisition Cost.’ 

The above two steps conclude the Diminishing Musharakah agreement.

Step 3: The bank then requires the customer to simultaneously enter into a ‘lease agreement.’ In this agreement, the bank requires the customer to pay rent on their ‘share’ of the house for as long as the customer hasn’t fully paid off the bank’s share of the property.

This is where the Ijarah agreement comes in.

Step 4: The customer will also take out the relevant buildings insurance to insure the property. 

This is another obligation the customer alone takes responsibility for. 

Step 5: Completion – the customer moves into the property, pays monthly rent + acquisition payments for around 25 – 30 years until they have purchased all of the bank’s shares. At this point, the property will belong to the customer fully. 

The above is a very simplified illustration, and this type of Diminishing Musharakah + Ijarah transaction method is currently used by most banks and is approved by respected Islamic scholars.⁶⁶ 

However, critics of this model have argued the following: 

     a) HPPs are a debt instrument, and therefore contain Riba

When the customer signs a co-ownership agreement to reflect his/her shares and agrees to buy the bank’s share of the property for the acquisition cost, this clause, in substance, results in the bank selling its ‘initial share’ to the customer immediately. It also results in the co-ownership effectively coming to an end. This is because the customer has now purchased the bank’s share and has full beneficial ownership and full risk of the house, as the bank no longer takes risk in the property. The customer now owes the bank £80K as a money debt, which the bank agrees the customer can pay over several years.

Despite the fact that both English law and Islamic law recognise beneficial ownership, here, the sale has taken place from the very first day, and the customer begins to owe the bank a money debt. A binding obligation to purchase now and a binding obligation to purchase in the future both create a money debt. 

Result: Critics of this method conclude that the above example indicates that this type of HPP is a debt instrument, and therefore any ‘rent’ payable by the customer is actually Riba. 

Some other contentions of HPPs in general include:

     b) With HPPs the Bank does not fully share the ownership risk;

In the case of HPPs, if the bank buys 80% and the customer buys 20% (as illustrated in the above example), then the bank owns the majority of the house. It should therefore be obliged to fulfil the duties of an owner and share the risk of loss. However, in an HPP, the customer pays the stamp duty, takes out the buildings insurance, and is ultimately responsible for any damage to the property. 

Also, if the value of the houses decreases, a customer who defaults under such contracts can find himself required to guarantee the bank’s original capital contribution to the property purchase, which is higher than the decreased lower price. This is called negative equity. In a true musharakah agreement, loss and gain must be shared equally. 

     c) Combination contracts

The Prophet said: 

“It is not permissible to sell something on condition that the purchaser lends you something. And it is not permissible to have two conditions in one transaction. And no profit is permissible unless possession has been taken of the goods. And you cannot sell what is not in your possession.” ⁶⁷

Modern HPPs have two (or sometimes more) contracts for every purchase (co-ownership agreement, leasing agreement, service agency agreement, etc), where each contract is interdependent on the other.

   d) Islamic Banks use the LIBOR to set the rent, rather than using the local rent levels 

This does make the HPP more affordable; however, using the LIBOR (The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate) is the same method used by conventional banks to calculate interest rate averages. 

Setting rental levels in line with market interest rates is not in itself haram, just like a Muslim restaurant owner can sell non-alcoholic mocktails at the same price as alcoholic cocktails. However, linking the rent levels to LIBOR can cause gharar (gross uncertainty) in the contract. This is because the customer won’t know how much rent to pay the bank until the beginning of each new period, despite being contractually bound to rent the property for the subsequent period. If interest rates increase dramatically, then the amount of rent will also increase, and the customer may find himself locked into the payment of very high rental rate that he/she cannot afford.

     e) Fractional reserve banking and money creation 

Most of our money supply is created by private banks that deal in interest (Riba), who simply create money. Unfortunately, some Islamic banks have been found to do the same.⁶⁸

     f) HPPs use hila (legal trickery) 

Islamic law also prohibits hila (legal trickery) as a mechanism to avoid clear haram acts. This can produce a usurious loan from otherwise permissible contracts. 

Scholars who oppose the current Diminishing Musharakah models offered by Islamic banks also argue that each of the steps in the transaction (i.e., buying, leasing, promising to purchase, etc) are, on their own, perfectly fine and valid according to the Sharia. However, when these transactions are combined and one agreement depends on the other, the outcome results in a Riba contract.⁶⁹ 

For example, in the following framework, the individual transactions mentioned below are completely halal:

• An interest-free loan (which is something that is recommended);
• A gift (which again, is something recommended); and
• A promise.

Taken individually, these three transactions are completely valid. However, if they are combined in a single contract, where one agreement is contingent on the other, the result is Riba.⁷⁰

Shariah standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) on Diminishing Musharakah contracts

It is worth noting that although the Shariah standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), while recognising and approving Diminishing Musharakah contracts, they prohibit the following: 

1. The promise to purchase further shares should be independent of the partnership contract. Therefore, it is not permitted that one contract be entered into as a condition for concluding the other;
2. It is not permitted to stipulate that one partner bear all the cost of insurance and maintenance on the ground that he will eventually own the subject matter of the partnership; 
3. It is not permitted to stipulate that the equity share be acquired at their original or face value, as this would constitute a guarantee of the value of the equity shares of one partner (the bank) by the other partner, which is prohibited by the Sharia.⁷¹

Scholars who oppose the HPPs that are currently available do not permit them, as they sincerely believe it is possible to produce genuinely Shariah-compliant Islamic property financing contracts under English law. Furthermore, they feel that to permit the current models on purely contractual grounds is a flawed strategy for the Muslim community in the UK. Moreover, it is argued that this will risk the development of home purchasing products that include a proper implementation of Islamic finance principles and, therefore, may be a tool for the suppression of the beginning of an interest-free economic renaissance.⁷² 

Scholars who champion the current HPP structures, however, have detailed responses to the above-mentioned criticisms.⁷³ Here is a brief summary of the way they respond to some of the criticisms: 

(I) HPPs are a debt instrument, and therefore contain Riba

This is a mischaracterisation of the HPP construct because when a customer purchases a home, the following is taking place: 

• The Islamic bank is an entity that owns the freehold and holds it on trust for the customer. The customer is then gradually buying out the Islamic bank;
• Therefore, the customer is not the owner of the house from the very start.

An Islamic HPP is understood under English law to slowly facilitate the gradual transfer of beneficial ownership from the bank to the homeowner.

(II) With HPPs the Bank does not share in ownership risk fully

The Sharia allows for any party to forgo their right as long as this is mutually agreed upon. For example, a wealthy woman can forgo her right over her husband to spend on her. Therefore, whatever is mutually agreed upon before the contract is concluded must be abided by as the Prophet said: 

“The Muslims are bound by the conditions, except for a condition that forbids what is permissible or permits what is forbidden.”⁷⁴

(III) HPPs use combination contracts

• HPP is based on two independent contracts; 
• As long as the two contracts can be clearly distinguishable and broken into separate parts with no interlinking, and there is clarity on the price and the items, then this would be permitted by the Sharia.  

(IV) Islamic Banks use base-rate-pegged values to set your rent, rather than using the local rent level

• There is nothing inherently wrong (impermissible) in using any external factor (including LIBOR) to calculate rent.  

The above are very simple summaries of often very highly technical arguments made by scholars who have sufficient knowledge, education, training, and practical hands-on experience, both in terms of the Sharia and the UK law (England & Wales), as well as awareness of industry expectations and norms.  

Irrespective of which side seems more convincing, it is impossible for the average Muslim (non-scholars and specialists) to take a definitive view either way, doing so would be very disingenuous. 

SECTION 5: OTHER ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO PURCHASE A HOUSE 

The final option to purchase a house is via the new models of Islamic home financing that have emerged over recent years. These are known as Shared Ownership Products and are provided by companies like WayHome, Your Home, Keyzy, CrowdToLive, Heylo, and Pfida (formerly Primary Finance), amongst others.

These models are all different from the conventional mortgages and Islamic HPPs and provide an alternative debt-free financing structure. 

From a Sharia perspective, there are currently no objections to these new Shared Ownership Products⁷⁵, meaning they are fully Sharia-compliant.

However, there are some practical drawbacks, which include: 

1. Currently, these products are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as they act more like a landlord than a traditional bank; 
2. Customers will be paying the market rate rent on the portion that they do not own of the purchased property; 
3. Lack of FCA authorisation also means: a) with some companies, customers are not allowed to fully purchase the entire house due to tax reasons; b) other companies will charge the customer double stamp duty (as the exemption only applies to regulated institutions like Banks); c) there is less clarity and transparency as to what a customer is actually paying compared to the mortgage market (as there is no obligation for these companies to be transparent like regulated bodies); and d). Shared Ownership Products are more expensive than conventional mortgages and Islamic HPPs;
4. Accessibility is also another issue, as customers have to get onto long waiting lists (up to five years) to access some of these products. However, with companies like Pfida, investing with them can radically reduce this time on the waiting list.  

Despite this, these companies offer new and innovative ways of operating, which include: 

1. Allowing the customer to take a payment ‘holiday’ and pay through equity;
2. Supporting the customer during the process of buying and helping to vet the house, and even to negotiate the deal with the vendor;
3. Allowing customers to purchase a home with no upfront deposit and simply pay through the rental agreement; and
4. Allowing the customer to continue renting the portion of the house that the company owns with no obligation to purchase further shares. 

SECTION 6: SUMMARY

In summary, we have discussed the following: 

Option A: Renting – we have seen that acquiring a home to rent from a social landlord is almost impossible for most people. Renting from a private landlord comes at a huge risk and can be very expensive depending on where you choose to live. However, since there are obviously no Sharia objections to renting, this remains a good option for most people. 

Option B: Taking a conventional interest-based mortgage – the ‘one house for residential purposes’ rule to permit a conventional mortgage still remains the official opinion of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. This verdict is for residential homes only (not buy to let) and is limited to one per person, i.e., a home to live in, not to do business or rent out to make money from. However, from the onset, this fatwa has been extensively challenged by senior scholars and therefore remains very controversial. 

Option C: Islamic Home Purchase Plans – this option is also not free from issues. All the scholars and specialists in the field of Islamic finance will agree that Islamic HPPs are certainly far from perfect in terms of meeting the full requirements of the Sharia. The divergent Scholarly opinions range from some scholars permitting HPPs (despite their flaws) due to our modern economic and commercial context at one end of the spectrum,⁷⁶ to other scholars concluding that Islamic HPPs are exactly the same as interest-based mortgages, if not worse, and therefore also haram.⁷⁷     

Option D: Shared Ownership Products – these products do not have any Sharia objections; however, they are more expensive and come with practical challenges, such as accessibility, as well as structural issues relating to the lack of FCA approval and regulation. 

SECTION 7: THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE AVERAGE MUSLIM REGARDING THIS TOPIC 

As we have seen, Option A: renting (social or private) and Option D: opting for a new type of shared ownership product are completely free from any Sharia objections, and neither option involves any kind of debt, like taking out an interest-bearing mortgage. On the other hand, purchasing a home through a conventional mortgage or an Islamic HPP remains a very controversial issue with diverse views and opinions on either side. The fatwa to permit the use of an interest-based mortgage is a matter of ijtihad (a struggle to exercise personal judgment in Islamic Law by a qualified scholar). Likewise, the current models of HPPs are also the result of scholarly ijtihad. Hence, there may never be a uniform opinion regarding either option, as opinions based on ijtihad will always have an element of doubt and never reach a state of certainty like matters where permissibility and prohibition are very clear and well known.  

The Ulema (scholars) have stated that if the fuqaha (Islamic jurists) reach the degree of ijtihad and issue a verdict, they will be rewarded for their efforts even if they are wrong, as the Prophet said:

“If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct, he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, even then he will get one reward.” ⁷⁸

This Hadith exonerates the mujtahid (scholar capable of ijtihad) from sin, and promises him a reward because he is qualified to make ijtihad and he has done his absolute best, but it also clearly states that he can be mistaken.

If the scholars differ on a matter, the correct view is that one of the positions has to be incorrect, as something cannot be simultaneously halal and haram in the sight of Allah . So, what then must the average Muslim (layman) do regarding these heavily contested differences of scholarly opinion?

The answer is the following, where Allah says in the Qur’an: 

“Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.” (Qur’an: 16:43)

The Prophet said: “If you did not know, why didn’t you ask, the cure to ignorance is to ask.”⁷⁹

With heavily contested and debated issues such as this, the laity are not required to examine and understand all of the evidences and intricacies regarding both sides of the argument. However, despite this, it is still very important for Muslims to be somewhat acquainted with an overview of the various arguments offered by different scholars, as well as the drawbacks to these arguments, in order to make an informed decision if they intend to go down the route of purchasing a house. 

Even after reading through the arguments, sincerely conducting your own thorough research, consulting people of knowledge, the average Muslim will still have to largely rely on taqleed (choosing a scholar or a fatwa issuing authority) who is qualified and trustworthy, and then following that scholarly view on this particular matter. This type of taqleed is permissible for the ordinary person or even a person of knowledge who has not reached the status of Ijtihad in knowledge or in a particular field, because the one who is limited in a particular field is like an ordinary person in it.⁸⁰ And if and when a person takes a decision based on a valid ijtihad, then it is impermissible for anybody to criticise him.⁸¹ 

However, it is very important to note that Muslim scholars have unanimously agreed that it is totally prohibited (haram) for a Muslim to follow the compromises and concessions of scholars, such that a person finds the concession of a particular scholar and then follows it.⁸²

A note on Muslim unity 

While these issues are fiercely debated by scholars on both sides who hold strong views regarding these matters, it is important for us not to let these issues of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) cause any disunity amongst the Muslims.   

Allah commands us to: 

“And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah⁸³ and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you – by His grace – became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be (rightly) guided.” [Quran: 3:103]

He also tells us that: 

“The believers are but one brotherhood, so make peace between your brothers. And be mindful of Allah so you may be shown mercy.” [Quran, 49:10]

 Regarding unity, our Prophet (saw) said: 

“The believers, in their mutual love, mercy, and compassion, are like a single body: if one part of the body feels pain, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.”⁸⁴ 

He also said: 

“Do not envy one another, do not hate one another, do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade; but be you, O servants of Allah, brothers.”⁸⁵

Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that no matter what opinion you follow, or how strongly you feel about a certain issue, that these matters of fiqh differences should never be the cause of sectarianism and disunity in the Ummah. 

SECTION 8: CONCLUSION 

As Muslims, we must exercise caution in regard to every aspect of our faith. 

A note on Taqwa (God-consciousness) and Wara’ (scrupulousness)

Tawqa means being God-conscious and living a life of righteousness, piety, and self-restraint from all sinful acts. 

Allah says 

“O you who have believed, have tawqa and be with those who are truthful” [Qur’an 9:19]

The Prophet said:

“Have taqwa wherever you are, follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it, and behave with good character towards people.”⁸⁶

Wara (scrupulousness), on the other hand, entails not only striving to stay away from things that are haram (unlawful) as well as exerting one’s best to avoid that which is disliked (makruh), but it also entails abstaining from all doubtful matters in fear of falling into haram.  Wara also means staying away from some halal things due to fear of it leading to something that is haram or makruh.  

The Prophet said: 

“The halal is clear and the haram is clear, and between them are matters unclear that are unknown to most people. Whoever avoids these unclear matters has absolved his religion and honour.”⁸⁷

He also advised: 

“Leave that which you are in doubt for that which you are in no doubt.”⁸⁸

The above two Hadiths indicate that when the scholars differ on a matter, it is recommended to remove oneself from the difference by doing an action that the scholars agree upon.⁸⁹

The temporary nature of this life 

In the end, we must constantly remind ourselves that this world is temporary and our real home is in the Hereafter, in Paradise. 

Allah tells us that: 

“Every soul will taste death, and you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment. Whoever is spared from the Fire and is admitted into Paradise will (indeed) triumph, whereas the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment.” [Qur’an: 3:185-191]

He also tells us that:

“This worldly life is no more than play and amusement, but far better is the (eternal) Home of the Hereafter for those mindful (have tawqa of Allah). Will you not then understand?” [Qur’an: 6:32] 

But if there is a real and pressing need to purchase a home, we must do so whilst maintaining our duty and faithfulness to Allah . 

After weighing out the arguments both in favour and against, as well as the practical, legal, and financial challenges, a strong contender seems to be Pfida⁹⁰ for the following reasons: 

1. Debt-free

There is no obligation to purchase the company’s share of the property. There are also no early or late repayment fees for not purchasing equity.

2. Not pegged to interest

The rent is not pegged to interest rates or LIBOR. Instead, it is determined by a number of factors, including the local rental market, and annual rent reviews are capped to reduce uncertainty.

3. Affordability

The property is sold to the customer at the original purchase price, and not at the current market value. They provide rental discounts to make sure it remains affordable for the customer. 

4. True risk sharing

If the property decreases in value or there is a shortfall upon sale, proceeds are split according to respective partnership share. This is fundamentally different from a bank, which has the first call on the proceeds of a sale, and the customer may end up with nothing upon repossession.

