HALAL WAYS OF INVESTING
HALAL WAYS OF INVESTING
Riba (interest) is a popular method of making money from investment however, Islamic rules prohibit Muslims from collecting Riba.
This has been established in many Quranic verses, one of which is Surah Al-Baqara which states:
Those who eat Riba (usury) will not stand (on the Day
of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaitan (Satan)
leading him to insanity. That is because they say: "Trading is only like
Riba (usury)," whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba
(usury). So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating
Riba (usury) shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah (to
judge); but whoever returns [to Riba (usury)], such are the dwellers of the
Fire - they will abide therein (Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 275).
O you who
believe! Eat not Riba (usury) doubled and multiplied, but fear Allah that you
may be successful (Surah Aal-e-Imran, Verse 13).
As opposed to investment
plans that involve Riba, Halal investments give Muslims the opportunity to grow
their wealth following the tenets of Islamic rules.
What is a
halal investment?
Halal means anything
lawful according to the Sharia. Halal investments are investment plans that :
- do not involve
collecting usury (interest)
- do not involve investing in companies that
sell Haram products like alcohol, pork e.t.c
- do not involve uncertainties e.g. gambling
Types of
halal investment
These include:
● Stocks: Stocks are company shares
that are made available to the public. It is an investment plan that has been
around for a long time and is a halal way of growing your wealth. When you buy
shares, you have an ownership right to the company and you share the risk of
business with the company.
This means that If the
company grows, your stock also grows and you can sell off at a higher price
after some time but if the company suffers a loss, your stocks also depreciate.
As a Muslim before buying
stocks, you have to ensure that the company is not involved in sales of Haram
products like alcohol and pork.
Apps like Islamicly can
help in verifying companies before investing.
● Sukuk
bond: Sukuk bonds are just like traditional loans but unlike
traditional loans where investors receive principal (money lent) and a fixed
percentage on the principal(interest), with sukuk bonds, the investor gets
his/her money back with some agreed percentage of the profit over an agreed
time only when the business makes a profit.
This is in line with
Islamic financial rules which advocate for the equal sharing of risk and
profit. Cowrywise is a company that has a sukuk bond plan.
● Real
Estate: Real estate has been around for a long time now and it is a
secure means of investment.
It can however be
capital-intensive. A way to circumvent this is by joining resources together
with a trusted group of people to buy a real estate property.
You can then share the
profit gained on the property hk each other.
● Mutual
trust funds: These are very similar to stocks. A mutual fund
contains stocks from various companies. It allows you to invest in multiple
stocks from just purchasing a mutual fund. For instance, a mutual fund can
contain stocks from Apple, Amazon, and Google. So, when you buy that particular
mutual fund, you get to have investments in these three companies in just one
buy.
The only downside is that
you have to do lots of research to ensure that all companies that have stocks
in the mutual funds sell halal products; however, there are apps like the Goya
app that help with this.
Conclusion
Halal investment is a
growing part of the finance sector with both Muslims and Non-Muslim going into it.
Companies in Nigeria that provide halal investment plans include: Cowrywise,
ARM investment manager, Stanbic IBTC and Loutus Capital amongst many others.
As a Muslim growing your
wealth in a halal way by investing is possible. You can try out any of these
options and see how it goes.
Let us start building wealth!
See you next time.
References
Shazain, H. (2021) Halal investment - A
beginner's guide, Qardus. . Available at:
https://www.qardus.com/news/halal-investment-a-beginners-guide (Accessed:
December 24, 2022).
Benson, A. (2022) What is halal investing?,
NerdWallet. Available at:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/halal-investing (Accessed:
December 24, 2022).
Patel, M. (2021) Halal investment ideas for
2022., Islamic Finance Guru | IFG. Adam. Available at:
https://www.islamicfinanceguru.com/home (Accessed: December 24, 2022).
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