Islamic Commodities

Islamic Commodities, Islamic funds generate profits by buying and reselling Halal commodities. Because of the restrictions on the use of derivatives, commodities fund make use of two types of Shariah approved contracts:

Istina’a- It’s a contract where the buyer of an item funds upfront the production of the item. A detailed specification of the item as to be agreed before production starts and the cost of production has to be paid in full when the contract is agreed.

Bay al-salam- It’s similar to a forward contract where the buyer pays in advance for the delivery of raw materials or fungible goods at a given date. The delivery price of the contract is calculated at spot price minus a discount to compensate the buyer of the credit risk for the upfront payment.

Islamic Equity funds

Islamic Funds that invest in common shares in companies engaged in halal business. Companies are also screened in order to check for Shariah compliant accounting principles. Because of the limited pool of companies the funds can invest into, equity funds can have higher volatility compared to similar funds in the same space.

Murabaha

They are similar to development funds, also referred to as ‘cost-plus’ financing, where a fund will buy goods and resell them to a third party at a given price. The price is made of the cost of goods plus a profit margin. Cost and margin are agreed in advance.

Ijara

Islamic Funds that acquire and keep ownership of an asset (real estate, machinery, vehicles or equipment) and then makes profits by leasing it out in return of a rental payment. The fund is responsible for the management of the asset and will normally receive a management fee. The leased item must be used in a Halal manner.

Investment restrictions:

Riba

The payment or receipt of interests are considered usury and unjust. Debt is also disapproved making Islamic investments in highly leveraged companies unacceptable. Funds cannot pay fixed or guaranteed return on capital. Instead of borrowing and lending, Islamic finance relies on sharing the ownership of the assets and therefore risk and profit/loss[1].

Haram

Companies involved in prohibited business activities cannot be part of a Shariah fund strategy. Prohibited business activities can relate to food (production and sales of alcoholic beverages including pubs and restaurants, pork products, tobacco), gambling (casinos, on-line gambling, betting, lottery schemes), adult oriented (video, magazines, on-line material, strip clubs), dubious, immoral and illicit trades (prostitution, drugs).

Maisir

Islam forbids gambling in any form. Consequentially, derivatives, forwards, options and futures are prohibited. Other forbidden practices include short selling, margin, and scalping trading.

Day trading

Day trading is considered akin to maisir. Marketable securities generally have a multi-day settlement period, during which time the underlying instruments, while cleared, are not formally registered in the name of the purchaser. As day traders do not wait for settlement to complete, they are using a type of credit cushion provided by their broker[3]. Day traders also very commonly rely on a margin account to finance their trading activity.