5. Ultimate flexibility

Customers can manage their Pfida home account online to change the target equity payment when they need to or opt to pay rent only in any given month.

6. Choosing what to do with your equity 

By introducing an equity buffer, means that there is less risk of defaulting on payment. This allows the customer to pay in equity if they cannot afford the rent. They can also then purchase it back again once they are in a better financial position, in their own time.

The model adopted by Pfida is fully Sharia-compliant and seems to offer a true risk-sharing partnership. 

Allah knows best, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad , his family, and all his Companions. 

***

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books & Articles 

1. Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), ‘Sharia Standards’ (Dar Al-Maiman Publishing, 2015)
2. Al-Buhuti, Shaykh Mansur, ‘Shar Muntaha al-Iraadaat’ li al-Buhuti, (www.shamela.ws)
3. Al-Hanbali, Ibn Rajab, ‘Qawai’d al-Fiqhiyyah’ (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, Lebanon, 2008)
4. Al-Qurṭubi, Abu ‘Abdullah Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣari al-Khazraji al-Andalusi, ‘The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of what it contains of the Sunnah and Ayahs of Discrimination’, Vol. 3 Juz’ 3: Sarat al-Baqarah 254 – Sūrah Ali Imran 95 (translated by Aisha Bewley, Diwan Press Ltd). 
5. Al-Fawzan, Dr. Saalih, ‘The Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence’ (al-Maiman Publishing House, 2011), Volume 2.
6. Al-Fawzan, Dr. Saalih, ‘Shar mukhtasa ala matn zaad al-mustaqni’ (Dar al-Aasima, 2004), Volume 3. 
7. Al-Qardawi, Dr. Yusuf, ‘al-Fatawa ash-Shaadh mu’aayireha wa tatbeeqaha wa asbabuha wa kayfa nu’arlejuha wa nutawaqqarha’ (Dar ash-Sharouq, 2010)  
8. Al-Qardawi, Dr. Yusuf, ‘The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam’ (Al-Falah Foundation, 1960)  
9. Al-Mushayqih, Dr. Khalid, ‘Qawa’id al-Aqd,’ (Kuwait, www.sda8media)
10. Al-Mushayqih, Dr. Khalid, ‘al-Khulasatu al-Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyya,’ (Raka’iz, 2024)
11. Al-Sawi, Dr. Salah ‘A Polite Reconsideration of the Fatwa Permitting Interest-Based Mortgages for Buying Homes in Western Societies’ (Translated by Usama Hasan, 21st June, 2001)
12. Al-Sa’di, Sheik Abdurahman bin Nasir, ‘Nur al-Basai’r wa al-Baab fi Ahkaam al-Ibadaat wa al-Mu’amalaat wa al-Huquq wa al-Adab’ (Dar Ibn al-Jawzy, 1420h).
13. Al-Sa’di, Sheik Abdurahman bin Nasir, ‘Shar al-Qawa’id wa al-Usool al-Jaamia’ (www.moswarat.com).
14. Al-Sa’di, Sheik Abdurahman bin Nasir, The Path of the Wayfarer (Manhaj al-Salikin), (The Islamic Literary Foundation, 2014 – translated from Arabic by S. ‘Abd al-Hamid). 
15. Al-Sa’di, Sheik Abdurahman bin Nasir, ‘Maxims of Fiqh,’ (al-Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyyah) (Dar Makkah International, 2015 – translated from Arabic by Abu Fatimah Azhar Majothi).
16. As-Shithry, Dr. Sa’d ibn Nasir, Shar Nur al-Basai’r wa al-Baab fi Ahkaam al-Ibadaat wa al-Mu’amalaat wa al-Huquq wa al-Adab (Dar Kunuz Ishbayliya, Riyadh 2014).
17. As-Shithry, Dr. Sa’d ibn Nasir, ‘Usul al-Fiqh for the Muslim who is not a Mujtahid’ (translated by AbdulWahid Stephenson, Insight into Islam Publications, 2022).
18. As-Suyuthi, Jalaluddin, ‘Asbah wa an-Naza’ir fi Qawa’id wa Furu’ Fiqhi Shafi’I,’ (https://shamela.ws)
19. At-Turayfi, Abdul-Aziz Marzouq, ‘Tafsir wa al-Bayaan li ahkaami al-Qur’an,’ (Dar Minhaaj, Riyadh 2018)
20. Al-Haj, Dr. Hatem, ‘Umdat al-Fiqh Explained: A Commentary on Ibn Qudamah’s The Reliable Manual of Fiqh,’ Volume 1: Fiqh of Worship and Commerce (International Islamic Publishing House, 2019). 
21. Al-Haj, Dr. Hatem, Managing Our Disagreement (online)
22. Al-Haddad, Dr. Haitham, ‘The Islamic Mortgage: Paradigm Shift or Trojan Horse?’ (islam21c.com, 2006)
23. Al-Haddad, Dr. Haitham, ‘Islamic Ijara Mortgages by HSBC and Other Banks,’ (islam21c.com, 2004)
24. Al-Qahtani, Dr. Syed ibn Ali Wahf, ‘Ar-Riba: idraruhu wa aatharuhu fi daw’e al-kitab was as-sunnah,’ (1984, alukah.net)
25. al-Uthaymeen, Shaykh Saalih, ‘Shar Mumti ala zaad al-Mustaqni’ (Dar Ibn Jawzi, 2005), vol. 8
26. al-Uthaymeen, Shaykh Saalih, ‘Shar Usool min al-ilm al-Usool’ (Dar Ibn Jawzi, 2001). 
27. At-Turki, Sulayman ibn Turki, ‘Bay’ at-Taqseet wa Ahkamuhu,’ (Dar Shibelia, KSA, 2003)
28. Ghazali, Nasrun Mohamad, Sawari, Mohd. Fuad Md, Ghalia, Bouhedda and Alhabshi, Syed Musa Syed Jaafar, ‘The Fiqh Maxim Al-Ghunm Bi Al-Ghurm: A Critique on Interpretation of the Maxim Relating to the Risk-Return Concept in Islamic Banking and Finance,’ (ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, Volume 16, Number 2, 2024)
29. Ibn Taymiyyah, Taqi al-Din, ‘al-Qawa’id al-Nuraniyah’ (Dar Ibn Jawzi, 2012)
30. Ibn Nujaym, Zain al-Abideen ibn Ibrahim bin Muahmmed al-Shaheer bi ‘Asbah wa an-Naza’ir ala Madhab Abi Hanifa an-Nu’man’ (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1999)
31. Isma’eel, Dr. Mohammed Bakr, ‘al-Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyya baina al-asa’la wa tawjih,’ (Dar Manar, 1997). 
32. Khattab, Dr. Mustafa ‘The Clear Quran’ (theclearquran.org) 
33. Khan, Ibrahim ‘Islamic Mortgages are a debt and therefore haram – Why this Analysis is Mistaken’ (islamicfinanceguru.com)
34. Khan, Ibrahim ‘What is An Islamic Mortgage? Why is it Islamic?’ (islamicfinanceguru.com)
35. Philips, Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal ‘A Commentary on Usool al-Fiqh Made Easy,’ (United Arab Emirates, 2003)
36. Ramli, Muhamad Amirol bin, ‘ISC550 – Qawaid Fiqhiyya – Kitab Review – Book Review – Ashbah wan Nazair fi Qawaid wa Furu’ Fiqh Syafi’yyah – Jalahuddin as-Suyuti,’ (MARA University of Technology, www.researchgate.net/publication/371137887, 2023)
37. Saleem, Haider, ‘Pros and Cons of an Islamic Mortgage’ (www.islamicfinanceguru.com)
38. Saleem, Haider ‘What Makes an Islamic Mortgage Halal?’ (islamicfinanceguru.com)
39. Sharief, Dr Salah, ‘Buying a House with a Mortgage: A Muslim’s Dilemma’ (www.linkedin.com, May 2024)
40. Saiti, Buerhan & Abdullah, Adam. ‘The Legal Maxims of Islamic Law (Excluding Five Leading Legal Maxims) and Their Applications in Islamic Finance,’ (JKAU: Islamic Econ., Vol. 29 No. 2, pp: 139-151 (July 2016) DOI: 10.4197 / Islec. 29-2.12
41. Umar, Dr. Shaykh Sajid, ‘Fatwa: Student Loans are Permissible’ (www.islam21c.com)
42. Yusuf, Bassam ibn Sulayman ibn Ali, ‘Hilyatu adh-Dhakha’in wal-adab bi-shar Nur al-Basai’r wa al-baab’ (Waqfiyyatu at-Tahbir, 2018). 
43. ‘Al-Qawa’id Al-Fiqhiyyah (Legal Maxims of Islamic Jurisprudence): A Translated Compilation’ – written by Islamic University of North America (Mishkah), 2013
44. Lecture notes from ‘The Coherence of the Sharia’ by Dr. Hatem al-Haj 

Websites 

1. www.qur’an.com
2. www.aboutislam.com
3. www.tenantsupporthelpline.co.uk
4. www.prince-evans.co.uk 
5. www.shelter.org.uk
6. www.aaoifi.com
7. www.amjaonline.org
8. www.islamicfinanceguru.com
9. https://iceurope.org/
10. www.pfida.com
11. www.e-cfr.org
12. https://shamela.ws

 Lectures

1. Islamic Finance Q&A – Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr Main Al-Quda (www.youtube.com)
2. Islamic Financing / Mortgages – Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr Hatem Al-Haj (www.youtube.com)
3. Leasing a Car with instalment payments at a Higher Price – Dr. Yasir Qadhi (www.youtube.com)
4. What every Muslim Needs to know about Riba – Dr. Yasir Qadhi (www.youtube.com)
5. Ruling on Mortgages & ‘Sharia Compliant’ Loans – Dr. Yasir Qadhi (www.youtube.com)
6. Islamic Mortgages: Everything you need to know, how they work, where to get one and how (www.youtube.com)
7. Where to get a UK Islamic Mortgage in 2024? (www.youtube.com)
8. Are Conventional Mortgages halal if there’s no alternative? (www.youtube.com)
9. Islamic Mortgage Alternative – Primary Finance – The Deep Dive (www.youtube.com)
10. Is Islamic Banking Really Islamic? An insider’s view with Harris Irfan (www.youtube.com)
11. No Riba House for Muslims Finally – Pfida’s Home Provision Scheme (www.youtube.com)
12. The Riba Series – Mufti Faraz Adam (www.youtube.com)
13. The Coherence of the Sharia – Dr. Hatem al-Haj (www.youtube.com)
14. Khulasa Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyya – Al-Mushayqih, Dr. Khalid (www.youtube.com)

The post To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question: An Analysis Of Possible Home Purchasing Options For Muslims In The UK appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

I remember sitting in my nonprofit’s office in 2020, staring at a donor’s request: “Can you accept stock donations?” I had no idea how to answer. Despite running a successful organization, there was so much about finance I still didn’t understand. That question became my wake-up call.

While others were perfecting their sourdough starters during the pandemic, I found myself reading books about personal finance and money management. I searched everywhere for resources that approached financial literacy from an Islamic perspective, but came up empty-handed. So I started with what was available – books like “The Latte Factor” by David Bach and John David Mann – and began the work of filtering these mainstream financial concepts through an Islamic lens. This journey would ultimately transform how I thought about money, wealth, and giving as a Muslim woman.

From Checkbook Charity to Strategic Impact

I remember the first time I learned about Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs—charitable giving accounts that let you contribute assets and recommend grants to charities while receiving an immediate tax deduction). DAFs truly transformed how I distributed my zakat. I realized I could give significantly more than previous years – not because I earned more, but because I finally understood how to give smarter. Instead of just writing checks, I learned to donate appreciated stock, reducing my tax burden while increasing my charitable impact.

This financial knowledge wasn’t just about personal gain—it revealed a critical connection between money management and serving others. Had I understood this earlier, it would have transformed my early career decisions. For instance, when I first started in the nonprofit sector, I worked for two years without taking a salary because I mistakenly believed that being paid would somehow diminish the spiritual rewards of my work. I now realize this mindset was counterproductive. By undervaluing my own financial well-being, I was actually limiting my long-term capacity to give and serve. Financial literacy taught me that being compensated fairly and managing money wisely actually amplifies our ability to help others sustainably.

Allah tells us in the Quran:

“Those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah and do not follow their charity with reminders of their generosity or hurtful words—they will get their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 2;262]

The Ripple Effect of Strategic Giving

Let me share a recent example that demonstrates the power of intentional financial planning. Last year, an organization that supports Deaf and Deaf+ Muslims in our community was raising funds for critically needed programs. Their initiative focused on expanding American Sign Language resources and developing Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services tailored to our diverse Muslim community. The organization had identified significant gaps in accessibility that many community members faced when participating in religious gatherings, educational workshops, and social events.

“Those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah and do not follow their charity with reminders of their generosity or hurtful words—they will get their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve.” [PC: Christian Dubovan (unsplash)]

The impact multiplied beautifully beyond my initial contribution. Today, the organization offers weekly ASL classes, has hired Deaf instructors, and has developed specialized resources that serve many families who previously felt disconnected from community activities.

This experience reinforced my belief that financial empowerment isn’t just about personal security—it’s about expanding our capacity to support initiatives that align with our deepest values and strengthen our community bonds.

The Prophetic Model of Financial Management

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “While a man was in a barren tract of land, he heard a voice in a cloud saying: ‘Irrigate the garden of so-and-so.’ The cloud moved and poured its water over a rocky area. The water collected in a channel, so the man followed it and found a person standing in his garden, directing the water with his shovel. He asked him: ‘O servant of Allah, what is your name?’ He said the name that was heard from the cloud. He then asked: ‘Why do you ask about my name?’ He replied: ‘I heard a voice in the cloud which poured this water, saying: “Irrigate the garden of so-and-so,” mentioning your name. What do you do with it?’ He said: ‘Now that you have asked, I look at what it produces and give one-third in charity, my family and I eat one-third, and I reinvest one-third back into the garden.'” [Sahih Muslim]

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ showed us that smart financial management enables greater giving. The gardener’s secret in the above hadith wasn’t just in giving – it was in his systematic approach. He divided his harvest into thirds: charity, family needs, and reinvestment. 

I’ve adopted this principle in my own life, creating specific budgets for sadaqah while ensuring I’m also building long-term financial stability.

Practical Steps to Get Started

For young Muslims just starting their financial journey: You don’t have to wait until you’re “wealthy” to make a difference. Start with these practical steps:

1. Set up automatic transfers for charity (even if it’s just $5/month). Use platforms like A Continuous Charity or LaunchGood’s monthly giving program to automate your sadaqah.

2. Learn one new financial concept each month. Resources I recommend:

• Sign up for Fatimah Jangana’s Finance Girlie’s newsletter Financial Literacy for Muslim Women
• “Smart Women Finish Rich” by David Bach
• The “Islamic Finance Guru” podcast with hosts Mohsin Patel & Ibrahim Khan
• Follow @ZoyaFinance and @itsmalakkudaimi on social media for regular Islamic finance tips
• Join Sheikh Joe Bradford’s community to understand your Islamic education and financial journey

3. Join or create a giving circle. A giving circle is a form of collective philanthropy where a group of individuals pool their money, time, and knowledge to support causes they care about, amplifying their impact through shared decision-making and community-based giving. Organizations like the American Muslim Community Foundation (AMCF) can help you start a giving circle with friends or family. My friends and I started with just $100 each per year, and our collective impact was far greater than what we could do individually. 

4. Track your giving and watch how it grows with your financial knowledge. Use apps like Mint or YNAB to track both your spending and your giving. I use a simple Google Sheet that I review annually. And, yes, I have seen my giving grow year after year. 

5. Study the prophetic examples of combining commerce with generosity. Read about Khadijah (RA) and how she used her business acumen to support the early Muslim community. Read about other Muslim women who gave generously. Re-read the Seerah with this lens. Books I have enjoyed: 

• Khadija Bint Khuwaylid (The Age of Bliss) by Mehmet Buyuksahin
• Women Around the Prophet by Muhammad “Ali Quib
• Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings

The Divine Connection Between Wealth and Impact

Remember the cloud that was commanded to rain on the gardener’s land? That wasn’t just a story about blessings – it was a lesson about the divine connection between smart money management and impactful giving.

It’s 2025, and I’m still learning. But I know this: understanding money isn’t just about materialism – it’s about maximizing your ability to help others. Whether it’s supporting Palestine relief efforts, contributing to a sister’s medical fund, or helping establish a new masjid – your financial literacy is a tool for change.

Your Next Steps

Want to dive deeper? Here are some immediate actions you can take:

1. Calculate your actual zakat properly – Islamic Relief and Zakat Foundation offer free zakat calculators online
2. Open a no-fee investment account – Look into halal options at Sharia Portfolio or Azzad Asset Management
3. Join an online Islamic finance community – Muslim Women and Finance on Facebook has members sharing tips
4. Schedule a financial “date” with yourself monthly – Set aside just 30 minutes to review your finances and giving goals
5. Attend a workshop – Organizations like Sharia Portfolio and AMCF offer regular webinars. Sign up! 

