ISLAMIC INVESTMENT

Muslims who wish to follow the strict tenets of Islamic Shariah law in their financial and investing activities have a narrower universe of choices than those who are not followers of Shariah law. However, a study by Islamic Research and Training Institute, of the Islamic Development Bank (Saudi Arabia) found that performance was not hampered by the Shariah filters used to create approved lists.

The author of that study, Kahled A. Hussein, provided this historical note, “Until the 1970s, a great proportion of the Muslim community was not involved in any stock market investments due to Islamic prohibition of certain business activities. In the 1990s, a major breakthrough took place in religious rulings related to equity investment, and since then Islamic equity funds have started to operate.”

Islamic Investing Principles

Two major guiding principles of Islamic investing are: (1) no interest, and (2) social responsibility. The most immediately obvious result of implementing Islamic investment principles is the elimination of the entire Financial Sector from the portfolio

Dow Jones Islamic Index

For those Shariah restricted investors who wish to invest in U.S. stocks, Dow Jones maintains an index of compliant U.S. stocks. The investor can select individual companies from that list or invest in one of a small number of mutual funds that in turn invest in the companies in the Dow Jones Islamic Index.

Islamic practice requires review of an approved list of investments by a group of Shariah scholars. Dow Jones manages their index list through its Shariah Supervisory Board consisting of six scholars: Shaykh Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah (Syria), Shaykh Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Pakistan), Shaykh Nizam Yaquby (Bahrain), Shaykh Dr. Mohamed A Elgari (Saudi Arabia), Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo (United States) and Shaykh Dr. Mohd Daud Baker (Malaysia).

RECENT RULING ON BBA – COURT OF APPEAL, MALAYSIA

The Malaysian Court of Appeal had on 2^nd April 2009 ruled that Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) contracts are valid and binding in a case that involved Bank Islam. It reiterated that a BBA contract is a sale transaction and it must not be compared to a loan transaction.

This is indeed a good decision as it reaffirmed that the BBA contracts are actually shariah compliant and are legally binding and valid and can be enforced in the court of law. However, it is now time for Bank Negara Malaysia to standardize, streamline and ensure to cover all the loopholes of the current BBA transactions to ensure that the public will never ever equate BBA to a conventional loan arrangement.

It is high time that the scholars take this issue seriously to ensure that the mechanism and documentation will not be the laughing stock to the public, especially those that are really sceptical about anything “Islamic”.

ABOUT APRIL FOOL'S DAY .....

This is one good piece of reading from Mufti.com (Author : Adnan Khalid) ... read on, people...

The history of April Fool’s Day is not totally clear. No exact date can be found pinpointing the first official celebration of the holiday. There are, however, many narrations regarding the reason the tradition is practiced. One narration states that it is a day the Spanish celebrate in remembrance of the day that they defeated the Muslims and swept them from power in lower Spain. According to this narration, the Christian army could not conquer the Muslims there and sent spies to discover why. They discovered that the Muslims were strong on faith and obedient to Allah. The tradition goes on saying that the Christians sent in alcohol and tobacco, which the Muslims used and became the means in which they lost their obedience to Allah. Then the Christian army invaded lower Spain and conquered the Muslims on the first of April and began celebrating April Fool’s Day ever since. As this story has been circulating between our Muslim brothers strengthening their beliefs about the history of this day I deemed it appropriate to clarify a few points about the history of April Fool’s Day. The truth of the matter is that this story is not true in many aspects.

First, let us confirm the historic fact that Muslim rule in Spain ended on the 12th of January in the Christian year of 1492 A.D. April Fool’s Day was not heard of until over sixty years later. The most authentic reports according to Christian historical books such as Encyclopaedia Britannica as well as many others trace the roots of the holiday back to 16th century France. Prior to the year 1582, the new year was celebrated for eight days, starting with the 25th of March. The celebration culminated on April 1st. With the reform of the Christian calendar under King Charles IX, through the influence of Pope Gregory, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, and New Years Day was moved to the first of January. However, due to lack of communications in those days, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the most obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. These backward people were classified as “fool” by the general public and were often subject to some ridicule. Hence, the tradition of April Fool’s Day began.

Second, we should acknowledge the fact that tobacco products were not even invented until after the time of the fall of Muslims in Spain. According to the State College in Framingham, they quote that smoking of any kind did not exist in Spain until after it was brought back from the New World in the times after King Ferdinand of Spain had come to power. Tobacco use did not become widespread until the 19th century.(Introduction to human biology, Framingham State College, Roger N. Morrissette, Ph.D.)

So regarding the rumour claiming that April Fool’s Day is a celebration of the taking over of Muslim Spain, it is clear the whole thing is a fabricated story. It is in fact a lie made by the nonbelievers to mislead Muslims and in realty create a “Muslims Fool Day”! True Muslims would never propagate lies especially when it comes to the history of Islam. It is our duty to educate our brothers on these kinds of topics.

