r/IslamicFinance

I am in my mid twenties in Canada and I have been looking into “halal” mortgage options and heard lots of mixed opinions about them that they are not really halal.
I would like to avoid them altogether and save to buy in cash, but I am not sure if that is even a viable option. Currently, rent takes a large portion of my income and my expenses will only keep increasing over age so I was wondering if it will ever be possible to buy a house just from saving?
I also read that investing isn’t really a recommended option for buying a house since it is over a short term and the market might be risky

Hi all,

I read the information available on manzil website and I understand that financing rate can be fixed over a maximal period of 5 years, renewable for a total 25 years amortization period. Does this mean that I risk to have a higher financing rate each 5 years ? Isn't contract terms meant to be fixed in the beginning of the sale in Islamic financing ?

Thanks for your help clarifying this for me

Hello everyone,

I’d like to get your opinion on two life insurance investment offers in France, with the goal of staying as compliant as possible with Islamic finance principles.

This would also be my very first investment, and I honestly don’t know much about investing yet, which makes the decision even harder for me.

I’m 27 years old, married, currently working, and we don’t have children for now.

• Option 1: a non-Islamic advisory firm that still makes an effort to research and propose what they consider Sharia-compliant investments, but without any official certification. I showed their proposal to a family member who holds a PhD in Islamic finance, and they considered it compliant from a Sharia perspective.
Fees: 1% entry fee + 1% insurer fee.

• Option 2: a verified Islamic advisory firm offering certified Sharia-compliant solutions (PERENYS)
Fees: 4.5% entry fee + 1.08% insurer fee.

I’m torn between:
- much lower fees but no formal certification,
- or a fully Islamic/verified structure that feels more reassuring religiously, but is significantly more expensive.

How would you evaluate this choice?
Do you think the certification and specialized Islamic guidance justify the higher fees?

Thanks in advance for your insights.

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I posted here looking for a co-founder role. I've since reflected and what I actually want is simpler: to get paid to do what I'm already good at, while working on something that matters.

Who I am: I run an Islamic-focused YouTube channel with 43,500+ subscribers and over 4 million total views, built organically over the past several months. My audience is exactly the people you're trying to sell to — Muslim users looking for productivity tools, Qur'an/learning apps, halal finance products, and community platforms.

What I'm offering:

• Owned distribution to a warm, engaged Islamic audience (not cold ads)
• Content-driven marketing: YouTube, Shorts, Reddit, community posts
• Organic growth strategy and experimentation
• Real feedback loops from actual Muslim users

What I'm looking for: A paid role — Growth Marketer, Content Lead, or Creator-in-Residence — at a startup building Islamic or Muslim-focused software. I'm open to part-time, full-time, or a base + performance structure.

If you're building in this space and struggling with distribution or reaching Muslim users authentically, let's talk.

DMs open. JazakAllah khair.

Hello, I need some help please.

I'm 31 years old women, Single and Located in germany.

I'm really interested in investing and financial literacy, but being a Muslim it is really hard to find Sharia compliant things.

Currently I have around 8000eur saved in ETF (global ones, and I'm really not comfortable investing in there because they are not 100% Halal), I would really appreciate some help and guidance, I did a lot of research but I'm still confused.

I use scalable capital, do you think I should continue there or move my investments somewhere else?

what kind of stocks I should buy ?

should I avoid ETFs ?

what do you think of bitcoin ? where can I buy it ?

is Trading halal ?

I can invest 500eur per month.

I did lots of research but I learned so much from people here on Reddit, that's why I wanted to ask here for the best guidance and advice.

Thank you in advance.

Is it permissible to make a website for a restaurant that sells alcohol? I would not mention that they sell alcohol on the website, and I would also not include the drinks part of the menu. They dont use any pork meat.

guys do you have any good companies to invest in

Hey everyone,

I need some honest opinions about an investment structure I’m currently involved in.

I invested €10,000 with my uncle in a business deal.

Here’s how it works:

• My uncle has a client contract generating a stable €500/month payment
• The client has been consistent for about a year (monthly payments are quite stable but not guaranteed forever)
• I invested €10,000 into this setup
• I receive 30% of the monthly income, which is around €150/month
• There is no fixed guaranteed profit
• If the client stops paying or the contract ends, the income stops
• I also risk losing my capital if things go wrong

So basically:

• The income depends entirely on one client
• Returns are proportional (30%), not fixed yet since it's a stable client for them, most likely I will receive €150/month since the client pay a stable monthly payment
• The situation is currently stable, but structurally risky

My question is:
From an Islamic perspective, is this considered halal investment / partnership (mudaraba), or does it fall into something problematic (like riba or an invalid structure)?

Would appreciate any serious input.

Thanks.

As-salamu alaykum dear brothers and sisters,

first of all, I do not want to start another endless discussion about whether stocks are halal in general, or about the boycott topic.

Since I deal with this topic professionally, I would just like to share some information for anyone interested.