The world needs more Muslims who understand both wealth creation and generous giving. Start now, start small, but start with intention. When you combine financial knowledge with the desire to serve, you unlock a powerful form of ibadah that can transform not just your life, but your entire community.

The best investment? It’s investing in your ability to help others.

Related:

– Money And Wealth In Islam: The Root Of All Evil?

– 3 Urgent Financial Questions to Ask A Potential Spouse

The post Meaningful Money: How Financial Literacy Amplifies Your Giving appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Many people often struggle with the concept of wealth allowing their emotions and sometimes, preconceived conclusions to create, in their view a ‘conflict’ between Islam and money – a conflict that may lead us to believe that wealth will sabotage our path to ‘piety’ and so we end up allowing what we understand to be an ‘Islamic attitude’ to actually sabotage our path to being financially secure. People often don’t know how to react when they see Muslims having excess amounts of wealth whilst at the same time being good Muslims. More often than not, we assume the worst when someone has been blessed with wealth and is seemingly ‘religious.’ It seems that our own life experiences also play a role in determining our personal and individual ‘wealth story;’ a script which is created and fashioned by our own unique life experiences in our own wealth journey. 

In our communities, we seem to have two extremes; we have people who say that poverty is the ideal, making us think that we should aim to be poor! A lot of times people who bring up this extreme will cite the fact that there were poor people in our history who were great people, which is no problem, but even those people who financially may not have had money in their hands still reached for the highest possible standards in whatever they did.   

Muslims who think poverty is the ideal, will cite Umar ibn al Khattab and say that he was poor and lived a simple life¹, which is true to an extent because he didn’t live an extravagant life, but that is not to say Umar didn’t have money! Umar was one of the greatest leaders of humanity who ruled vast lands in his era. He had all the riches he needed, yet he didn’t spend it on himself; choosing instead to use it to take care of his people. That’s the difference – we should aim to have the wealth but not spend it extravagantly on ourselves and then just end there. The whole purpose of having money and building wealth is to be able to benefit yourself and others with it. Who will sponsor orphans if we aim to be poor, who will build mosques and pay off the qard hasana that some of our mosques need to pay back, who will support the poor in our community if we aim to be poor and have no zakat and sadaqah to give? 

But then there is the other extreme – some people only focus on money regardless of where it comes from, whether it’s haram or halal. They might even forget entirely about building a home in paradise. For these people, it’s all about money and unfortunately, we see these people a lot in our times; those who make a lot of money, spend it like crazy and post things on social media to get attention – that’s also not the ideal situation Muslims should aim to be in!

Let us now move on to what Islam actually teaches us about wealth and money.

What Does the Quran Say About Wealth?

(a) The Link Between Money & Worship:

There are many places where Allah (the Most High) mentions the word rizq (provision, sustenance); which we also translate to mean wealth even though rizq is a more comprehensive term. Let us look at a selected few ayaat (verses):

Allah says in the Quran:

“And I have not created the jinn and mankind except that they worship me.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat; 51:56]

He then informs us that in the following ayah:

“I do not desire any provision from them, and I do not wish them to feed me.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat; 51:57]

Because:

“Verily, God, He is the provider, endowed with steady might.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat; 51:58]

Here there is a link between money and worship; in other words, Allah is telling us that the reason why He created mankind and jinn (solely to worship Him alone) and that He doesn’t want anything of food or money from us, because He is the Provider and He will provide for us (his creation). 

Allah also commands us to: 

“And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.” [Surah Taha; 20:132]

Here Allah commands us to establish the prayer with our families. Again He informs us that He isn’t asking us for provision, rather it is He who gives us the provision and sustenance. Again there is a correlation between worship and sustenance or money because as humans we are weak and one of the primary distractions to worship is money! One of the main reasons ‘common people’ give about why they are not so ‘religious’ is because they want to enjoy life, and spend their wealth after making it; but here Allah is saying: don’t be distracted by money, I’m not asking you give me money, if you worship me, I will give you money (provision)!

Allah created us and knows our true nature; that we all have a natural inclination for money and the need to enjoy it. He is therefore telling us that despite this ‘natural’ desire for wealth and provision, we shouldn’t become distracted because:

“Who is it that could provide for you if He withheld His provision?” [Surah Al-Mulk; 67:21]

In this verse, Allah challenges the people; if He withheld the rizq (sustenance), is there any other being who can provide them rizq? Truly it is only Allah Who has the power to provide us with provision and sustenance!

(b) A Blessing from Allah

In many ayaat (verses) Allah commands the believers to enjoy the blessings that He has provided for them. Allah says:

“And [recall] when Moses prayed for water for his people, so We said, “Strike with your staff the stone.” And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and every people knew its watering place. “Eat and drink from the provision of Allah , and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2:60]

Here Allah is telling the Muslims to eat and drink but not to misuse the abundance of Allah and not to spread corruption.  

He also says that it is He who:

“… who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2:22]

And then tells us:

“O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship.” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2:172]

So we are commanded to eat, drink, and earn our sustenance from permissible (halal) means and in doing so we should show our gratitude to Allah and worship Him alone since it is He who has provided us the sustenance to enjoy in the first place!

Allah also says:

“Say, “Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good (lawful) things of provision?” Say, “They are for those who believe during the worldly life (but) exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.” [Surah Al-‘Araf; 7:32]

Here Allah challenges and refutes those who prohibit any type of food, drink, or clothes according to their own understanding without relying on what Allah has legislated. 

(c) A Test from Allah

Allah reminds us that the wealth that He has bestowed upon us is not only a blessing from Him , but also a trial and a test for mankind.

“Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.” [Surah At-Taghabun; 64:15]

He also states:

“And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward.” [Surah Al’Anfal; 8:28]

So all of our wealth, possessions, and even our children are a test and a trial from Allah and to make this test even more challenging, Allah has created us with the natural inclination to collect wealth. Society has raised the value of wealth high above most worldly commodities to the extent that mankind now judges each other based on wealth. Monetary assets are also used to determine social status because with their presence, power, confidence, and fame increase whereas without it, they are seemingly lost or diminished.  

What Do We Learn About Wealth From the Life of the Prophet ?

Amr ibn-al-Aas narrates that the Prophet said²: 

“I want to send you as the head of an army. Allah will keep you safe and grant you booty, and I hope that you will acquire some wealth from it.” 

Amr replied: “O Messenger of Allah , I did not become Muslim out of love for wealth, I became Muslim out of love for Islam and to be with the Messenger of Allah .”

Then the Prophet replied: “O’h Amr, how beautiful is pure money for a righteous man?”

The giving hand is better than the receiving one. [PC: Masjid Pogung Dalangang (unsplash)]

Not only is this incident an indication of Amr’s strong faith and sincerity, but it was as if he felt that he needed to explain why he became Muslim (for the love of Islam and to be close to the Messenger ). However, the Prophet explained that

From this hadith, we understand that if a person strives to acquire halal (honest and pure) wealth, this is something praiseworthy that was encouraged by the Prophet .

It is always better to work and earn your money in a halal way, which is a respected and dignified way to live. 

The Prophet said: “The upper hand is better than the lower hand, (i.e. the spending / giving hand is better than the receiving hand); and begin charity with those who are under your care; and the best charity is that which is given out of surplus; and whoever abstains from asking others for some financial help, Allah will save him from asking others and make him self-sufficient.” [Al Bukhari]

Abdullah ibn Umar also reports the Messenger was sitting on the pulpit and talking about charity and abstention from begging, and said: “The upper hand is better than the lower hand, the upper hand being the one which bestows and the lower hand which begs.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

We learn the following lessons from these two ahadeeth: 

(a) The ahadeeth contain an exhortation to charity because the giving (upper) hand is better than the lower hand (which receives the charity). Therefore, it is better for you to be in a stronger financial position so you can spend in the way of Allah rather than looking to others. 

(b)  The best charity is to give preference to one’s family and children over others as the ahadeeth instructs us to start with those under our care. 

(c) A Muslim must start with the obligatory spending due on him such as spending on his wife and children and then he may spend thereafter on whatever he wishes. 

(d) The ahadeeth are also an exhortation to abstain from begging. 

(e) The permissibility of seeking (halal) money so as to spend on himself and those whom he supports; then he may spend his money in the different channels of charity and righteous actions so that he may be one of the ‘upper-hand’ people.

What Do We Learn About Wealth From the Lives of the Companions?

We’ve all heard stories of the lives of the early generation of Muslims and their patience during times of poverty, their zuhd (abstinence), and general avoidance of the trapping of this worldly life, but what about the rich and wealthy amongst the Sahabah, how did they live? 

Khadijah , the wife of the Prophet was amongst the wealthiest women of her time and spent a considerable amount of her fortune providing support to the Message of the Prophet and to the newly emerging Muslim community in Makkah. For example, during the boycott of Muslims in Makkah, she almost single-handedly managed to get her agents to secure food and other essentials for the Muslims.³

Uthman Ibn Affan was the companion about whom the Prophet said: “From this day on, nothing will harm Uthman (regardless of what he does).” This was due to the fact that Uthman provided the resources needed for an under-equipped army that was setting out to confront the Romans who were amassing near Tabuk in the ninth year of Hijrah. Uthman donated 300 camels, a hundred horses, and weapons on top of the thousands of dinars in money and gold⁴.

During the Caliphate of Abu Bakr , when severe famine struck the city of Madina, Uthman gave away an entire large caravan he received from Damascus laden with food and goods. The city’s merchants gathered at his house and offered to pay him four or five times the cost of the goods, to which Uthman answered that he would sell his goods to the highest bidder, only to give away (for free) the entire caravan to the people of Medina for the sake of Allah !

Uthman’s complete faith in Allah and belief that the reward and promise of Allah is better than any worldly gain was reflected in his unparalleled generosity and eagerness to please Allah by spending in the way of Allah by serving the Muslims⁵.

We also learn of the great integrity and self-respect of Abdurrahman ibn Awf : a Companion of the Prophet who migrated to Madina penniless. When he was offered by another companion Sa’d bin Rab’I Al-Ansari to accept half of his property, Abdurrahman Ibn Awf graciously declined, and instead asked to be shown the way to the marketplace so he could work to earn his own living. Like Uthman , he too was one of the ten Companions that were promised Paradise whilst they were still alive. He also gave much in charity and would weep upon seeing the riches that Allah blessed him with, remembering those of his Companions who had passed away owning little or nothing of worldly possessions⁶.

We see here that Sahabah were never attached to money and viewed money as a resource to do good, attain rewards, and as a result Allah’s Pleasure. They weren’t afraid of wealth and neither did they want to dispose of it for fear that it would ruin them because it was inherently evil, but rather they spent it in the way of Allah and had no hesitations about working hard to earn a lawful income. 

Important Signposts

(a) The Desirability of Obtaining Money Through Halal (permissible) Means Only

We have seen that it is not sinful for a Muslim to wish for and desire more money, as long as his/her intentions are pure. The Prophet stated that money is a noble possession, but only for a righteous person because the pious person will utilize his wealth properly without selfishness and greed, which deprives the wealth of Allah’s Blessings. 

The Prophet said: 

“This money is green and luscious (like a ripe fruit), so whoever takes it rightfully, then what a great aid it is for him.⁷”

This hadith teaches us the true purpose of money, and that it can be a tool that helps us to worship Allah . Thus seeking money (correctly) and spending (on worthy causes) will be counted as an act of worship done with the correct intention of attaining Allah’s Pleasure. 

The Prophet also narrated: 

“Once, while (the Prophet) Ayub was taking a bath naked, locusts of gold fell upon him. So he started to gather them in his clothes. His Lord called out, ‘O Ayub” Have I not given you riches?’ He replied, ‘Yes, indeed, my Lord, but I can never be self-sufficient from your blessings!” 

In another narration, he responded:

“…but who is there that can be satisfied with your Mercy (so that he does not desire more)?⁸”

Ibn Hajar commented on this Hadith stating it is an indication of the permissibility of being eager to increase one’s (money) through halal means, but this is for the one who is confident that he will be able to thank Allah (with the money once he obtains it). Another point of benefit is that money that is achieved through lawful (ie. halal) means has been called ‘blessings’ (barakah). Furthermore, this Hadith shows the superiority of the rich man who is thankful⁹.

There is no doubt that Muslims are obliged to earn their substance through permissible (halal) ways. The Prophet said: 

“O people! Allah is al-Tayyib (pure), and He only accepts that which is pure! Allah has commanded the believers what He has commanded the Messengers, for He said, ‘O Messengers! Eat from the pure foods, and do right,’ and He said, ‘O you who believe! Eat from the pure and good foods We have given you.¹⁰”

Then he mentioned a traveler whose food, clothes, drink, and nourishment were all obtained through unlawful (haram) means, so how could he expect his du’a to be answered by Allah ¹¹?

Such is the obligation of earning through halal means that Muslims are encouraged to take a profession and go out to work, which is the best way to earn pure sustenance. Such is the status of halal sustenance that Islam even places manual labor in a high place! The Prophet said: 

“No one has ever eaten any food that is better than eating with what his hands have earned. And indeed the Prophet of Allah, Dawud, would eat from the earnings of his hands.¹²”

The Prophet was so cautious in what he ate that he would make sure that every morsel of food was halal for him to eat to the extent that it is reported that he once lost sleep due to the fear that he may have accidentally eaten a date that was not meant for him!¹³

The Companions too were very cautious about how they earned their sustenance. For example, it is reported that Abu Bakr induced vomit after discovering that one of his servants had given him some food obtained by unlawful means.¹⁴ A similar narration is reported about Umar bin al-Khattab who was given milk by one of his servants and then Umar later discovered that the milk was taken from camels that were meant for charity.¹⁵ Another famous companion of the Prophet , Sa’id ibn Abi Waqqas was once asked, “Why is it that your prayers are responded to, amongst all of the other Companions?” To this, he replied: “I do not raise to my mouth a morsel except that I know where it came from and where it came out of.¹⁶”

(b) The Consequences of Haram Sustenance

Earning through haram means causing great damage to a person’s life in this world and the hereafter. We’ve seen how the Prophet warned that one of the consequences of haram sustenance is that one’s du’a (prayer) can be rejected by Allah . As well as this we’ve seen how the Prophet and his Companions were extremely cautious in their financial dealings and strived their utmost to ensure that all of the sources of their sustenance were pure and halal. 

The Prophet warned us that: 

“A time will come in which a person will not care whether what he (earned) was through halal or through haram.”

Furthermore, two of the seven deadly sins that the Prophet warned us against involve earning through impermissible means¹⁷! Earning through haram means can also affect a person’s beliefs (aqidah) such that if a person believes that they are allowed to earn through haram means, then this is an act of disbelief as they have rejected the clear texts of the Quran and Sunnah. On the other hand, if they trivialize the sin, it can also expose the weakness of their faith (iman). Moreover, earning through impermissible means involves injustices not only to Allah by defying his laws and prohibitions, but it also necessitates injustices towards one’s family who will have to sustain themselves from the haram earnings of the breadwinner. This can impact Allah’s barakah (blessings) on the family, the marital and family relationships, as well as guidance. 

Earning through haram means also involves injustices against others. Whether that is lying and cheating, taking riba, embezzling, selling intoxicants, etc., someone will always be wronged in the process for which there will be justice and retribution on the Day of Judgement – a day where the currency of trade will be good deeds and bad deeds!

Earning through haram means can also cause poverty in this world as any such earnings will be devoid of Allah’s barakah (blessings). We are all too familiar with the depression, anxiety, and dissatisfaction of famous celebrities who are among the ‘super rich.’ Compare this to satisfied poor or middle-earning Muslims who live peaceful lives due to good health, happiness, contentment, family lives, etc. 

Earning your sustenance from haram ways can also incur the displeasure and wrath of Allah as the transgressor willingly forsakes the commandments of Allah in place of his/her desires. The one who truly fears Allah and has concern for his life in the hereafter will always recognize that haram money can never purchase lasting pleasure as any punishment in the hereafter far outweighs any transient pleasure in this world. 

Indeed, the Prophet also warned us that one of the first questions we will be asked on the Day of Judgement is regarding our wealth; how it was earned and how it was spent.¹⁸ What response will we prepare for Allah if we are careless about the sources of our income – something that must come before sourcing out halal meat?

(c) How does Islam View Poverty?

Allah [swt] asks us to seek protection from poverty. [PC: Emil Kalibradov (unsplash)]

of the Prophet . Those Sahabah still preferred others over themselves despite their very limited financial means. But that doesn’t mean that we should romanticize poverty or the struggles associated with it, rather poverty is one of the calamities that Allah may afflict people with – whether a whole society or an individual. If poverty, having little and struggling through life was the ideal situation, then the Prophet wouldn’t teach us supplications to seek protection from poverty. For example, supplications such as: 

“O Allah, I seek refuge in you from poverty and lack of abasement and I seek refuge in you from being oppressed and oppressing others.”²¹

Another supplication taught to us by the Prophet is: 

“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief, poverty, and torment in the grave.”²²

There is no doubt that being patient and forbearing when faced with a calamity is something that is rewarded by Allah , but that doesn’t mean that we should be seeking to live in calamities such as poverty and struggle. 