Regardless of the history of April Fool’s Day or not, there still isn’t any sort of a reason for a Muslim to practice such a foolish tradition. It is in reality a holiday created by the enemies of Allah to prove how really foolish they are by denying the truth revealed to the world through the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). As Muslims it is our job to avoid imitating the nonbelievers in all aspects of life and this includes celebration of their holidays. No matter how hard you try to please them you will always fail unless you become one of them. And to become one of them is to earn Allah’s wrath. And to earn Allah’s wrath is to condemn oneself. Allah says in the Qur’an, “And never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you until you follow their millat (traditions, ways, religion, etc.).”(Chapter 2, verse 122)

Dear readers! Know that Islam is the only religion, which is free from faults and innovations. Such an easy religion to follow is Islam. The Prophet said, “Indeed religion is easy”(Bukhari). Allah just asks that we obey Him and His messenger sallalahu alaihi wasallam. Yet we try to go out of our ways to be obedient to those cursed people who have shown disobedience to Allah. What a pity for him who chooses to enjoy the pleasures of the world over the pleasures of the hereafter. By imitating the nonbelievers, all we do is show people that we are one of them and that they are beloved to us as we to them. The Holy Prophet said, “ A person will be raised on the Day of Judgment with whom he loves.” So whom do we prefer to be raised with, the Noble Prophet sallalahu alaihi wasallam and his companions or the celebrators of April Fool’s Day? The answer is obvious to all. In this age of numerous trials and tribulations, we must try our hardest to stay steadfast on the straight path shown to us by our Beloved Prophet sallalahu alaihi wasallam, which is the only path with guaranteed success from Allah. In the long run, he will be successful who avoids such useless practices that are nothing more than a waste of time. May Allah keep us pure from such deceptions and avoid making us the “April Fool”. Ameen.

STRESS AND ANXIETY ATTACKS DURING EXAM TIME!!!!!

I will be having my semester exams at the end of the month and I am having stress and anxiety attacks – I have tons of work to do (which includes never ending assignments etc etc), I’m sleep deprived, I’m tired and miserable. Worse, I have not even opened any books and/or lecture notes – I am as good as GONE!!!!! I need serious HELP!!!!!

So today – I am not going to write up anything on Islamic finance – but just to focus on stress and anxiety related to exams. Yes people, believe it, after taking more than a dozens of major exams since my childhood years, I am still hopeless at controlling my stress level when it comes to exams.

I ‘googled’ on stress relief and guess what, most of the articles wrote that the best stress relief can be achieved through hypnosis therapy. Huh? Where can I get one in short notice? Better still, I have never heard of hypnosis therapy before……

The more articles I read, the more depressed I became – so I decided to do one thing – STOP ‘GOOGLING’, SHUT THE LAPTOP AND GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!!

I hope that once I wake up tomorrow morning (insha allah/god’s willing), I will be okay – I put my life in God’s hand – He is the ultimate one – after all, only ALLAH KNOWS BEST!!!!

Good night all – Sleep tight – Sweet dreams!!!!!

WOMEN AND ISLAMIC FINANCE

When I read this article in Islamic Banking and Finance Issue 21, I know that I have to share this article with you....

The first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, Khadijah binti Khuwaylid, is considered to be one of the greatest women in Islamic history. A widely respected and successful businesswoman who inherited her father’s business, Khadijah is known as the first female entrepreneur in Islam. Her title of al-Tahira (“the pure one”) was earned through her purity, generosity and service to others.

Khadijah employed Muhammad as an agent to trade her merchandise to Syria and, impressed by his sense of responsibility and business skills, she proposed to him. She was also the first to declare faith in Islam. Khadijah’s example sets a standard for aspiring businesswomen across the Islamic world—her success in a male-dominated society provides inspiration for women to pursue their own careers. But how easy is it, in modern times, for a woman to gain acceptance from her male peers and become successful in an environment such as Islamic finance? And what does the future hold for women in the sector?

The Western view of a successful woman generally relates to an accomplished career and financial independence. But in Islam, although a Muslim woman can pursue a career, her primary role as wife and mother are considered more important. The status attached to the role of mother is equal to, or more than, that associated with the father as provider:

A man came to the Prophet and said: “O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?” The Prophet said: “Your mother.” The man said: “Then who?” The Prophet said: “Then your mother.” The man further asked: “Then who?” The Prophet said: “Then your mother.” The man asked again: “Then who?” The Prophet said: “Then your father.”
(Bukhari and Muslim hadith)

Although Western attitudes towards career women are actively promoted in most industries, women in the Middle East, North Africa and emerging Asia (MENASIA) regions can still be faced with chauvinistic attitudes and lower salaries. In an industry based on Islamic laws, attitudes towards women in Islamic finance are more traditional and conservative. But attitudes towards businesswomen in the sector are becoming more liberal, as female role models prove they can balance both a family and career. Women are finding they are increasingly regarded as equals in the workplace, and steps are being taken across many regions to encourage female entrepreneurship.