Short key facts about the reform:

• From 2027, Germany plans to introduce the new retirement savings account as a state-subsidised, return-oriented retirement savings vehicle without a traditional capital guarantee.
• For the first €360 of annual personal contributions, there will be a 50% subsidy. For contributions from €360.01 up to €1,800, there will be a 25% subsidy. This means a maximum basic allowance of €540 per year.
• In addition, there will be up to €300 child allowance per child and a one-time €200 career starter bonus if the contract is concluded before the age of 25.
• Investment income is not supposed to be taxed during the accumulation phase. Taxation takes place later during the payout phase.

Why this matters for Islamic Finance:

Based on the current state of the reform, all UCITS funds should generally be eligible for the retirement savings account if they are allowed to be distributed to retail investors in Germany and have a maximum PRIIPs risk class of 5 in the Key Information Document. This opening for UCITS funds in the retirement savings account is mentioned in the Finance Committee recommendation, Bundestag document 21/4996.

This means that well-known Shariah-compliant UCITS ETFs could generally fall within the eligible product universe, for example:

• iShares MSCI World Islamic UCITS ETF / ISIN IE00B27YCN58: PRIIPs risk class 4 according to the KID.
• iShares MSCI EM Islamic UCITS ETF / ISIN IE00B27YCP72: PRIIPs risk class 4 according to the KID.
• iShares $ Sukuk UCITS ETF / ISIN IE000929U2U9: PRIIPs risk class 2 according to the KID.

So the real question is not only: “Are Islamic ETFs allowed?”

Based on the current state: generally yes, provided they are UCITS funds, are distributable to retail investors in Germany and have a maximum PRIIPs risk class of 5.

The bigger issue is the practical implementation.

With Islamic equity ETFs, purification of non-Shariah-compliant income are in the most cases necessary. In a normal brokerage account, this is generally manageable. In an retirement savings account, however, it becomes much more difficult, because you cannot simply withdraw money from the subsidised retirement contract and donate it without potentially triggering tax recalculations, repayment of subsidies or harmful use of the subsidised assets.

This is why Sukuk ETFs are especially interesting. If the future retirement savings account requires a “safer” or lower-risk building block, a conventional bond ETF would be problematic for many Muslims. A Sukuk ETF with risk class 2 could be a Shariah-compliant alternative — assuming the structure, Shariah board and methodology are accepted.

Then there is the issue of Zakat. Even if the retirement savings accountis invested in halal products, it remains unclear how Zakat on locked retirement assets should be calculated and paid. You probably cannot simply withdraw the Zakat amount from the retirement savings account. So it would likely have to be paid from external funds — but for that, investors would need reliable data on the Zakatable portion of the assets.

My thesis is that these aspects are not being taken into account and, due to the focus on mass-market appeal, are unlikely to be revised. Therefore, the retirement savings account will maybe not a suitable solution for us.

No financial advice and no fatwa.

May Allah bless all your investments. Allahumma Amin. :)

Something I think about in Islamic finance spaces is that people put real effort into structuring halal investments, avoiding riba, making sure their income is clean, and then have nothing written down for what happens to any of it when they die.

Fara'id is fard. The shares are fixed in the Quran. But if there's no written wasiyyah your family is trying to work out inheritance in the middle of grief, often with relatives who don't know the rulings, and disputes over inheritance are genuinely one of the most destructive things that can happen to a Muslim family.

I've also seen people not realise that debts and religious obligations like unpaid zakat come before any inheritance distribution at all. That catches a lot of families off guard.

Is this something that comes up in your work or your community? Do people treat the wasiyyah as seriously as they treat other aspects of Islamic finance or does it get neglected? Curious what people's experience is because I feel like it's a gap that doesn't get talked about enough.

Salam, I’m a 20M in the UK so I don’t have access to SPUS.
What would you say the best alternative is for long term?

1. HIUS — HSBC MSCI USA Islamic UCITS ETF
2. IIES — Invesco Dow Jones Islamic Global Developed Markets UCITS ETF
3. ISUS — iShares MSCI USA Islamic UCITS ETF
4. HIWO — HSBC MSCI World Islamic UCITS ETF
5. ISWD — iShares MSCI World Islamic UCITS ETF
6. ISEU — iShares MSCI Europe Islamic UCITS ETF
7. HIEM — HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets Islamic UCITS ETF
8. ISDE — iShares MSCI EM Islamic UCITS ETF
9. AMAL — HANetf Almalia Sanlam Active Shariah Global Equity UCITS ETF
10. SGLN — Invesco Physical Gold ETC
11. IGLN — iShares Physical Gold ETC

Bit of background info - I know that comparison is the thief of joy, and that everyone’s circumstances are different. I come from a family that isn’t well off at all - no stable income whatsoever, and my dad’s income mostly contributes towards the mortgage payments and bills. As the eldest child, I contribute to the household with food shopping, bulk essentials (as this is generally cheaper in the long run and we are a big family), and I don’t want to live life off canned beans especially whilst I am unmarried and a young woman, so I try to treat myself, immediate family and friends.