There is one hadith that people sometimes mistakenly use to justify or romanticize the struggle of being poor or having little, where the Prophet said: 

“The poor Muslims will enter Paradise before the rich by half of a day, the length of which is five hundred years.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 4122]

However, narrations such as these do not seek to blame richness and praise poverty, rather they show that Paradise is the ultimate reward for the patience of those who were afflicted with poverty in this world. For example, the Prophet informs us about the reward of Paradise for the mother who loses her child and is patient²³, but that doesn’t indicate that suffering the loss of a child or other loved ones should be our aim; rather Paradise is the reward for patiently bearing with such difficulties.   

Another reason why the Prophet mentioned the poor entering paradise before the rich may also be because the poor will have less to account for and therefore their reckoning will be easier and shorter than the one who was blessed with a lot of halal wealth, just like a person who has multiple sources of income in this world – he will have to hire a professional accountant to do his tax returns every year, unlike the one who is employed and earns a salary from one source²⁴.

Some Ways to Increase Your Money and Closeness to Allah

Now that we have established that money isn’t inherently evil, poverty is not the aim, and that Allah actually wants us to earn our sustenance through halal means, let us now mention some of the spiritual and practical ways in which a person can increase his money and nearness to Allah ! 

[This is not an exhaustive list (and this article certainly doesn’t contain advice or guidance on business, commerce, or investments) and so there are many things that are beyond the scope of this article that I’ve left out.]

(1) Worship of Allah

Quite literally, turning to Allah and prioritizing our worship will give you rizq (provision and sustenance). 

The Prophet said: 

“Indeed Allah the Most High said: “Oh son of Adam, devote yourself to my worship, I will fill your chest with riches and alleviate your poverty. If you do not do so, I will cause you to become preoccupied and not alleviate your poverty.” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2466]

So one of the ways in which you can build your wealth and be protected from poverty is by worshipping more: fast more, pay more sadaqa, spend more time with the Quran, seek Islamic knowledge, etc. 

(2) Asking Allah for forgiveness

Another technique is asking Allah for forgiveness and coming back to Him.

Prophet Nuh called his people to Allah for 950 years.  He did it publicly, he did it privately, and he did it openly using all different techniques. Nuh told his people:

“Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.” [Surah Nuh; 71:10]

Nuh’s people asked, “What do we get if we ask for forgiveness?  What do we get if we turn back to Allah?”

Then Nuh informed his people that if they turn back to Allah , He will:

“He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers…

…and give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.” [Surah Nuh; 71:11-12]

In other words, their livestock, and their agriculture would benefit from the water coming down and He would give them an increase of wealth. 

Now let us pause here for a moment, if there was a contradiction between Islam and money, why would Prophet Nuh tell the people that if they ask for forgiveness, Allah would give them an increase in their wealth? Think about it!

So, in order to increase your wealth and win Allah’s Love, ask Allah for forgiveness and turn back to Him.

(3) Taqwa

Taqwa or being conscious of Allah is another way to gain sustenance and provision from Allah. Allah says:

“Whoever has taqwa of Allah, He will make a way out for them and will provide for them from a direction that they would have never imagined.” [Surah At-Talaq; 65:2-3]

So what does it mean to have taqwa of Allah when it comes to wealth? Having taqwa in wealth means to seek a halal income and avoid jobs and positions that may compromise your Deen; avoid lying, cheating, and deception in trade, while also observing your religion in your places of work (and the list goes on). 

(4) Spending in the way of Allah

There are three types of charity in Islam that come under ‘spending’ in the path of Allah . First, the two obligatory types of Zakat: zakat on one’s wealth and Zakatul-fitr (which is given at the end of Ramadan). The third type of charity is Sadaqa, which is voluntary and encouraged at every time and place. The rules of each category are found in the books of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), which is beyond the scope of this article.

The evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah that prove that spending in the way of Allah brings about an increase in one’s rizq are too many to mention in this article. So let us discuss a selected few. 

Allah says:

“Say, “Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it] for him. But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] – He will compensate for it; and He is the best of providers.” [Surah Sabah; 34:39]

Ibn Kathir commented on this verse to say that it means, “no matter how much you spend on matters that He had made obligatory upon you, and (on matters) that are permissible, Allah will replace it in this world with a substitute (meaning more money), and in the Hereafter with rewards, as has been explained in the Sunnah.”²⁵

Another ayah where Allah informs us that spending in His way will increase our wealth and sustenance is when He says:

“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is All-Encompassing and Knowing.” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2:268]

Ibn Abbas comments on this verse and states that shaytan “promises you poverty by telling you not to spend your money! You are more in need of it and also commands you with indecent deeds. Yet Allah promises you forgiveness from these sins and sustenance by increasing your rizq.”²⁶ Furthermore Ibn al-Qayyim states that here, “Allah promises His servants forgiveness for his sins, and His blessings by giving him more than what he spent, many times over, either in this world, or in this world and in the Hereafter.”²⁷

Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet said: 

“Allah has said: ‘O son of Adam! Spend, I will spend on you!’” [Al Bukhari]

From this very simple hadith we learn that if you spend for the sake of Allah , He will reward you by giving you more. What a beautiful promise from Allah – spend from whatever resources He placed in your hands in the first place, and then He will increase it with more! How many of us truly believe and have firm faith in this promise when reaching into our pockets or bank accounts in order to give in charity for the sake of Allah ? It is for this reason that even the Prophet also promised that charity never decreases a person’s money.²⁸

In another hadith the Prophet said: 

“There is not a day upon which the servant awakens but that two angels descend. One of them says: O Allah, repay one who spends in charity! The other says: O Allah, destroy one who withholds charity!” [Muslim]

What a great honor to have angels praying for you if you are generous in spending in Allah’s Path and a threat to one who is stingy and miserly with his money!

(5) Du’a

There are ways in which you can make du’a to Allah sincerely and ask Him for more money.  Don’t just say, “Oh Allah, give me money!  Give me money!” No, that’s not how you make the du’a. Rather the du’a that Allah encourages us to make and puts on our tongue and reveals in the Qur’an is:

“But among them is he who says, “Oh Allah give us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and safety from the hellfire.” [Surah Al-Baqarah; 2:201]

So it’s not all about just focusing on the money and that’s it and it’s not all about just focusing on the hereafter and that’s it. Islam is the natural way – the solution for humanity and humans would all love to have a good life and would love to have a good hereafter so Islam brings the goodness of both worlds together. 

For anybody who has a problem with wealth or whoever has a problem with money, thinking that Islam discourages it, I would ask them why

Allah encourages us to seek sustenance in this world [PC: Masjid Pogung Dalangan (unsplash)]

Allah would encourage us to ask for the goodness of this life and the goodness of the next and to seek protection from the hellfire if we were simply supposed to do with the bare minimum? 

Our deen encourages a middle path: to seek goodness in this life, seek goodness in the hereafter, and ask Allah to protect us from hellfire.  

(6) Having Trust (tawakkul) in Allah

Putting one’s trust in Allah means realizing that nothing happens except to the will of Allah and that everything occurs due to a Divine Wisdom. As Muslims we need to accept Allah’s Decree without questioning it or being displeased with Allah – and have full faith that whatever Allah has decided is from Divine Wisdom. 

Although tawakkul is an action of the heart, it doesn’t negate the actions of the limbs in that having true tawakkul means making every effort and doing everything humanly possible within our means to achieve a goal, and then putting one’s trust in Allah . We all know the famous story of the Bedouin who came to the Prophet and asked, “Should I tie my camel up (to stop it from running away), or should I have trust in Allah ?” The Prophet replied:  “Tie it up, then put your trust (in Allah)!”²⁹

This hadith is clear proof that true tawakkul is achieved by physically striving and making an effort first to achieve a desired goal, and then having trust in Allah .  

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that the Prophet said: 

“If you were to put your trust in Allah the way that Allah deserves, then you would be provided for as the birds are: they leave (in search of food) at the beginning of the day famished, and they return at the end of the day full.”³⁰

This hadith re-enforces the true nature of tawakkul – the bird doesn’t sit in its nest expecting that the food will come to him automatically, rather it does what many of us do to earn a living: it leaves in the early part of the day in search of food; a search which lasts the whole day only to return at dusk with a full stomach. That too, is the example of the true believer who strives in order to work and earn their sustenance, and then places their trust in Allah .    

Allah also commands us in the Quran to have tawakkul:

“And He will provide for him from (sources) he could never have imagined. And whosever put his trust (tawakkul) in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things.” [Surah Al-Talaq; 65:3]

And even promises us:

“…If you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you if He wills, out of His Bounty. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [Surah At-Tawbah; 9:28]

(7) Performing Hajj & Umrah

A lot of people think about the cost, effort, and energy associated with making Hajj and Umrah, especially in our times when prices for these things have increased exponentially. However, the reality is that when a person takes the time, energy, and effort to travel for Hajj and Umrah and spends his money for the pleasure of Allah , Allah rewards him by increasing his rizq. 

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reports that the Prophet said: 

“Follow up between Hajj and Umrah (i.e. continuously), because they both eliminate poverty and sins just like the furnace eliminates dirty impurities of iron, gold, and silver. And an accepted Hajj has no reward less than paradise.”

Here the Prophet encouraged us to follow up one Hajj after another and one Umrah after another, which will not only remove our sins, but Allah will also increase our rizq. 

(8) Establish the ties of kinship

Another proven method for Allah to increase your rizq is to establish the ties of kinship, which is always difficult and awkward due to trying to maintain relationships with so many people with different personalities and characteristics coupled with the family ‘politics’ that exist in every family. In fact, part and parcel of being a human is difficult family relations and that’s why the reward from Allah is great. 

Establishing the ties of kinship means showing relatives kindness, compassion, and mercy, as well as paying them visits, inquiring about them, helping them, and supporting them to the best of one’s ability.  

The Prophet said: 

“Whoever wishes to have his rizq increased, and his life-span extended, let him establish the ties of kinship.”

(9) Marriage

This will come as a surprise to many people because the irony is that many people complain they can’t get married because they don’t have enough money, yet marriage is one of the easiest ways in which a person can guarantee an increase in his sustenance from Allah . Allah says in the Quran:

“And those amongst you who are single (male and female) and (also marry) the pious of your (male) slaves and maid-servant (female slaves). If they be poor, Allah will enrich them out of His Bounty. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knowing.” [Surah An-Nur; 24:32]

There is no doubt that there is a clear difference between being responsible with your tawakkul and acting irrationally when intending to get married, but Imam Al-Sa’di in his Tafsir stated that this verse is a promise from Allah that a married person will be enriched after being poor if he marries.³¹

Imam al-Qurtubi when explaining this verse also states:

“This means: let not the poverty of a man or a woman be a reason for not getting married. For in this verse is a promise to those who get married for the sake of acquiring Allah’s pleasure and seeking refuge from disobeying Him (that Allah will enrich him) … and in this verse is proof that it is allowed to marry a poor person.”³²

(10) Sponsoring Students of Knowledge

One of the noblest ways to increase one’s rizq is to financially support students of sacred Islamic knowledge so that they can be free to excel in their studies without having to worry about seeking employment in order to support themselves or their families. 

The proof for this can be found in a hadith of the Prophet where there were two brothers – one went out to work, whilst the other would come to study with the Prophet . So the one who used to go out to work complained to the Prophet about his brother, to which the Prophet replied:  “It is possible that you are provided your rizq because of him (meaning the brother who accompanied the Prophet (saw)).”³³

(11) Giving Thanks to Allah

Allah promises an increase in blessings if His servants are thankful to him:

“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you are thankful, I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (ie disbelievers), then verily, My punishment is indeed severe.’” [Surah Ibrahim; 14:7]

For this reason, the Prophet would always thank Allah because it is Allah who provided for you in the first place! The true believer always thanks Allah , by recognizing that all good is from Allah , praising Him and worshipping Him sincerely. Thanking Allah will guarantee an increase in further good and blessings from Him. 

From the mannerisms of a good Muslim another way of thanking Allah is also to thank the people who have done good for you as the Prophet said: 

“He does not thank Allah, he who does not thank the People.”³⁴

We know that Allah is The Most-Generous and is The Bestower of Blessings, the Good-Doer (to His Slaves). The people likewise are good-doers within the limits of their ability. So whoever has good done to him by people then it is from Islamic etiquettes to thank them for being good towards him – whatever type of goodness it may be. And from the errors made is that someone does good to you and you do not thank him for his goodness nor mention him with good in order that supplication can be made for him.

(12) Showing Kindness to the Poor

The Prophet informed us that if we wish to seek Allah’s Pleasure and want an increase in our rizq, then we should show kindness and mercy to the weak and destitute of our society. He said: 

“Find me amongst your weak, because the only reason that you are provided sustenance and aided in victory is because of the weak (amongst you).”

Here it is clear that Allah will provide us sustenance and increase our rizq if we show kindness and mercy to the weak and oppressed in our society. 

Conclusions

We have seen that poverty isn’t the ideal or best way to live according to the teachings of the Quran, the Sunnah, and what we learned from the lives of the early generation of Muslims. Although we cannot say that to live the life of a rich, wealthy, and affluent person is entirely haram (as long as the source of the wealth is halal), we know that greed, miserliness, arrogance, and extravagance are also not allowed in Islam. Neither should we aim for a Muslim to eat, live, and spend only on ourselves simply to live better than everybody else. Rather it should be the aim of a Muslim to seek to earn halal wealth; to build that halal wealth and spend it on that which will bring reward and benefit to themselves, their families, and their wider Muslim community. 

There were wealthy Sahabah as we have seen, but it wasn’t the money itself that led to righteousness and Paradise – it was the choices they made with it. It’s not money that can lead to Paradise or the hellfire, it depends on the choices we make with our wealth. Money doesn’t cause the situation, but our decisions; our hearts are what leads us to do good or bad. Therefore, money is a magnifier of what is in the hearts of people.

For example, we learn of Pharaoh and Qaarun in the Quran who had great amounts of wealth and we are told that they rejected the Message of Musa . It wasn’t the wealth that ruined them, it was what they did with their wealth (i.e. mobilized their resources and army against Musa ).³⁵

We have seen that wealth is both a great blessing from Allah and a test. Money and children can be a source of comfort in this world, but it is the righteous deeds that we attain by spending that money on charitable acts and buildings institutions that will benefit our community which will remain with us permanently, and by it we can hope for Allah’s Pleasure and a permanent reward in the hereafter. 

So with that in mind, if we want to seek wealth, let us seek it in a beautiful and permissible manner like the Prophet advised³⁶, knowing full well that surely what is in our rizq will definitely catch up with us even if we were to flee from it.³⁷ In the end, money doesn’t make us a good person or a bad person, but it is a reflection of what is in our hearts. Let us remind ourselves of a golden rule: if we want to be rich and wealthy in order to spend for the sake of Allah , Allah will never bless something which He has prohibited, so always seek halal sustenance and halal means in your wealth-building journey as the Prophet summarised for us the essence of seeking Allah’s Sustenance and gaining more wealth:

“O Mankind. The Holy Spirit (Jibril) has whispered in my soul that no person shall die until his time is complete and his sustenance is finished. So fear Allah, and seek your sustenance in a beautiful (ie permissible manner). And let not any of you – when his sustenance appears to be delayed in arriving – try to seek it through disobeying Allah. For verily, what Allah has (with Him) can never be obtained except from obedience to Him.”³⁸

Related:

– What Is An Imam Worth? A Living Wage At Least.

– Faith In Action: Zakat, Sadaqah, And Islam’s Role In Embracing Humanitarianism In A Globalized World

The post Money And Wealth In Islam : The Root Of All Evil? appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Irtiza Hasan and Zainab bint Younus talk to Abdullah Syed, the Executive Director of A Continuous Charity – an organization dedicated to providing interest-free student loans to aspiring Muslim students. If you’re a student, find out how you can avoid declaring war on Allah and His Messenger by connecting with A Continuous Charity!

For those who aren’t students, ACC can still be on value to your community: your siblings, your children, or other promising youth. Tune into this episode to learn more about ACC’s work, and how your community can invest in this incredible opportunity for sadaqah jaariyah. Interest-free student loans are necessary for the spiritual and financial health of this Ummah – and you can be part of this incredible initiative.

Abdullah Syed is a seasoned executive in the humanitarian and faith-base space. Having studied Islamic Studies part-time and weekends at Hartford Seminary, AlMaghrib Institute and Arees Institute, Abdullah took a year long sabbatical from his work as Business Analyst at Accenture, to pursue the Dream program, a Quranic Arabic intensive at Bayyinah Institute.

Instead of returning to corporate, Abdullah spent the last fifteen years starting, growing and innovating organizations such as Amaanah Refugee Services, Bayyinah Institute and Islamic Relief USA. He currently serves as the Executive Director at A Continuous Charity Foundation (ACC) which provides interest-free loans and mentoring for Muslim students pursuing higher education.

