Is it permissible to purchase car insurance in instalments?

Q: Is it permissible to purchase car insurance in installments due to necessity when one cannot afford a one off payment. installments also have an added interest charge per month. For example: a one off payment will cost 1000 pounds and in 12 installments it’ll cost 1200 pounds. As insurance contains elements of interest could […]

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Are the products offered by Al Rayan bank Shari’ah compliant?

Q: Are the Home Purchase and Buy to let products offered by Al Rayan Shari’ah compliant? A: Al Qalam Shariah Panel have not audited Al Rayan bank’s products hence we are not able to comment on their shariah compliance. Each of the banks that offer Shari’ah compliant home purchase plans have a panel of external […]

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What options are available to fund university education?

Q: What options are available to fund university education in the absence of Shari’ah compliant student finance?  A: For options on funding University education please see information provided on the Halal Student loans website as copied in the link below. http://www.halalstudentloans.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/1.-Options-Toolkit.pdf Admin Al Qalam Shari’ah Panel

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Is it permissible to work in IT at an investment bank?

Q: Will it be halal income/earning working at Investment banking ( Barclay’s Investment Bank) IT as Software Engineer? A: When working as an employee in a business where a major portion of the business does not conform to the dictates of Sharīʿah there are principally two issues that must be determined: 1. Is the job itself […]

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Can interest money be used for paying Council Tax and car insurance?

Q: Can interest money received be used for paying Council Tax and car insurance? Additionally should interest money be disposed with non Islamic charities? A: Interest money cannot be used to pay council tax or car insurance. It should instead be given to the poor or utilised in public welfare projects without any intention of […]

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Is it permissible to pay for a Gold Safekeeping Facility for fixed monthly fee?

Q: Is it permissible to pay for a Gold Safekeeping Facility for fixed monthly fee (charged in proportion to the weight of Gold that is safeguarded)? http://www.amanabank.lk/en/personalbanking/banking-services/gold-safekeeping-facility As outlined on the above site, this service also includes a facilty to borrow ’emergency cash’ secured against the safe kept gold. The bank has said that the […]

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Is it permissible to have a fixed return in a profit sharing agreement?

Q: Is it permissible to have a fixed return in the following profit sharing agreement?  A lender agrees to provide an interest free loan to a businessman.  Separately, the businessman will in the near future be completing a trade and selling certain goods to his customer.  The lender wants to raise a contract to stipulate that the businessman will pay back the […]

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Can we take a mortgage in order to own one house?

Q: Alhamdulilah my family has kept away from bank loans and mortgages due to interest involvements but as everyone knows house is a necessity so some scholars do say one can compromise on interest issues when it comes to buying one house in your life time,please clarify how strong is this argument.what should one do in […]

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Are we allowed to use credit union deposit schemes?

Q: Are we allowed to use credit union deposit schemes since they offer dividend instead of interest and its a very small amount. 1% or 2% dividend is offered on your savings annually. Please advice accordingly as dividend and interest are different as described by the finance experts, dividend is a profit on your money.    الجواب حامدا ومصليا […]

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Is it permissible to hold a fixed term deposit or an ISA savings account?

Q: Are the fixed term deposit and ISA savings accounts permissible means in shariah in terms of the returns on one’s initial deposit?   الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: Any fixed term deposit account or ISA that gives interest or a guaranteed return on the initial deposit is not permitted.  It is possible to structure a fixed […]

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Can we provide brokerage services for non shariah compliant activity?

Q:  We run a business and provide broking services online for home cooks and buyers of food and take x% commission for each successful transaction.  Unfortunately there are some buyers and sellers who buy and sell meals containing non halal meat, pork, and in rare cases, alcohol. We receive a commission on these orders also.  Process […]

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