Fatwa and Shari'a Supervisory Board

Our Fatwa & Shari’a Supervisory Board (FSSB) is comprised of leading Islamic scholars who have extensive experience and expertise in legal, financial and banking-related matters. The Board is responsible for reviewing, approving, and overseeing all of our product offerings, and is empowered to issue rulings in strict adherence to the principles of Shari’a.

At the same time, our FSSB works closely with our various business units to formulate and create innovative and dynamic financial solutions for our clients that are permissible under Islam.

Islamic Banking Overview

Islamic banking is a form of banking which derives its inspiration and guidance from the religious edicts of Islam and conducts its operations strictly in accordance with the directives of Shari’a. The essential feature of Islamic banking is that it is interest (or Riba)-free which provides Islamic finance based on profit sharing partnership. Islamic banks focus on generating returns on investments through investment tools that are Shari’a compliant.

It is our mission to take Islamic banking and finance to new heights through an unwavering focus on innovation and the desire to deliver excellence in everything we do, including the development and offer of a broad and integrated range of products and services that are in perfect harmony with Shari’a principles.

Noor Shari’a Approved Products

We offer Shari’a compliant facilities across various industry sectors including trading, manufacturing, commercial real estate, contracting and etc. Some of our products and offerings include:

• Murabaha
  The term refers to a financing facility, where the Bank buys an asset on the order of the customer at the cost price and sells it to the customer at an agreed sale price (cost price + profit). Murabaha is not considered as a personal loan but a commercial transaction and is therefore an Islamic instrument of financing.

• Ijarah
  Ijarah is an Arabic term, literally meaning ‘to give something on rent’. It involves a contract where the Bank buys an asset and then leases the right of usufruct (use) of the asset to the Customer for a particular period of time. The rent amount can be split into a fixed portion and a variable portion (the variable portion should be based on a benchmark).

• Istisna’
  Istisna' is a sale transaction where a commodity is transacted before it comes into existence. It is an order to a manufacturer to manufacture a specific commodity for the purchaser. The manufacturer uses his own material to manufacture the required goods. In Istisna', price must be fixed with consent of all parties involved. All other necessary specifications of the commodity must also be fully settled.

• Musharaka
  A form of partnership between the Islamic bank and its client whereby each party contributes to the capital of partnership in equal or varying degrees to establish a new project or share in an existing one whereby each party becomes an owner of the capital on a permanent or declining basis and shall have his due share of profits.
  
  

Members

The following scholars are members of Noor’s Fatwa & Shari’a Supervisory Board:

Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari – Chairman

An active member of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, he serves as an expert at the Islamic jurisprudence academies of the Organization of Islamic Countries and the Islamic World League.

Dr. Elgari graduated from the University of California with a Ph.D. in Economics, and currently serves as a Professor of Islamic Economics and Director of Islamic Economics Research at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. He is also a member of Shari’a Boards on many Islamic Banks and Takaful Companies across the Middle East, Asia and North America.

Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah - Member

A member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, Jeddah and the Accounting and Auditing Standards Boards of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), he also served on the Fatwa Board of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Kuwait.

Dr. Abu Ghuddah formerly taught Fiqh and Islamic studies at the Faculty of Law and Shari’a at Kuwait University. He earned a Ph.D. in Shari’a and Comparative Fiqh and a M.A. in Shari’a and Hadith from Al-Azhar University, and B.A. degrees in Islamic Shari’a and in Law from Damascus University.

Dr. Mohammed Daud Bakar - Member

Dr. Bakar is a member of the Central Shari’a Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Malaysia and Securities Commission of Malaysia, and is also an active member of the Shari’a Board of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

He also serves as an Associate Professor in Islamic Law and the Deputy Rector, Student Affairs and Discipline, at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. He holds a Ph.D. from University of St. Andrews, Bachelor of Jurisprudence at University of Malaya and a Bachelors degree in Shari’a from the University of Kuwait.

Dr. Mohammed Abdulrahim Sultan Al Olama - Member

Dr. Mohammed Abdulrahim Sultan Al Olama has a distinguished academic background. He has achieved his Bachelor Degree in Shari’a from Islamic University in Madina Al-Munawara, KSA and has completed his Master and PhD in Islamic Fiqh from Umm-ul-Qura University, KSA.

Dr. Al Olama is currently an Associate Professor in UAE University, Islamic Studies department. Dr. Al Olama is an integral part of various seminars and conferences held locally, regionally and internationally. In addition, he has participated in many research activities and published various books. He is a member of many Shari’a Boards of Islamic banks and financial institutions.