Born in Pakistan, he grew up in Connecticut but soon found his way to the great state of Texas. Abdullah currently resides in Dallas with his wife and 4 kids.

Related:

A Halal Alternative To Student Loans! Well, Almost…

A Muslim’s Guide to Student Loans in the U.S.

The post [Podcast] Interest-Free Student Loans with A Continuous Charity | Abdullah Syed appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

I will begin by telling a story.

There was once an elephant that lived in a village. One wealthy individual offered $1000 to the first person who could make the elephant cry. One by one the people went to the elephant and tried to show or tell the elephant sad things to make him cry, but to no avail. Finally, the village Imam went to the elephant and whispered something in his ear. Immediately, the elephant started bawling and crying his eyes out. The villagers and the wealthy man all were surprised and wanted to know just what the village Imam had whispered in the ear of the elephant. After being pressed for some time, the village Imam finally spoke and said, “It is simple. I just whispered in the elephant’s ear the amount that you pay me for my services.” Although this is a fictional story, the moral contained therein is very relevant.

 The True Value of Islamic Scholars in Society

It is not possible to discuss the salaries of Imams and Islamic scholars without discussing the true value of the work and services they provide. Unfortunately, masjids tend to evaluate their work and services from a purely capitalist perspective. Meaning, they attempt to monetize duties such as leading salah, teaching the Quran and hadith, providing spiritual guidance, etc. The most accurate way to determine the true value of an Islamic scholar is to refer back to the original sources of Islam; the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet . Although there are multiple verses from the Quran and hadiths and multiple books written on the value of the Islamic scholars, we will suffice by quoting two narrations.

On one occasion, the Prophet Muhammad said, “All the beings in the heavens and on the earth, including the fish in the sea seek forgiveness for an Islamic scholar.” [Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi]. In a similar light, he said, “Allah, his angels, and all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, including the ants in their holes and the fish pray for the scholar who teaches goodness to mankind.” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi]

These narrations emphasize the important role that the Imam plays in the functioning of human society and the universe at large. The fish in the sea and the ants in their holes and all the beings and animals in the sky and the earth pray for an Imam and Islamic scholar because they clearly understand that their existence and well-being are dependent on the rulings issued by the teaching of the Islamic scholars. It is the Islamic scholars and teachers who taught the people on the earth to recognize Allah and declare His Greatness. The benefit from the services of the Imams extends to all creatures, and as a result, these creatures pray for the forgiveness of the scholars. Likewise, when there are no Imams or when the Imams don’t fulfill their duties, then ignorance and the disobedience of Allah will spread. This in turn will directly cause an increase in natural calamities that will adversely impact both animals and man. In sum, the very survival of humanity is directly tied to the work of Islamic scholars and their ability to fulfill their duty to guide mankind toward that which is good.  The work and service of Imams and Islamic scholars are invaluable and is impossible to calculate it in dollar terms.

Shaikh Osman Umarji asks the following rhetorical question, “If the scholar in your community saves and supports your child’s Islamic identity and imaan (faith), how much is that worth to you? If the scholar delivers inspiring lectures that help you spiritually grow as a person, how much is that worth to you? These are some of the questions we need to reflect upon as we try to determine how much to invest in scholars.”

How Much Should Imams Be Paid?

PC: Masjid Pogung Dalangan (unsplash)

In light of the foregoing discussion, the question remains: What is an appropriate salary for an Imam? The answer to this million-dollar question can be gleaned from the Muslim community during the golden age of Islam in Iraq in the 9^th century. The community at that time placed a high value on everything related to knowledge and was ready to put their money where their mouth was. The Banu Musa brothers were famous in Islamic history for their patronage of Islamic knowledge. “[They] gave free reign to their imaginations, putting the full power of their wealth and intellect into the pursuit of scientific discovery and excellence. The Banu Musa were particularly famous for their patronage of translation. They sent teams of agents out on manuscript-finding missions and spent a fortune on producing books.”¹

The Banu Musa brothers literally set the gold standard for Islamic scholars and translators. Ibn Nadeem reports that they paid a number of the top translators of the time 500 dinars (gold coins) per month. Using approximate calculations and the current price of gold, this works out to around $130,000 a month and around $1,500,000 a year!² Although this might not reflect the salaries of Imams and Islamic scholars for all eras and places, it nevertheless does provide a real-life example of individuals in history who recognized the great value of specialized knowledge and were willing to pay top dollar for it.

In comparison, we can ask what is the average salary of an Imam/Islamic scholar in America right now? A 2022 Yaqeen Institute study found that the median income for Imams in North America is $65,000.³ This figure is just barely above the Federal Poverty Level depending on the family size and location of the Imam.⁴ This figure is significantly lower than the living wage for Americans in most parts of the country. According to the living wage calculator, for a family of four before taxes, the living wage in 2021 was $100,498 per year.⁵ We do recognize that the living wage will vary based on the size of an individual’s family and their geographical location. One can use the living wage calculator to determine the living wage for an Imam based on his location. Likewise, the figure for the average annual salary for an Imam is significantly less than that of their Jewish and Christian counterparts. Although recent data is unavailable, a 2012 study highlighted this difference.

Omar Usman wrote an excellent article in 2012 titled “How Much Should Islamic Clergy Make?“. Although his recommendation needs to be updated and adjusted for the year 2023, the logic behind his conclusion is very relevant. He writes, “Communities though, set extremely high expectations of what they want. If those qualifications and expectations were to be put on someone in any other working environment, I would venture to guess the salary discussion would start somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 a year. If your community wants a Superman Imam, then they need to be ready to pay a Superman salary.”

Freeing Up the Imam From Working a Job in Order to Serve the Community

The teachings of the Sunnah also shed light on the real objective of paying a salary to an Imam or religious teacher. These individuals have multiple duties that require long hours and being available throughout the day and often the night. Due to the demanding nature of their positions, they are unable to work a normal secular job like the rest of us, and earn an adequate salary. In such a situation, we have a legal precedent from the life of the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr . The first day that he became the Caliph of the Muslims, in accordance with his usual routine, he went to the marketplace with his clothing merchandise to sell. Umar bin Al-Khattab and Abu Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarrah met him and questioned why he was going to the marketplace to trade while being appointed as the ruler of the Muslims. Abu Bakr responded, “Then how will I provide for my family?” They responded, “We will fix a salary for you of half a sheep daily [to suffice for your financial needs so that you don’t have to work].”⁶

In another version, Abu Bakr said when he became the Caliph, “My people know that my [previous] occupation was fully able to provide for the expenses of my family. I have now been occupied with the affairs of the Muslims, so my family will eat from the wealth[public treasury] of the Muslims and I will work on behalf of the Muslims.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari : 2070]

In the same way, the objective of paying our Imams a salary is to free them from working a secular job and allow them to dedicate themselves full-time to their important duty of educating and guiding the community. An Imam will be unable to adequately focus on his duties if his salary is insufficient to address his financial needs. This reality often-times leads to Imams spending all their free time on side businesses to make ends meet as we shall soon see in the interviews below.

The Current Financial State of Imams in North America

PC: Bogomil Mihaylov [unsplash]

The vast majority of the respondents to the survey that we conducted have full-time jobs as Imams and teachers. (74% vs. 26%). However, these scholars are not able to live off their current salaries and the majority of them also have side businesses and part-time jobs (55%). Luckily, most of these Masjids and Islamic institutions do not contractually limit them to working only for them (82%). Unfortunately, 55% of the Imams don’t have job security and 51% do not consider themselves financially secure. As a result, 47% of respondents have considered leaving their teaching position for a secular job. 17% of respondents already have full-time secular jobs. 29% of respondents said that they have been deserving of Zakat in the past or are currently deserving of Zakat, most likely because of their precarious financial situation. Another important statistic is that 46.5% of the respondents said that they had medical insurance or health coverage for themselves and their family, while only about 14% said that they had a retirement plan such as a 401K. Lastly, only 24% said that they owned the place that they were currently living in.

According to the North American Religious Scholars and Educators Survey conducted by the Yaqeen Institute, from 187 respondents, only 6% of Imams are never called upon by the community outside of typical work hours, 17.6% are called upon once in a while, 27.8% are called upon sometimes, 34.2% are called upon quite often, and 17% are called upon regularly.

26.48% of respondents never thought of leaving their teaching position, 27% thought about it once in a while, 30% think about it sometimes, 10.5% think about it very often, and 6% think about it always.

Only 6 out of 191 or about 3% of respondents made more than $100,000 a year. The average salary for all full-time employees was $54,300. 97 respondents or 53% had savings of less than $5,000. 28% had between $25,000 and $50,000 in savings. Only 4 respondents or 2% had more than $100,000 in savings. 110 out of 164 respondents or 67% had no health insurance. 57% work another job to supplement their salary. They work about 11-20 hours a week to make an additional $10-25,000 a year. 13% do not have enough money at the end of the month to make ends meet, while 35% have just enough to make it.

One of the objectives of this article is to serve as a voice for the Imams and their financial challenges. Most Imams have extreme self-honor and dignity that does not allow them to complain publicly about their low salaries and difficult financial conditions. In our survey, over 40 anonymous Imams from North American Imams commented on their situation and we have included their quotes in this article to allow the reader to get into the mind of the Imam, understand their challenges, and sympathize with their current plight.

It is difficult for an Imam to serve the community with financial worries

Financial difficulties and worries make it difficult for any person to do their job properly, and the same applies to Imams.

“Just that ulama who teach at Muslim institutions or serve as an Imam at masjids should be paid a wage which makes them independent from working a second job. In that way, they can dedicate their full and best to this Muslim institution or masjid. Also, if they are not able to pay in that way then they should at least provide housing for the ulama teachers or Imams or pay the full / portion of the rent. Because many of us do not own our homes. We simply rent.”

“I don’t have official job security but there is a moral understanding in the places I work. Working in two places takes a great toll on performance. The people may or not realize it but in our position understand what the community needs and what we are actually providing.”

“I am currently in a Masjid which cannot offer me a full-time position. The reason is a lack of funds despite this masjid being the first one built in —— Canada. So, I am forced to find a second job just so I can make ends meet. I do want to dedicate myself fully to the masjid but they cannot provide that. F.Y.I., we have many doctors here and other well-established people. Allah knows best if they have the money or not. I left the Greater Toronto Area for this but now I’m stuck.”

“Working as an ‘Alim class teacher and Imam is a full-time, 24/7 job that requires complete devotion and availability to fulfill the rights of these positions. Financial stress doesn’t allow for one to not only give the time needed but also hurts the sincerity, mental clarity, and طيب النفس (the ability to keep a clean heart) of the Imam, resulting in a deficiency in the services provided. This harms both the ‘Alim (Islamic scholar) and the general public”

“I am working 3 Islamic jobs serving the community to get by.”

Attending to one’s side business makes it difficult to fulfill the rights of being an Imam

How would a CEO or doctor do his job properly if he had a part-time job to take care of during their off times? The same applies to an Imam.

“I have a part-time imamat job, but teaching makes it full-time work. My biggest challenge is to balance imamat/teaching and my business. I feel like since I’ve started my business, my optional efforts for ummah have decreased and I only perform what is required by management, and the rest of the time I spend on business.”

“It’s a struggle having to save up for vacation, having to work extra so that I can save up to buy a house. It takes away precious time that I could be increasing my knowledge and focusing on things that could benefit the community.”

“I am not involved in imamat nor Islamic teaching at the moment. I have an Islamic side business ——–, and work for ——. I would love to dedicate time to teaching and Islamic programs.”

Many Imams have either left teaching for a secular job, or are considering it

The current financial crisis of Imams is extremely worrisome. Many North American Imams and Islamic scholars have left or are considering leaving full-time Islamic teaching and have obtained regular jobs, and the community will suffer greatly as a result of this. We are losing many Islamic scholars and Imams daily as they finally give up the fight and take a secular job where they can get a living wage and obtain peace of mind.

“I used to be a maktab teacher/Imam earning $100, and when my family couldn’t bear it anymore I had to leave to get a full-time job elsewhere. I wish I could devote my full time to doing some service of Islam, but I have to take care of my family.”

“I originally taught full-time for little or no pay. After marrying and finding I had a child on the way I couldn’t continue making excuses to my family about maintaining my teaching. So I went back to school and started a career as a computer programmer. Things did not last with that marriage due to those initial issues. But now, although I can care for my family and friends, I no longer have as much time to teach and have been away from it so long, only leading Jumu’ah (Friday prayers) or Eid.”

“I am a part-time Imam at the jail. About 25-30 hours. Yes, I am currently looking for a secular job but do not plan to leave part-time Khidmah (service of Islam by teaching, etc.) inshaAllah. I will be honest, one of the main reasons I am looking for a secular job is due to financial instability, especially with the current economy and how the economy might become worse as time goes on.”

“I am not a full-time teacher or Imam. I have a full-time secular job. However, I do occasionally teach workshops and deliver Friday sermons on a weekly basis.”

“Working with Islamic Institutes is definitely very rewarding but something that they fail to remember is that Imams and Shuyookh also need money to take care of themselves and their families. The value given to secular education over Islamic education is very sad. Alhamdulillah I am not in poverty, but I definitely had to leave my job in the Islamic field so I can make a better amount. Imams study mainly to become an Imam. The public needs to understand that the services we provide should not be for free. The services we provide are backed up by years and years of effort and education just like other professions. Not every scholar is able to do something on the side with their future towards the masjid or the madrasah and the people should never even expect such a thing. They should have enough respect and common sense to provide enough so that the scholar does not need to have a side hustle.”

“I teach in an Islamic school but I cannot afford to send my own kids to an Islamic School. I am honored to be involved in educating the children of my community and helping to secure their Islamic faith, but my own children are enrolled in public school due to my financial situation putting their Islamic faith at greater risk. I have considered quitting for a non-religious position because of this reason.”

“Alhamdulillah, at the moment my current position is good compared to my previous employment, where I used to teach 10 hours a day, from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm with an hour break in between. Basically working full-time and a part-time job as is the norm in Greater Toronto Area and other cities in Canada/USA. I have colleagues who gave up teaching in the evenings to work other part-time jobs like Amazon delivery, Uber, Instacart, etc. saying it’s better pay and less headache.”

 Shaikh Osman Umarji has written an article on the rise of the ‘scholarly gig economy.’ He writes,

“What are the natural consequences of the financial situation that these young men were put in? By looking at many of our communities, the answer is rather obvious. These young scholars often left their positions in the masjid, painstakingly leaving their passion to serve their communities behind in pursuit of a decent wage. Some had degrees to fall back on and went back to careers in engineering or business. Others decided to learn new marketable skills such as data science and accounting. Others went back to graduate school in search of new careers. Another group decided to become independent contractors, offering their services to any community willing to compensate them for their services of teaching or even fundraising. They would travel long distances to speak, hoping to help others and make an income.

In this new Islamic gig economy, the youth and their families are the casualties, who have been left without guidance and mentorship. After their local scholar left the masjid seeking greener pastures, their masjid may have completely stopped having regular programs, resorted to finding underqualified community members to speak, or hired other popular scholars to guest lecture once in a while and run back home. All of these stopgap measures have left the community without religious leadership.”

 The level of financial stress on Imams

PC: Tierra Mallorca (unsplash)

“We don’t get paid as much as we would with our college degrees however we opt to stay in khidmah (serving the Muslim community). The masjid and schools know this and pay the bare minimum. We don’t say anything because it feels like a conflict of interest with our intention. Some masjids have us drive 30-40 miles and deliver a newly prepared khutbah in front of 500 people and no honorarium for gas.”

“I am living paycheck to paycheck. I have to depend on government assistance despite teaching 10 hours [a day] Mon-Fri.”

“Maybe a good question to ask is what is your current salary and what is your monthly rent? This will show what percentage of salary goes into just rent. My current salary is $7000 and my rent is $3000. If I do not freelance by giving talks on the side or teaching on the side then it will be difficult for me to live comfortably. My finances would be very tight.”

“I am a homeowner but need more empathy from masjid board members when it comes to salary, days off, small tokens of appreciation, working with the Imam rather than against the Imam. Imams need some type of job security. We serve the communities for 15-20 years and imams are removed from their positions overnight. More needs to be done about having board members who understand the challenges faced by imams in the West. Board members should leave their politics aside for the betterment of the imam and community.”

**

“I’m finding it difficult to work towards a home which is a current need in my family and am not able to find a halal finance provider for a car. Also due to my recent increase in family count, we need a new car but are finding difficulty due to no finance options available.”

“I am struggling in school but hope to be financially well off afterward.”

“There are many challenges in my personal life due to working in Madrasah. I am always late on payments. Madrasahs don’t pay on time. So it is hard to just stay working in a madrasah and the job is very difficult. The apartment office charges a late fee if we don’t pay in time. I don’t want to use credit cards but applied for a few just to get by. And I have to pay late fees. Car insurance can’t set up for auto pay for extra discounts due to making commitments.”

