Daily life · Money

Islamic Finance

Practical principles for earning, debt, investing, housing and giving.

Open the Zakat Calculator

Kept as one source of calculation—no duplicate tool

Halal income and business ethics

  • Earn through lawful goods, services and honest work; disclose defects and honour contracts.
  • Fraud, theft, bribery, deceptive marketing and direct assistance in clearly forbidden trade are haram.
  • A lawful product can still be sold unjustly through coercion, exploitation or concealed terms.

Riba, loans and debt

  • Riba includes prohibited increase in lending and specific exchanges; conventional interest-bearing debt is a central concern.
  • Record debts, agree repayment clearly and borrow only with a sincere plan to repay.
  • Do not shame a debtor in genuine hardship; creditors are encouraged to grant time or forgive.

Investing

  • Screen the core business, debt/interest exposure, contracts and how returns are generated.
  • Avoid gambling-like speculation, severe uncertainty, manipulation and ownership of clearly haram businesses.
  • Stocks, funds, crypto and pensions require product-specific analysis—not a single universal label.

Insurance and mortgages

  • Scholars and Islamic finance bodies analyse conventional insurance through uncertainty, gambling and interest; cooperative takaful is preferred where genuinely available.
  • Home financing products differ in contract and substance. A ‘halal’ name alone does not prove compliance.
  • Necessity, minority circumstances and alternatives require qualified case-specific guidance.

Zakat, sadaqah and waqf

  • Zakat is obligatory on qualifying wealth after its conditions; sadaqah is voluntary charity at any time.
  • Waqf is an enduring charitable endowment whose benefit continues.
  • Charity does not purify income earned through deliberate wrongdoing unless the wrongdoing is stopped and rights are restored.

A safe decision process

  • Identify the exact contract—not only the product’s marketing name.
  • Ask who owns what, who bears risk, what happens on default and where profit comes from.
  • Take documents to a qualified scholar with finance expertise before signing a major commitment.