Category: Research Papers

Research Paper: Retail Forex Trading: Views from the front lines of Islamic Finance

August 22, 2018

Foreign exchange trading has been one of the fastest-growing activities among private investors in the past 15 years. According to research by Citi in 2014, 4 million people are now trading currencies online, and retail traders account for around 20 per cent of the average daily turnover of the global spot forex market. An estimated … More Research Paper: Retail Forex Trading: Views from the front lines of Islamic Finance

Research Paper: Decoding Compliance of Initial Coin Offerings

May 28, 2018

Initial Coin Offerings are an innovative way to raise funds by issuing tokens through blockchain technology. The issued tokens can vary widely in their design and function. Some of the common types of tokens include: work tokens, utility tokens, asset-backed tokens, revenue tokens, equity tokens, buy-back tokens. In theory, a token holder can gain a … More Research Paper: Decoding Compliance of Initial Coin Offerings

Research Paper: The Shariah Factor in Cryptocurrencies and Tokens

May 28, 2018

Cryptocurrencies have become a buzzword across the world. The potential financial returns from cryptocurrencies have attracted Muslim investors, whilst the opportunity to raise funds by issuing tokens has attracted Muslim entrepreneurs and developers. The key question which is continuously being asked is the Shariah compliance of cryptocurrencies and token sales. This research analyses the nature … More Research Paper: The Shariah Factor in Cryptocurrencies and Tokens

Zakat on share investments: determining a proxy for calculation

May 18, 2018

At the National Zakat Foundation, in collaboration with scholars, financial analysts, accountants and others, we spent almost 5 months analysing the FTSE 100 to determine proxy for net Zakatable assets in companies,  Summary recommendations National Zakat Foundation’s (NZF) recommendation to Muslim shareholders is as follows: Ideally, a complete calculation and review of the balance sheet … More Zakat on share investments: determining a proxy for calculation

A Shariah Analysis of Ownership and the Concept of Trusts

February 1, 2018

This short treatise analyses the concept of ownership in Shariah and considers the concept of a trust under Shariah. Ownership is described as a relationship between a legal person (human or non-human), the corporeal entity of the property and its benefits. The paper expounds on the different types of ownership recognised in Islamic law with examples … More A Shariah Analysis of Ownership and the Concept of Trusts