**

“I’m a full-time Hifz (Quran memorization) and academics teacher. I work 10-hour days. I am currently single and living with my parents. If I wanted to move out and start a family, I would not be able to do so due to my current salary. To put it into perspective, a McDonald’s worker makes more than me. I get paid according to my marital status and not because of my credentials. Because of my financial and living situation, I am forced to look for a partner overseas. Since I would be considered rich by a woman back home rather than in the US. I am actively looking for a secular job to replace my current job. I am overworked by the institution I work for. I feel I will be replaced as soon as someone better comes along. I thank Allah that he has given me a bit of Islamic knowledge, yet I feel like I wasn’t told the whole truth when deciding to join the ‘alim course. There is no money in this line of work unless you have excellent oratory and social skills. I did not know the reality of the sacrifice I was making. Certain wealthy individuals come to my house and brag about their children making 6-figure salaries knowing well how much we struggle. It hurts to know that I am not able to financially support my parents but rather they have to support me. I can sense my father’s disappointment. Sometimes I leave the house and hope I never come back. I was not always like this, but seeing my peers move forward in their lives, get married, and have children whilst knowing I would never be able to afford it whilst at my current job has changed me. I feel nothing but disdain and disappointment in my community and institution. They want the best from me but don’t care at all about my best interests. I ask Allah for forgiveness and help. Surely Allah is the best of helpers. I would not dare say this to anyone but I feel someone should know. There are many people in situations worse than mine but these are thoughts that enter my mind on a day-to-day basis.”

“Alhamdulillah, we are a family of 5 with a monthly salary of $3000. We get by with the fadhl (grace) of Allah . All I would say is, we can’t imagine having any savings. By the end of the month, we’re almost at negative in the bank account. So, vacations, holidays, and traveling are all unimaginable.”

“I had been a full-time Imam for a good 5 years since I graduated. I was given a two-bedroom house. It was pretty old but enough for my needs at that time. One day an unfortunate incident occurred that compelled me to be financially independent. One of the Shura members said, amongst other things, that “don’t think that the house belongs to you.” I was heartbroken and said to myself that I need to step up and not be dependent upon Shura members. I was paid $2000 before taxes with the house for residence. To make a long story short, I started my own business and now I consider myself financially secure. The current Shura members are all my friends and they respect me quite a bit. I’ve been at this place for about 17 years.”

“Money is very tight and I have fallen into debt, I am praying that some door or avenue will open up for me, inshaAllah. Everything is from the side of Allah . Du’as are requested. Alhamdulillah”

“The fact that I frequently don’t get paid on time makes my financial situation extremely difficult, hence I have to control my expenses.”

“Prior to the COVID situation becoming dire, the masjid paid me less than the caretaker of the masjid while giving me more work mentally. I am married and my expenses have increased as a result. Masjids want full-time work for part-time pay, and they want us available at beck and call.”

“There are too many ulema dictators who pick and choose who they want to use based on their own personal gains. In the meantime, the average ‘Alim has to either do secular things, live with parents, or travel very far to do some sort of religious work.”

“I am working part-time as a chaplain and am looking for a masjid to work as an Imam. My financial situation isn’t good right now. Allah is most giving.”

“I was previously a full-time assistant Imam and was making 40k a year. Now I am a volunteer Imam at a community that I’ve served for several years, giving khutbah (Friday sermon) every week, leading 3-5 salah a day, convert support, Sunday school, etc.”

“I have a single-family income, so I had to move out of my previous city/state to be able to afford a home to buy. Alhamdulillāh. I was successful at that and my salary is 70k this year Alhamdulillāh.”

“I am unable to purchase a house with the current economic situation.”

“I have a lot of credit card debt and am unable to afford the mortgage for a home, and am losing money by renting. House prices are very expensive.”

“When you are an employee at the masjid and you are living in the West, naturally the same attitudes [prevalent around the masjid] will rub off on each individual. Therefore imamat will be looked at as employment for which you can’t be your own boss and have dual income etc.”

“Although the masjid pays well, it’s not enough to live in a safe neighborhood with good school ratings. The only place I can afford to live off their salary alone is 25 min from the masjid in a gang-infested area.”

“I receive $200 each month as payment in a high-cost-of-living area. Upon consulting senior scholars and describing my duties in the community, they estimate a fair salary for duties would be $2,500.”

“My current salary is not enough nowadays. Medical is a big issue.”

Survey Analysis      

From these two surveys above, we can see the areas of need and improvement in the financial state of North American Imams. Most of the Imams don’t own a home, most don’t have any retirement plans, and most don’t have medical insurance. Many lack job security or financial security. Imams are overworked and underpaid, many are in debt and or have almost no savings. Very few of them are financially stable or well-off. They are under great financial stress and often consider leaving their teaching positions for secular jobs.

29% of Imams who responded to the survey said that they have been deserving of Zakat in the past or are currently deserving of Zakat. In other words, these Imams were living in poverty and deserving of our financial aid. In many cases, the salary of the Imam is insufficient for his/her needs and causes them to be deserving of Zakat. The dignity and self-respect of an Imam will not allow him/her to beg or publicly ask for donations. How can we allow our hired Imams and Islamic teachers to fall into such poverty that they end up being eligible recipients for Zakat? The stark reality is that we are failing our Imams and making it very difficult for them to survive, let alone serve their community. Likewise, many Imams who teach or serve the community cannot get by without governmental assistance. The Muslim community is not paying them a sufficient salary, so they have to rely on the government to survive.

In the same light, I vividly recall a personal incident that took place at the home of a senior Imam who had served the community for 30+ years. His adult son came out and one of the guests asked him if he planned to be an Imam one day like his father. The son replied that he would never do so because he sees how the Masjid treats his father and provides him with no retirement account or medical benefits.

I would like our readers to reflect on the financial conditions described above.  How many of us as educated professionals would stay in a job position that had the financial challenges presented above which include not being paid on time, not being paid a living wage, not receiving medical benefits, not having a retirement plan, etc.? How many potential Imams will quit their studies and choose another career path after hearing about the financial difficulties of Imams in North America? Many of our masjid board members are doctors and well-to-do professionals with comfortable salaries and lifestyles. If we would not be willing to accept such a financing situation for ourselves, how are we willing to accept such a situation for our Islamic scholars and Imams who we are commanded to respect and revere? As the Holy Prophet Muhammad   said, “None of you truly believes until you desire for your brother what you desire for yourself.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim] Our faith dictates that we work towards the same financial security and well-being which we have worked so hard for ourselves for our fellow Imams and Islamic scholars.

Conclusion

Shaikh Osman Umarji writes,

“However, acquiring talented scholars to address the needs of our communities requires giving proper respect, which in its most basic form is providing reasonable wages. If we decide otherwise, we should not be surprised when communities fail, youth and families become lost, and capable scholars end up far away from their communities.”

PC: Rumman Amin (unsplash)

Many years ago, the slogan for a college fund was, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”  In response to this, I say, “An Islamic scholar is a terrible thing to waste.” Imagine the scenario in which a young individual that grew up in North America spends 6-10 years studying advanced Islamic studies and has plans to serve the community and impart their knowledge after graduation. However, due to financial reasons, this individual leaves teaching Islam and instead gets a software job. Would we be happy if all of the doctors in our community worked as janitors? What a tremendous loss for the community and mankind! We are losing scholars every day and many are considering leaving for secular jobs as we discussed above.

Many masjids and board members will in turn respond that we can’t afford to pay our Imams more. Shaikh Umarji explains, “The knee-jerk response that we often hear from board and community members in affluent communities when discussing salaries is ‘brother, we would love to pay our scholar more, but we don’t have the funding.’ This would be a reasonable response until you look at the multi-million-dollar renovations to make the masjid aesthetically pleasing and the tens of thousands of dollars spent on catering lavish iftars and interfaith dinners. Ultimately, the use of masjid funds is a value judgment. It is a value judgment that board members have to make on how to use funds that the community has provided, and a value judgment for community members on how much to invest in their masjid.” We as the Muslim community need to prioritize and allocate the community funds that we collect in order of importance. One of the best ways to invest in our future and the future of our children is to pay our Imams and Islamic teachers a living wage. “What I am suggesting is that we completely rethink the value of a religious scholar in our community as an investment, not a charity cause.” We also need to realize the importance of human capital and investing in humans who will do their utmost to serve and uplift the community over just physical capital such as glamorous chandeliers, minarets, calligraphic writing, and even bathrooms!  Otherwise, what value is a beautiful building if it is devoid of congregants and someone to provide guidance to the community

Proposed Solutions

The main objective of writing articles like this is to call each other to action and take practical steps to change the status quo. I propose five immediate action items that we all work to implement

1. Working to pay all Imams in North America living salaries

Thinking globally, and acting locally entails coordinating with our local masjid to pay the teachers of our children and the Imams in our community living wages. Community members should be proactive and raise funds privately to raise the salary of their Imams. Likewise, we should attend masjid meetings and request board members to do the same. There are many deserving and worthwhile causes in the Muslim world today, but how many of us have ever heard of a fundraiser or Gofundme dedicated to paying the Imams a living wage or raising their salary? The gold standard for a living wage is around $200,000 a year as discussed above. We can also utilize the latest technology and crowdfunding platforms to independently raise money to support our Imams. Gofundme and Patreon are good platforms.

2. Setting up retirement funds for Imams.

Most Imams in America have no savings and no retirement funds. We should gain coordinate with masjid boards and advocate that all Imams have a retirement fund and have financial arrangements for when they retire and are no longer able to serve.

3. Setting up a housing fund to purchase homes for Imams

The vast majority of Imams in America do not own a home and are renting. Rent and payments for homes form a significant percentage of an Imam’s monthly expenses. A fund to buy homes for Imams would greatly assist Imams in becoming financially independent and in serving the community.

4. Medical insurance fund

Many Imams do not have medical insurance and health coverage, meaning that a simple surgery or mishap at home can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Medical coverage would greatly help Imams in paying for the medical needs of their families. We should advocate that all masjids should provide medical insurance for Imams and their families.

5. Setting long-term endowments through Waqf

All of the solutions above are simply short-term fixes and are not sustainable in the long term. Even if we were to immediately fix the situation and pay every single Imam a living wage right now, we would still face a similar situation in the next generation in a few decades. We desperately need Muslims to set up waqf (endowments) by donating property, shares of stock, businesses, etc., and allocating the revenue to the salaries of Imams, retirement funds, etc. This will serve as a perpetual charity and continue to benefit Imams as long as the property or business exists.

Another option is to bequest up to 1/3 of one’s wealth and set up an endowment for one of the worthy causes mentioned above. A good estate lawyer would be able to advise on the practicalities of doing so.  Refer to this article for more details on the benefits of setting up an endowment.

Fixing the current financial crisis facing Imams is a communal obligation upon all of us. If we as a community collectively do not take steps to resolve this, we will be held responsible. We hope especially that supporters of scholars and Islamic knowledge, students, well-wishers, and those who have benefitted in any way from the Imams will step up to fix the situation before it is too late. Although this situation is very depressing, I am confident that there is goodness in the Muslim community and there is hope. Before even writing or publishing this article, I had concerned community members reach out to me when they heard I was conducting a survey about the financial condition of Imams and offer their assistance to Imams in need. Another concerned Muslim working in Silicon Valley was deeply touched by the draft version of this article and decided to set up an organization in order to address the issue. I am sure that many others will also respond accordingly after reading this article.

The beauty of Islamic teachings can truly be seen in this act of collaboration between the Muslim community and the Imams. Those who contribute to the financial uplifting of Imams and their long-term support too shall share in all the rewards of the service and good done by the Imams throughout their lives, without decreasing the rewards of the Imams in any way. “That is the bounty of Allah which he grants to who he wishes.” This is an amazing way for us to do our part and contribute to the betterment and Islamic education of our community while attaining great rewards in the hereafter. Compared to all worldly investments, investing in Imams is the real million-dollar investment with the greatest returns that will last forever.

Related:

– The Rise of the Scholarly Gig Economy and Fall of Community Development – MuslimMatters.org

– How Much Should Islamic Clergy Make? – MuslimMatters.org

The post What Is An Imam Worth? A Living Wage At Least. appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Although this challenge is the norm for people who are further along in their careers and are used to observing Ramadan while working while also attending to other obligations, young professionals who are just entering the workforce (2022 college graduates, for example) might be navigating this balancing act for the first time. 

Several organizations focus on empowering Muslim professionals and also offer support and insights on navigating Ramadan in this role. Below are are a few tips for young professionals who are navigating Ramadan as full-time employees for the first time, with insights from Sofia Haq, Mariam Catovic, and Erum Siddiqui. 

Sofia Haq is a Sr. Programs & Community Manager at a venture capital firm in New York City, and also the Founder & CEO of Muslim Women Professionals (MWP). Mariam Catovic is a Sr. Project Manager at a consumer goods company in New Jersey. Erum Siddiqui is an attorney based in California. 

1 – Communicate that you will be observing Ramadan and request workplace accommodations based on what would work best for you

Mariam Catovic encourages people to communicate with their team and share resources through platforms such as Linkedin.

“Be open with your coworkers, team, and management on what Ramadan is and what impact it may have on you,” Catovic writes. She has previously used resources from the Yaqeen Institute and Huda Fahmy to explain Ramadan to her colleagues. 

“We’re living in a time where DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) particularly is becoming more common in different workplaces, but clearly, there’s still so much work that needs to be done,” Sofia Haq says. “There’s still a lack of awareness around the Muslim community.”

Haq encourages Muslim professionals to look into resources provided by organizations such as MWP and take the initiative to bring awareness and advocate for their religious rights at work. 

Some Muslim professionals may choose to shift their work hours, take time off during the last ten days of Ramadan, or make other changes to their schedules. Some might choose to request to leave the office early and continue work at home for a few hours before iftar. 

These adjustments can help Muslim professionals gain the most out of the holy month and maintain their productivity at work while making progress on their Ramadan goals. It is not a one-size-fits-all, and you should request changes based on what makes the most sense for you. Whatever adjustments you think work best, MWP too has an email template you can use to communicate your needs to your manager as well as a list of sample work arrangements you can request during Ramadan.  

“Once you inform your employer of your need for an accommodation, your employer must engage in the ‘good faith interactive process’ to accommodate you during Ramadan,” writes Erum Siddiqui in her guide to requesting accommodations during Ramadan. 

“There are no magic words, but you should mention that Ramadan is a ‘religious’ observance and ‘accommodation(s)’ to be safe,” she adds. “You want your email to trigger the employer’s legal duty to accommodate you.” 

2 – Set realistic goals and surround yourself with others who will support you

This advice applies to almost everyone, and is also important for young professionals. 

“I think as Muslims our reset for the year is Ramadan.,” Catovic says. “That is when we make our Ramadan goals that we hope to continue the rest of the year.”

Building small habits consistently is more effective than aiming too high and then giving up on your goals altogether. Ramadan is a time when you should push yourself, but you should also be aware of your own capacity and how much you can realistically accomplish. 

For example, commit to reading a given number of pages of the Quran every day, and commit to an amount that you can accomplish given your work schedule. Make it a goal to pray taraweeh every night, even if you are only able to stay at the masjid for a portion of it. 

In addition, it also helps to utilize resources within your community and surround yourself with people who will both support you and hold you accountable for your Ramadan goals.

“It is really important to make sure you are setting realistic goals for both the professional and spiritual aspects of your life so that when Ramadan is over you can continue the good habits started throughout the rest of the year,” Catovic says. 

“It’s like New Year’s resolutions – you want to make sure you continue working on the goals you’ve set after that first month.”

3 – Focus on time management and set healthy boundaries

Haq also encourages people to focus on their time management and understand that they need to “savor their energy and prioritize themselves” to maintain their attention span throughout the day. 

“When you’re finally working, you realize just how much of your day is work, and how exhausting it can really be,” Haq says. 

She also adds that maintaining a good balance during Ramadan means setting boundaries. 

“Ramadan is such a beautiful time where people can socialize, but sometimes we forget to set boundaries,” she says. 

Although Ramadan is a great time for community gatherings, working full-time during Ramadan might mean needing to turn down events here and there to preserve your energy, especially during a particularly busy workweek. 

“I particularly have been very selective about how many times I allow myself to go out during the workweek,” Haq adds. “Obviously on the weekends, I’ll kind of be a little bit more flexible with myself.” 

4 – Maintain a healthy diet and get enough sleep

One other important tip for navigating Ramadan as a young professional is ensuring you pay attention to your nutrition and sleep habits. 

“When we were in college, obviously our diets were a little bit different,” Haq says. “But when you’re working, it’s really important to make sure you’re getting enough protein and that you’re staying hydrated after iftar.” 

Haq also mentions the importance of focusing on sleep given the change in your schedule when you go from being a college student to working full-time.  

“A lot of people take this for granted especially when you are in college,” she says, “but once you are a professional and you’re working eight-plus hours a day, you really need your rest.” 