Me and my immediate family who are all I have as I don’t have connection with extended family, have never been on holiday ever other than our home country (which I have no plan going to now that I am older), alhamdulilah should still be grateful as some are not fortunate enough to step out the country at all. We don’t have any family businesses or property income, and we are a private family not known in the community (these factors I feel disadvantages us a lot)

I’m in my early 20s living in the UK, and my only source of income at the moment is student finance income and minimal income from zero hour contracted work, totalling under £20k yearly income. Finding stable full-time or part-time work is very difficult in the UK, it’s ridiculous, and I don’t want to compromise on my training which I had gotten back to after a year of a mental health breakdown phase. I crave stability by the time I graduate and before marriage, and financial stability is something that would really help me achieve other goals or for the future to come.

My bigger spendings are
- learning to drive and tests (kept giving up but now I won’t let myself give up and my anxiety has improved)
- aesthetic treatments (my goal is to have proposed treatments done before marriage or by time of graduation. I know this is a lot of money but I care so much about my appearance and my logic is I won’t need to get these treatments done by time I’m preparing for marriage which will save me in the long run)
- gifting myself, family and friends such as paying for meals, birthdays, and eid or the rare days out (this does accumulate quite a bit as I like to gift pricier things and it makes me feel better, never something I would regret as it is an act of good)

I also wanted to mention that last year I paid off debt in full from a personal loan and overdrafts when I went back into full time education - I was in a psychotic phase when I took out a loan for several reasons not knowing id be out of study for a year and that I’d struggle to find work, which caused me a lot of financial distress. I also went through a massive investment scam, and that income I used to invest before the scam would’ve helped me pay off the debt well before.

Whatever has happened has happened, and Alhamdulilah it has only taught me to learn how interest is haram for a reason, and to learn what fraudulent financial services look like. I recovered very little after going through the ombudsman service, but I was informed it was unlikely to get recovery from it. I now plan every month on my finances and I also note any expenses that are near £100 or over. However I am still struggling and stressing about ever being able to go holiday with family or at least umrah. And not having to use my overdraft until the next payment, not having to dip into savings as I am constantly dipping into savings which are few thousands worth (building first car pot and also emergency fund after learning how important this is since what I had been through and family circumstances).

I have 2 more years left of my training degree, and even then I fear what if I struggle to find full time employment for some time based off what recent grads have been saying, even within the NHS.

I don’t know how to maximise what I have now, I don’t want to go down interest route or anything of high risk. My savings account with gatehouse bank won’t make much until I have at least 5 figures worth. I have thought about applying for remote work or one with more stability that accommodates around my training however i must prirotise my training as well, and it was hard to get accepted when I was off it.

I sincerely ask for advice based on my circumstances on how to maximise my profits and what to do whilst I am financially “unstable”, or any flexible remote work I can get into. I’m wary of investments as I know I’d need to be somewhat stable first to invest and that too I don’t like the idea of risking all of it, I also don’t know how Islamically that works although I hav done research. Appreciated 🙌🏽

Curious to hear your experiences good and bad. How much of a fee did you have to pay, I know it snot interest technically, but it still has to be called that on the papers. How much "interest" did you have to pay

My husband and I have the goal of buying a house one day in the UK inshallah but want to avoid riba. I have recently gotten into personal finance and started a Lifetime ISA and put some money into an Islamic global ETF.

I thought to myself since there are people out there saving and investing a big portion of their income to retire one day (ie FIRE), wouldn’t it be a good idea to invest the amount of money it would take to buy a house in cash?

I put some figures into a HSBC investment calculator, and if we invest £1,000 a month for 15 years in an intermediate market we should have around £270,000 or the amount it would cost for a 3 bed in a small town.

We can’t predict house prices or inflation, but this seems like a way to get a fully paid off home without paying into a mortgage and associated riba for 30 years? Of course we would have to keep paying rent while we save which is an important consideration.

I’d love to hear others’ ideas, if this is a viable option anyone is already doing or is planning to do inshallah?

Hi everyone — I’ve recently finished university and I’m currently looking for any online work opportunities to help me earn enough for a flight ticket back home.
I’m fluent in English, Swedish and Arabic. I have a degree in Politics and Economics. I’m open to pretty much any kind of remote or online work, including:
Translation / proofreading
Writing or editing
Research assistance
Admin or virtual assistant work
Customer support
Tutoring
Data entry
Social media help
Freelance tasks
I’m hardworking, reliable, quick to learn, and available immediately. If anyone knows of opportunities, short-term gigs, freelance work, or even referrals, I’d really appreciate it.

I've been running a systematic strategy on Shariah-compliant US stocks. Each month it ranks the eligible universe by trend strength and picks the top ones.

This month's picks:
AMD · SNDK · STX · ON · MU

All semis and storage. When a sector is trending hard, the model loads up. No manual override, no opinion — just what the data says.

All five pass Shariah screening (no excessive debt, no revenue from prohibited industries). I'm not a scholar — I use established screening criteria, so do your own due diligence on compliance as always.

Anyone here follow a systematic approach to picking compliant stocks, or mostly doing fundamental analysis?

Assalamu alaikum Warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu,How is Tata Ethical Fund Shariah compliant if it holds companies like TCS, Infosys, etc., which are not halal?