I occasionally get contacted by those considering moving to KSA from the West asking for advice and therefore decided to write a short post on some of the benefits of living in Saudi Arabia especially for Muslims from the West. No place is perfect but overall Saudi Arabia is a great place to live for those thinking of moving. Important to note that this is based on my own personal experience living in the Kingdom at different times over the past decade in Alhofuf, Madinah & Riyadh. 1) Makkah – When living in Saudi Arabia, it is much easier for you to go to Makkah whenever you feel like i ..read more

After being away from home/family, studying & working for the most part of the past 18 years, and after an amazing 6 years in Riyadh, I have made the difficult decision of moving back home to focus on some other personal projects and to be closer to family. I will still be travelling back and forth to the Gulf InshaAllah and may eventually move back permanently in the future. Alhamdulillah during my time abroad, I have been honoured to benefit from some amazing people both academically and professionally. May Allah bless them all. Ameen. Alhamdulillah, during my most recent role with Albil ..read more

I recently met a Senior Shariah Scholar from KSA. During our discussion he asked me an interesting question: which one person influenced me the most to go abroad and seek religous knowledge when I was younger. Without any hesitation I mentioned a name to him. I was born and raised in the UK. My father (الله يرحمه) passed away when I was 7. When I was 11, my mother decided to return with her children to Zimbabwe the country that she is from. I lived there from 1998 to 2006. Moving to a new country is not easy and teenage years are filled with many temptations. It is easy to make wrong decisions ..read more

I have not been very active writing new posts on this blog due to other commitments. Furthermore, I am now more active on Instagram (@rizqonomics) where I upload short reels and posts. However, I will try to increase my writing frequency here too inshaAllah. I have been recently contacted by quite a few people from the UK asking if their Islamic home finance payments (Islamic mortgage payments) will go up due to the overall interest rate increases and after hearing that the mortgage payments of customers of conventional banks have gone up. When I reply that this will most likely be the case, t ..read more

The next resource on this list is ‘ الحكم الربوية’ which was written by Dr. Mansoor Alghamdi, who has many years of experience working in the Islamic finance industry and has worked in the Shariah Departments of some of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions in KSA. The book looks at the crucial topic of riba and the reasons (wisdoms) behind its prohibition according to different scholars. Various reasons (wisdoms) are analysed in the book such as Shariah/legal, economic, social and other reasons (wisdoms). In this research, the author discusses and critiques the different opinion ..read more

Alhamdulillah A couple months ago I completed a decade working full-time in Shariah within the Islamic finance industry. I am truly grateful for the opportunities that I have been blessed with especially in an area where it is not so easy to get practical experience. I have had the honour of working with Shariah experts who have graduated from reputable Islamic universities/seminaries of the Muslim world. Discussing and researching various Shariah issues in contemporary finance on a daily basis is interesting and it is common to discuss new issues/products with peers working in Shariah in va ..read more

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The next resource on this list is ‘Frequently asked questions about Islamic banks (Sixty Q and As)’. This is the second resource on this list published by the Shariah Department at Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) and was prepared by the Head of Shariah, Sheikh Hamad Farooq Al Shaikh and revised by the Shariah Board. The book is a compilation of common Q&As on Islamic banking practices and aims to bring clarity to an area where this a perceived ambiguity amongst the public. The publication consists of 60 of the most common Q&As regarding Islamic banking practices and is divided into diffe ..read more

The next book in this list is ‘Al Mufeed (Transactions of Islamic Banks) written by the Head of Shariah at Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), Sheikh Hamad Farooq Al Shaikh. The book is an introduction to the Fiqh of Islamic financial transactions and was reviewed by both Sheikh Abdul Latif Mahmood Al Mahmood, the Chairman of BisB’s Shariah Board and Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, a member of the Shariah Board. To be honest, I had not heard of this book until I moved to KSA when it was highly recommended to me by one of my colleagues working in Shariah Advisory. I found the book to be a beneficial introducti ..read more

The next book in this list is ‘Shari’a Guide For Real Estate Finance’ published by the Shariah Board Advisory Department of Bank Albilad (BAB) and is the second book published by this bank that I have included in this list. As mentioned previously, BAB is well known within KSA as having a strong robust Shariah governance framework in place and for being active in publishing Shariah research in contemporary Islamic financial matters. In fact, even outside of KSA it is well known for this within other Islamic finance jurisdictions. It is an honour for me to be currently affiliated with them. I ..read more