Haq also mentions that one tip which works for some people is using their lunch break at work to take a nap, which helps them feel more energized given the fewer hours of sleep they get during the night in Ramadan.

5 – Utilize resources within your community

Haq adds that in addition to the email template, MWP has many other resources for Ramadan and for supporting Muslim women professionals through their website.

Catovic also mentions that “email templates, presentations, out-of-office templates for Eid are all great resources for young Muslim professionals to have.” 

“Last year one of my job’s social committees reached out to me for a quick summary to explain Ramadan so that they could send it out and I’m sure other Muslims get similar requests.” Catovic says.  

Other organizations with resources for young professionals include IC Professionals at the Islamic Center at NYU (New York-based) and Muslim Urban Professionals (global). 

Although observing Ramadan while working full-time can be challenging, these tips and resources provide valuable support for young professionals to help navigate the challenge and make the most out of this month. 

Related reading:

– Tips For Managing School And Ramadan – MuslimMatters.org

– Podcast: 786 Samosas – Balancing Home and Worship in Ramadan | Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith – MuslimMatters.org

The post Ramadan While Working Full-Time: Tips For Young Muslim Professionals appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

A student is considered to be successful if they get good grades, maintain a respectable GPA, are involved in extra-curricular activities, get a good job before or right after graduating, or get into some sort of graduate program. They have to have done well on their GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and whatever test there is out there for getting into various programs of higher learning.

However, sometimes students get so caught up in all of this that they end up measuring their own self-worth through these same standards and metrics. Students also become so focused on achieving success in college that they sometimes become careless, negligent, or totally heedless of higher responsibilities; i.e. their soul and relationship with Allah ﷻ. As conscious believers it is very important for us to recognize that our standards and metrics for self-worth and success are actually very different from societal expectations.

Al-Fawz

The word al-fawz and words that share the same root letters and meanings -such as the verb fāza, yafūzu and fā’izūn- are repeated in several places throughout the Quran. Every single human being wants to achieve success in whatever they do; be it in school, work, family, sports, and life in general. If you were to ask some random person on the street anywhere in the world if they want to be successful, the answer will be an unequivocal yes.

Now the real question is, what exactly is success? How can it be defined? What does it mean to be successful in life? These are fundamental questions each and every one of us is confronted with in life. Most people adopt society’s definition of success – more specifically the definition that is propagated by the media and mainstream culture. According to the society and culture we live in, success is the opposite of failure. It’s defined as achieving and accomplishing one’s aims and objectives, which are overwhelmingly material. Being successful means the achievement of desired visions and planned goals. The dictionary defines success as attaining wealth, prosperity, and fame.

According to our society and culture, a person is successful when they make a lot of money and are famous. It’s as simple as that. If a person has a lot of money, a luxury car, a big house, designer clothes, all the latest products, and a well-paying job, they’re considered successful. Even within the Muslim community, the benchmark for success is rooted in the material. We consider an individual -even our own children- successful if they have a college degree, work as professionals, earn a six-figure income, and live in the suburbs. Within the desi community, one has to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer to be considered successful. IT is okay as well. Anything else is considered less or sub-par. That’s why today we consider anyone who’s rich and famous to be successful, whether they’re artists, actors, singers or sports figures.

But the reality is that none of these things, no material possession, object or progress, is a true means to success. As a matter of fact, if that’s what we have set as our standard for success, then we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment and failure. True success, real success, lies in faith in Allah ﷻ and performing righteous deeds. Having strong, firm unshakable belief in Allah ﷻ that expresses itself through our words and actions.

Part of the objective of the Quran is to completely change the way we think, and to change the way we look at and understand the world. We are supposed to look at the world through the lens of revelation. We are supposed to have an Islamic worldview and part of that worldview is that our definition and understanding of success is very different.

What Real Success Looks Like

There’s a beautiful passage near the end of Sūrah al-Ṣaff where Allah ﷻ describes what success truly is. Allah ﷻ starts by saying,

“O you who believe, shall I tell you about a trade (a transaction/deal) that saves you from a painful punishment?” [Sūrah al-Ṣaff: 61;10]

Allah ﷻ starts this versing by addressing the people of faith directly, “O you who have believed!” O you who believe in Allah , His Messenger, and the Last Day. Ibn ʿAbbās would say that whenever we come across this verse in the Quran we should be paying very close attention and listening attentively. Either Allah ﷻ is going to command us with something beneficial, or prevent us from something harmful.

Allah ﷻ then poses a question, “Shall I direct you towards a trade/transaction/deal that will save you from a painful punishment?” This is a rhetorical question. The answer that all of us would give is obviously yes. The language Allah ﷻ uses is very interesting. He ﷻ uses the word “tijārah”, which we can translate as trade/transaction/deal. Trade, transactions, and deals are something that all of us understand and are interested in. We understand the concepts of buying and selling, exchanging, profit and loss. We may not be good at it, but that’s a different story. Allah ﷻ is speaking to us in language and terms that we understand.

Then He ﷻ tells us what this profitable trade or transaction is,

“Have faith in God and His Messenger and struggle for His cause with your possessions and your persons––that is better for you, if only you knew-” [Sūrah al-Ṣaff: 61;11]

This profitable trade or transaction consists of three things: 1) to believe in Allah , 2) to believe in His Messenger, and 3) to struggle for His cause with our wealth and lives.

The first part of this deal is to truly believe in Allah ﷻ. That means to have absolute 100% firm conviction in His existence, oneness, might, power, glory, and magnificence. To recognize and accept that He alone is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and every single thing they contain. To recognize and accept that He alone is the One who gives life, the One who gives death, the One who provides, the One who sustains, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. To realize and internalize that everything that happens in this world happens according to His divine decree, will, command, and wisdom. Belief in Allah means recognizing that He is absolutely unique; nothing is this universe resembles Him in any way shape or form. And because of all this, He alone deserves to be worshiped. It is this belief in Allah ﷻ that leads us towards taqwā, righteousness, good character, patience, humility, and generosity. In simpler words, to truly believe in Allah .

To believe in His Messenger means to recognize and accept that Prophet Muhammad is the last and final messenger sent for the guidance of mankind until the end of times. It includes having faith in all that he came with, obeying him in all that he ordered or forbade. It means having this deep, unshakeable love and attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said, “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to them then their father, son, and all of mankind.”¹ It also means to take him as one’s role model in every single aspect of one’s life, reading and learning about him, and trying to follow his example in everything a person does. In simpler words, truly believing in the Prophet ﷺ by trying our best to follow his footsteps in every single aspect of our lives.

The third part of this deal or transaction is struggling and striving in the path of Allah ﷻ with our wealth and ourselves. We need to be willing to sacrifice our wealth, resources, time, and health for righteous causes.

Allah ﷻ then tells us what the profit is for making this investment.

“And He will forgive your sins, admit you into Gardens graced with flowing streams, into pleasant dwellings in the Gardens of Eternity. That is the greatest success.” [Sūrah al-Ṣaff: 61;12]

Success has nothing to do with fame, popularity, and money. Success is directly related to our faith, and that is what Allah ﷻ wants us to realize and internalize. This is a very deep and profound concept. The Prophet ﷺ reminded us, “True wealth is not having a lot of material possessions, but true wealth is wealth of the soul.”² Meaning, true wealth is contentment, being pleased and happy – which is rooted in faith.

The Prophet ﷺ changed the perspective of his companions; i.e the way they viewed the material world. Their society and culture also viewed material wealth as a sign of success an honor. But the Prophet ﷺ taught them that ultimate success comes from one’s relationship with Allah ﷻ.

Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī said, “A man passed by the Prophet ﷺ so he said to a companion who was sitting with him, ‘What do you think of this person?’ He replied, ‘He is a man from amongst the nobles. This man, by Allah, if he proposes marriage, his proposal should be accepted, and if he intercedes his intercession should be granted.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was silent. Then another man passed by and the Messenger of Allah asked him, ‘What do you think of this person?’ He answered, ‘O Messenger of Allah, this is just one of the poor Muslims. If he were to propose marriage, his proposal would not be worth accepting, and if he were to intercede, his intercession would not be granted, and if he were to speak, his words would not be listened to.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘This one is better than the whole earth full of the first one.’”³

The Prophet ﷺ was training his companions to look at the material world in a very different way; through the lens and perspective of faith and righteousness. He was training his companions to understand that īmān leads to success; that the real metric and standard for success is faith that translates into action.

Now this doesn’t mean that we can’t pursue worldly success as well. We should focus on our faith and relationship with Allah ﷻ while simultaneously going through our college careers with excellence. We should make sure we are disciplined, attend lectures, take excellent notes, study hard, try to get the best grades, apply to the best graduate programs out there, and pursue good careers. But this should not be done at the expense of our soul and relationship with Allah ﷻ. There has to be balance and moderation.

I would argue that the balance should tip in favor of our souls and relationship with our Creator.

Related reading:

– Principles of Success from Surah Al-Mu’minoon

Principles of Success from Surah Al-Mu’minoon

– Parenting Older Kids: Focusing On Success In The Deen

Parenting Older Kids: Focusing On Success In The Deen

The post From The Chaplain’s Desk: Success – A Quranic Paradigm appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

We all knew what both would do – Khabib would go for the takedown, and Gaethje would try to keep the fight on the feet and opt for stand-up striking – which fighter’s strategy would prevail? Alhamdulillah, it was Khabib, in a mere 2 rounds.  We weren’t in the fight, but we are all nervous and supplicating, making du’a to Allah to give him another victory.

And so it was that after the win, he collapsed in the middle of the ring to cry, as this was his first fight after the loss of his father due to complications with Covid-19. He cried, and many a man cried with him, feeling his pain. Gaethje revived from his triangle choked slumber and consoled his former foe, telling Khabib his father was proud of him.

We were all sure when “The Eagle” got on the mic, he would say he wanted to fight GSP, George St Pierre, and then retire 30-0, as he had said in previous press conferences leading up to the fight.  Instead, he surprised us all by announcing his retirement at 29-0, and I couldn’t help but marvel that not only was he turning away from a lucrative final fight, but the way in which he announced his retirement reminded us of our faith, our deen, our religion, Islam.

Allah says in the Qur’an

“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.”

Throughout his MMA career, Khabib has proudly worn his faith on his sleeve. As he has risen to become the current pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the world and arguably the GOAT, the greatest of all time, his unwavering example as a practicing Muslim transformed him into a global phenomenon and role model for many of us by reminding us to be better worshippers, to be closer to Allah .

Let’s look at a few of the ways he did this:

1. Beginning with Alhamdulillah

The announcer at UFC 254 began by congratulating Khabib on a job well-done yet again by praising him, stating, “The world is in awe of your greatness once again…your thoughts on an epic championship performance, congratulations.” Khabib didn’t immediately begin talking about himself. Instead, he said:

“Alhamdulillah, SubhanAllah, God give me everything…”

After stating this, he went on to announce his retirement, his reasons for retiring, and thanked everyone who supported his professional MMA journey.

The Reminder

Alhamdulillah is literally translated into “All Praise Belongs to God”. Khabib begins by thanking Allah , pointing out that his talents and abilities are a gift, a blessing from the Most High. When we have any blessing from Allah , we must remember that whatever our own effort, our abilities, our support, and our achieved outcomes ultimately tie back to support from our Rabb, our Lord, who controls all.

It’s not from me, it’s from Him

If you’ve ever seen Khabib point at himself, shake his finger back and forth as if to say, “No” and then point up to the sky, this is a nonverbal way of him saying, don’t think all these great things you see are from me – they’re from Allah above.

2. The Prostration of Thankfulness – Sajdat al-Shukr

You may have noticed at the end of Khabib’s victory, when the announcer states that he’s the winner of the bout, he falls into a prostration known as Sajdat al-Shukr – the Prostration of Thankfulness (to Allah).

Khabib and his sons prostrating

The Reminder

Performing this is recommended when someone receives something beneficial (eg good news, wealth, etc) or if they avoided something potentially harmful (e.g. job loss, healing from a disease, etc). The Prophet would do this when he received good news. The believer should remember to be thankful to Allah as much as they can.

See also:

• Shall I Not Be a Thankful Servant? A Brief Guide to Understanding Shukr
• The Spirituality of Gratitude

3. Establishing the 5 Daily Prayers

Khabib and me, don’t be jelly

Years ago (early 2018), Khabib visited my local masjid in Santa Clara, California (not far from where he was training in San Jose at the AKA gym). Many at the masjid didn’t know who he was, but we heard he was the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight championship belt, at that time held by Tony Ferguson.

He did a Q & A with the community, and someone asked him a general question about what he would recommend for the youth.  He said, and I’m paraphrasing:

Take care of your prayers, if you come to Day of Judgment not take care of your prayers, on that day you will be smashed.

The Reminder

The second pillar of Islam that Allah has commanded us to follow is to pray to Him 5 times daily. Khabib was no doubt referencing the following statement of the Prophet (saw):

“The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, he will have failed and lost…”

Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda notes that when the Prophet first began his mission of da’wah and faced devastating rejection from family and community, Allah told the Prophet to stand and pray. The reason for this is because when we are weak and suffering, the place to turn to for strength is back to Allah in prayer. There is no doubt Khabib’s strength came from his connection to Allah which in turn came from his 5 daily prayers.

Praying multiple times daily, consistently, can be challenging; when it was legislated by Allah to the Prophet , Musa kept telling him to go back and ask Allah for a reduction, saying, “Your people will not be able to handle it.”

Khabib is a great reminder that no matter how high you climb in life and career, no matter how busy you think you are, worshipping Allah is the most important deed one can do, and this discipline is the most important habit to build.

4. Strong Wrestling Game

Some say Khabib is already 30-0 for wrestling a bear

In a sport that sees far more striking and kicking than it does wrestling, Khabib came to dominate the lightweight division of the UFC with a strong grappling style that is a combination of sambo (a Soviet martial art), judo, and wrestling. Famously, he outwrestled a bear when he was much younger.

During his fights, he doesn’t close out his bouts by pummeling his opponents and causing them damage as most strikers would. Most of his hits open up his opponents to being forced to tap out via submission. Even his last opponent, Justin Gaethje, noted that he was much happier to be choked out in a submission, as all he would get is a pleasant nap, as opposed to striking, which could have long-term health consequences.

The Reminder

The Prophet was not only able to wrestle, he took down the strongest wrestler in Makkah. Rukanah, the famed Makkan wrestler, challenged RasulAllah because of his hatred for the da’wah. The Prophet accepted his challenge and took him down multiple times, body slamming him again and again. It was said that after the conquest of Makkah, Rukanah accepted Islam.

5. Fighting / Training through Sickness and Injury

During the post-fight press conference with UFC President Dana White, it was revealed that Khabib had broken one of his toes 3 weeks before the fight. Prior to that, he had taken two weeks off upon arriving at Fight Island having contracted mumps, according to AKA trainer and coach Javier Mendez. Khabib is quoted as having told Mendez, “My toe may be broken, but my mind is not.” In addition to this, his father had just passed away months earlier, and this would be his first fight without his father present.

Mumps, broken toes, and the emotional turmoil of family tragedy

The Reminder

In addition, the Prophet has told us, “A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone…” This strength includes strength of body, mind, and spirit; not just when conditions are perfect, but when trials surround you from every conceivable direction.

6. Relationship With His Father

After defeating Justin Gaethje, Khabib went to the center of the ring and cried, and everyone cried with him. We all knew his father’s death weighed heavily on his mind and his heart, and this was his first fight without him. His father was his mentor and trainer, whom everyone could obviously see he both loved and greatly respected.

In the post-fight question and answer with Dustin Poirier, Khabib was asked, “What’s your message for your young fans out there who look up to you so much?” he responded:

“Respect your parents, be close with your parents, this is very important. Parents everything, you know, your mother, your father, and that’s it, and everything in your life is going to be good, if you’re going to listen to your parents, mother, father, be very close with them, and other things come because your parents gonna teach what to do.”

The Reminder

There isn’t enough space in this article to go over how much emphasis our faith places on respecting our parents. Allah says in the Qur’an:

Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say no word that shows impatience with them, and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them respectfully. [17:23]

7. Relationship With His Mother

Our parents ultimately want us to succeed, but also want us to maintain our well-being. Without his father’s presence, it was clear that Khabib’s mother didn’t want him continuing in the Octagon (the UFC ring). After 3 days of discussion, Khabib gave his word to her that this would be his final fight. After beating Justin Gaethje in UFC 254, Nurmagomedov announced he was retiring because he promised his mother that he would retire and that he’s a man of his word.

The Reminder

This hearkens back to a statement of the Prophet about how much respect mothers deserve. A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, “Who is most deserving of my good company?” The Prophet said, “Your mother.” The man asked, “Then who?” He (saw) said “Your mother.” The man asked again, “Then who?” The Prophet again said, “Your mother.” The man asked again, “Then who?” The Prophet finally said, “Your father.”

Khabib easily had millions more to make on a journey to hit 30-0 in his professional fighting career and decided to hang it all up to make his mother happy. This is true respect and obedience, and for that matter, the love of a mother for her son and his well-being over monetary gains.

8. Respect for Muhammad Ali

When asked about the comparisons between himself and Muhammad Ali, Khabib stated that it was an inappropriate comparison. He noted that Muhammad Ali didn’t just face challenges in the ring, but challenges outside of it due to racism, and that he was an agent of change with respect to bringing about greater civil rights for African Americans.

The Reminder

In his final sermon, Prophet Muhammad said, “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a black person or of a black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.”

From the 7th century until today, our faith recognizes that people are not judged by their race, but by their actions and the intentions behind those actions. In the video above, Khabib recognized both the wrongness of racism, and the challenge it posed along the way of Muhammad Ali’s own journey, and that his contributions to social justice transcended his involvement in sport.

9. His Conduct with Other Fighters

With the exception of the fight with Conor McGregor, Khabib always dealt with his opponents with respect. He hugs them, shakes their hand, and says good things about their accomplishments and strengths both before and after fights. In a sport known for heavy trash talking and showboating to build hype, Khabib kept his cool and his manners.

Champion vs Champion, the respect is mutual

The Reminder

The Prophet said:

“The only reason I have been sent is to perfect good manners.”

Maintaining good character and conduct during press-conferences was Khabib’s calling card; even when trash talkers like Tony Ferguson tried to go after him, he would still recount Ferguson’s formidable stature as a fighter.

When reporters tried throwing him a softball opening to insult Ferguson’s mental health, Khabib responded that he didn’t want to talk about Tony Ferguson’s problems if he they were real; if Ferguson truly has a problem, then we should help him, as we all have problems.

10. Fighting Those Who Dishonor Faith and Family

As mentioned above, Khabib is known for being very respectful of his opponents during press conferences. He speaks well of their strengths, shakes their hands, hugs them; he even runs up to his opponent after a fight and hugs them, consoling them and wishing them well. After his win against Poirier, he traded shirts with him and donated $100k to Poirier’s charity.

Khabib vs Dana’s boy, the chicken

The exception was the infamous UFC 229 which Muslim fans watched holding years, maybe decades of pent up anger at the type of crass secular arrogance represented by Conor. We desperately wanted Khabib to maul the mouthy McGregor. The latter had gone after his family, his faith, his nationality, anything and everything to hype up the fight and try to get under the champ’s skin. Some people lose their calm, and others, well, they eat you alive.

Khabib made it clear he wasn’t having any of that. He took the fight to Conor and choked him out with a neck crank. We then learned why he was called “The Eagle” as he hopped the cage and jumped into the audience to go after other members of Conor’s team who had spoken ill of him, giving birth to “Air Khabib”.

The Reminder

When our faith and family is spoken of in an ill fashion, it’s not appropriate that we sit there and take it. Khabib never cared when it was criticism against him, but once it went to others around him, he took flight. We as Muslims should never give anybody who tries to attack and dehumanize us a chance to rest on their laurels. We should strive ourselves to take the fight back to them by whatever legal means necessary, as Khabib did, whether it is cartoons of the Prophet or political pundits and satirists who monetize hatred against Muslims.

11. Shaking Hands and Training with Women

In numerous public instances, Khabib reminded us that our faith demands we don’t shake with the opposite gender. As one of my teachers taught us, the Qur’an instructs us to “lower our gaze” when dealing with women. If we shouldn’t even look at them out of respect for Allah’s command, how can we take it to the next level and touch them?

Extended to this is even more serious physical contact like training at the gym. Cynthia Calvillo, one of Khabib’s teammates at AKA gym, said the following about Khabib and his unit:

“It’s a little bit weird because of their religion and stuff…They don’t talk to women you know. I mean we say ‘hi’ to each other but we can’t train with them. They won’t train with women…I don’t think any other woman does.”

The Reminder

Our faith places stricter physical and social interaction boundaries between men and women. Keeping matters professional and respectful with the opposite gender need not include physical contact. The Prophet was said to have never touched non-mahram women. It was narrated that he said,

“It is better for you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is impermissible to you.”

For this reason, the majority of scholars prohibited physical contact between men and women with some exceptions (e.g. old age). Watching Khabib maintain this practice, even in public where it could potentially embarrass him and cause undue negative attention, gives us all inspiration to deal with this issue in the workplace better. He encourages us to strive for better tolerance and awareness of our faith rather than forcing us to conform.

12. Not Making a Display of The “Trophy” Wife

If you follow Khabib’s Instagram, you won’t find lewd pics of him and a significant other. In fact, you won’t find any pictures at all of him and his wife. Who she is is a mystery to all. In an age and a sport where many post photos with their romantic partners, Khabib again is a standout with his gheerah, his honorable protectiveness for his significant other.

Khabib and his wife

The Reminder

We are again reminded that a part of manhood is to have protective ghayrah, jealousy over one’s spouse. Ibn al-Qayyim also said, bringing in the concept of chivalry,

“The dayyuth / cuckold is the vilest of Allah’s creation, and Paradise is forbidden for him [because of his lack of ghayrah]. A man should be ‘jealous’ with regards to his wife’s honor and standing. He should defend her whenever she is slandered or spoken ill of behind her back. Actually, this is a right of every Muslim in general, but a right of the spouse specifically. He should also be jealous in not allowing other men to look at his wife or speak with her in a manner which is not appropriate.”

13. Owning His Mistakes, Looking to Be Forgiven

Finally, it should be noted there is no real scholarly disagreement on prohibiting striking the face. Recognizing this, Khabib stated when asked if “he thinks the AlMighty will be satisfied with him for taking part in haram fights for money,” he replied, “I don’t think so.”

In an interview with the LA Times, he said:

“You go to mosque because nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, and we have to ask Allah to forgive us. This is very important mentally, to be clear with Allah. This is not about the UFC. There is nothing else more important to me than being clear with Allah. And being clear with Allah is the No. 1 most hard thing in life.”

The Reminder

We as human beings aren’t perfect – perfection is only for Allah . We all make mistakes, sometimes small, sometimes large, but in the end, He is ready to forgive us if we’re willing to recognize our failings and ask to be forgiven.  Allah says in the Qur’an in 2:222:

“Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.”

There are no sins so great that redemption is beyond any of us. Whatever Khabib’s flaws, his value as a positive change maker and faith-based role model globally outweighs his negatives.

Part of seeking forgiveness is the process, and the first part of that process is acknowledging the mistake. This means not being in denial about it or not justifying it, just owning it. As Khabib has owned his mistake publicly, there is no need for us to try and justify it either.

We can own that there are problems with MMA and the industry, in participating as well as watching and supporting. At the same time, we can do as Dr Hatem al-Hajj said about Muhammad Ali:

Concluding Thoughts

While UFC pundits will forever debate over the greatest of all time, there is in doubt that Khabib Nurmogomedov, the first Muslim UFC champion, will always be our GOAT.

I ask that Allah accepts the good from what Khabib has done, rewards him tremendously for the inspiration he’s given us all to better focused on the akhirah, the next life, and continues to make him a powerful sports icon who uses his platform as Muhammad Ali did to teach Islam and exemplify it in the best way for all of us to benefit and follow.

Ameen.

The post Undisputed And Undefeated: 13 Ways Khabib Nurmagomedov Inspired Us To Win With Faith appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

There are many articles about how you should not touch your face or how to make bootleg hand sanitizer with vodka to avoid death for the time being. This article will do none of those things. Let’s just assume that no matter your big-box shopping habits or travel plans, you are going to die eventually. Panic is a reflection of our sense of mortality and the care we have for our loved ones and communities.

When you die, you leave behind people, possessions, and often real estate and businesses. You have responsibilities to deal with when you are no longer here, to your family, your customers, lenders, employees, and others. Of course, you can’t deal with these responsibilities yourself, since you will be dead. The purpose of this article is to help you sort out how your responsibilities will be carried out.

Inheritance in Islam

Everything in the heavens and the earth and all that it contains belongs to Allah. Everything you have that you cannot take with you has been entrusted to you while you are here. Though this is rarely the topic of khutbahs on Jummah (back when we used to do that kind of thing) Islamic Inheritance is fard on all Muslims who have stuff they won’t take with them. Your property is not your own.

Allah has ordained inheritance in the Quran. That means inheritance is not distributed based on your sense of vanity and what you think is better but based on the command of Allah.  This is different from the way we usually do things in the United States. Doing inheritance right is obeying Allah. It is an essential act of worship most American Muslims seem to ignore, to the extent we are familiar with it at all. Inheritance is a bigger deal than most Muslims seem to realize. Allah in the Quran prescribes hellfire for those who disobey Allah’s command. If you go without obeying Allah’s command on inheritance, that is your parting shot, a legacy of injustice and disobedience to Allah.

There are a great many Muslims I have come across over the years who are offended by Islamic Inheritance; just the notion makes them sick. I don’t know what to do for them.

Islamic Inheritance is fundamental to our society and for maintaining peace in our families and communities. It is a bulwark against intra-family oppression and conflicts, protects orphans while uniformly apportioning rights. It is a remarkable system that benefits humanity. You can read this comprehensive guide on Islamic Inheritance if you want further exposure to the subject. Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: “learn fara’id (Islamic rules of inheritance) and teach it to the people.”

So if you gain anything from your current bout social isolation, learn about Islamic Inheritance.

Wasiyyah

Many people translate “wasiyyah” to “last will.”  This is fundamentally wrong, at least when it comes to the American understanding of what the last will is.  While both are written instructions, the last will and wasiyyah have unique limitations that have no relationship with each other.

You can give up to 1/3 of your estate for beneficial purposes. You could give to charity or those who do not already inherit from you. It is common for beneficiaries of the wasiyyah are poor relatives overseas or grandchildren not entitled to inheritance.  You should read this guide for how the wasiyyah works.

Guardianship for minor children

For those with minor children, guardianship is often an urgent yet often ignored concern. You should have a solid understanding of what could happen in the event your children become orphans, and there is no living parent. Will they go to child services? Would grandparents fight over them? Might that weird uncle will attempt to get custody and try to convert them to atheism? Do you have family overseas, but they cannot travel to the United States because of a global pandemic?

Of course, you don’t know what will happen. All planning is about creating a rule book for an indeterminate time in the future where you have no idea about the circumstances of the people you will leave behind. You can read an article at MuslimMatters from a few years ago called “how to raise your children when you’re dead.”  I have also prepared a more comprehensive guardianship guide for Muslims.

Guardianship is either addressed through a last will or separate writing in states that allow this. You do not name guardians in a living trust.

Incapacity Planning

This part is not technically planning for death, but it is commonly included in estate planning.  Many people end up living longer lives but are dependent on others. There is a process in every state for the government to take away a person’s liberty, not for a crime they committed, but to protect them from exploitation and financial elder abuse, leading to poverty. Scammers, both online and offline, tend to target people who fit a particular profile.

This legal protective process is called “conservatorship,” and it is costly, and the hearings and documents are public. Part of estate planning is to protect the dignity and privacy of people while their families make decisions.

It is common for people who do their estate planning to have both a living trust and power of attorney. Incapacity provisions in a living trust only cover assets that are registered the living trust. Certain kinds of property, like IRAs, are not owned by a living trust.

Healthcare Directives

States generally have their forms for making healthcare decisions. These are recognized by hospital staff for those times when a patent cannot give them consent to do things. You need to name someone you trust that can make decisions for you.

Healthcare Directives ask questions beyond naming proxies. For example, they will ask about your preference when if you have an incurable illness, in a coma, and doctors are saying you have no reasonable chance of getting out.

These directives may also ask about your organ donor preference. Do you want to be a donor at all? Are you ok donating for organ transplants? Would you mind if medical students dissected your body and posted the pictures on Instagram? Such minutiae won’t necessarily be in these forms, but that’s what they could mean, depending on the permission you give.

Healthcare decisions can be an extraordinarily complex area, with much written about the subject. Your planning documents cannot account for future medical conditions. Whatever you write, other than who has decision-making authority is going to be necessarily vague. Reading these things may leave you wondering about things like what is an “incurable illness”? What is “a reasonable period of time”?

Focus on the concrete, who you trust to make these decisions, rather than potential hypothetical scenarios around your medical care.

These are situations where loved ones face painful choices. You can make it clear who makes decisions; however, no document makes medical treatment issues less difficult for loved ones.

Will or a Trust?

A question for many is, what do you do, living trust or a will? What that question means is should the main provisions of an Estate Plan, which is the overall plan for organizing your affairs, be in a trust or a will, which are both different kinds of documents. When you have a living trust, you almost always have a last will as well. Those who have last will- based plans could have several trusts inside them.

Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and everything else you do in service of organizing your affairs are pieces of paper.  The specific documents you create are ways of fulfilling your goals, they are not the goal by themselves. A trust is a form of a contract with usually no judicial supervision. A last will is similar, but there are instructions for a judicially supervised process called “probate.” The main difference between a will or a trust is a judge’s oversight.

For most everyone with property, we will typically recommend a trust-based estate plan that includes several documents. Like any contract, what a trust says and does can vary widely. To learn more about trusts, especially Islamic Living Trusts, read this article.

A lawyer or no lawyer

Lawyers are expensive. Most people would rather not spend thousands of dollars on something if they could avoid it. Lawyers just produce pieces of paper, right? Why not just do it yourself? Just go to a website that fills out blank spaces in a template and pay far less than a lawyer?

As an Islamic Estate Planning Lawyer myself, I will attempt to avoid saying anything that sounds self-interested. My advice to anyone who asks is that while inheritance is fard in Islam, nothing you do is worth it unless you have peace of mind from doing it. You may be the person that strives to pray, read the Quran, and give in charity and deal with your family with excellence because that is what gives you peace of mind. Do any of these things in a way that makes you uneasy, well, you don’t have peace of mind.

If going to a form filling website or writing a will by hand gives you peace of mind, do that. If getting advice from an experienced attorney gives you peace of mind, then do that.

Merely going to a lawyer, even an especially experienced one, should not give you peace of mind by itself. The lawyer needs your active engagement in the process to make sure you are doing right by everyone. Educate yourself about Islamic Estate Planning to make sure that elements specific to your family and business are the way you want. Estate Planning is one of the most important things you will be doing for your family, and you should attend to it with the seriousness it deserves.

You hire a lawyer because of his or her knowledge of the law, Islamic rules, and experience in developing solutions. You should never hire a lawyer in any situation to act as your substitute brain.

Selecting a lawyer

Estate Planning is a field most lawyers know little about. Many state bars will certify “specialists” in the field.  \However, it is possible for you to find an attorney well-versed in the area but not a board-certified specialist.

Your planning involves contractual, state, and federal law elements. Ideally, you will have a lawyer in your state who is a Muslim and knowledgeable about both estate planning and Islamic rules. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

Arizona Attorney Yaser Ali and I (California and Texas licensed) wrote a “Practice Guide” for lawyers called “Estate Planning for the Muslim Client” (2019, American Bar Association). The idea behind this project was to give lawyers, regardless of creed or state of residence, an understanding of Islamic Inheritance and how Islamic rules figure into various established estate planning strategies for Muslim clients.

The book also provides templates and examples. We intended the book to be useful for such lawyers to help their Muslim clients plan. Of course, it is common for lawyers also to get help or co-counsel across jurisdictions. The lack of a lawyer with expertise on Islamic Inheritance rules in your local area should not be an excuse.

For people with few assets

The biggest problem with hiring lawyers is that they usually charge for their services. Many Muslims with relatively modest assets might not think it’s worth it.  However, a woman with a few thousand dollars in assets may want to do something, like name guardians for minor children, name an executor and provide instructions on how to divide her modest estate without giving most of it to a lawyer. In such instances, a “do it yourself” approach may make sense, or at least it’s better than doing nothing.

Islamic will templates are freely available all over the internet, with varying levels of usefulness and value. Attorney Yaser Ali has created a template and form filling website where anyone can create a last will and calculate inheritance and a state-specific will for free. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you should take a look at this resource. It does not replace a lawyer, however.

Burial Instructions 

One place the Muslim community excels at is burial. Most everywhere in the United States, there are volunteers and paid staff who quickly and efficiently deal with the entire process of ghusal, janazah prayer, and burial. We can often measure the time between death and burial in hours, not days. Sometimes there are reasons for a delay, however. In this kind of environment, people don’t look around for instruction documents, other than proof of ownership of a burial plot.

My advice on burial instructions, at least in the local area that I live, for most Muslim families is not to worry too much. Your family and friends will know what to do and don’t need your help in the matter. Sometimes, people want to include detailed instructions; things like women should not cry loudly. Don’t overthink these things.

There are solid reasons for detailed burial instructions, though. One that comes up regularly is for Muslims who do not have Muslim families. For such individuals, merely having burial instructions is not enough. Such a person should name a Muslim friend, or perhaps more than one, in health care documents. People from the Muslim community need to know when a Muslim is sick in the hospital and, of course, when he or she has died.

There is far more to preparing for death, but a whole lot of that involves life itself.

For more on that, attend Jummah khutba when they start offering it again, InshaAllah.

The post Living During a Pandemic, Plan for Death in Your Lifetime appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.