Fatwa: Is forex haram or halal? A comprehensive fatwa compilation

This is iA the most comprehensive resource for this question on the internet.

We present views from IslamQA, Seekersguidance, and Islamweb, then our resident expert Mufti Faraz Adam presents his views, and finally IFG present a commercial perspective on the matter.

View One: Islamqa

Firstly:

If the Forex system involves leverage or margins, then it is haraam, because this is combining payment in advance and brokerage. This has already been discussed in the answer to question no. 125758.

If it involves margins and rollover fees, then it is even more emphatically haraam, because it is combining payment in advance and brokerage with riba-based loans. Please see the answer to question no. 106094.

Secondly:

If the transaction is free of the things mentioned above, and a person deals with his own wealth only via the Internet, then that is permissible, subject to two conditions:

  1. That immediate exchange, as prescribed in Islamic teaching, takes place when purchasing currencies;
  2. That there is no trading in anything that is haraam, such as options, futures, bonds and mixed or haraam shares.

See the previous reference, and the answers to questions no. 110938 and 248794.

With regard to trading without capital through the website of the XM company, we could not find any detailed description of that, but we should point out that the CFDs (contracts for differences) on the company’s website are haraam contracts, as they are contracts involving options and futures, which are mentioned in the statement of the Islam Fiqh Council quoted in the answer to question no. 106094.

The Islamic Fiqh Council in Jeddah, no. 63, stated in its sixth session that options are not permissible according to Islamic teaching, because the object of the contract is neither wealth, nor a benefit, nor a financial right that may be compensated.

Similar to that are contracts involving futures and indicators. End quote.

Contracts for differences or CFDs are defined as follows:

an agreement between two parties, who are usually referred to as the purchaser and seller, the value of which is based on the underlying asset (for example, the stock index, stock or futures contract) at the end of the contract, or when the parties concerned decide to close the deal. At that point, the seller pays the difference between the current price of the underlying asset and its price when opening it for the purchaser. That applies if the value of the underlying asset has risen. In the event of the opposite, if the value of the underlying asset has dropped, then the difference between the current price and the original price is negative, in which case the purchaser pays the difference to the seller.

End quote from http://www.ifcmarkets.com/ar/cfds/what-is-cfd

This is in addition to the fact that the Islamic Forex account on the website includes leverage, so it is haraam, as noted above.

And Allah knows best.

Taken from: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/310956/when-is-the-forex-halaal-the-ruling-on-dealing-with-cfds-contracts-of-differences-from-the-xm-company

See also: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/106094/ruling-on-dealing-in-currencies-in-the-forex-system-and-paying-fees-for-delaying-the-deal

View Two: Seekersguidance

In and of itself, currency exchange (sarf) is permissible, as long as certain conditions are met, such as the transaction be done hand-to-hand without delay. [Mawsili, Ikhtiyar]

However with respect to forex trading in particular, Mufti Taqi Usmani — leading contemporary Hanafi scholar and Islamic finance expert — believes it to be impermissible, due to various problematic elements associated with this form of trading.

Please see:

Forex Currency Trading

And Allah knows best.
wassalam
Faraz

Taken from: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/is-forex-trading-permissible/

View Three: Islamweb

It is not permissible for you to invest the money in these companies that you mentioned in the question because of the forbidden matters in their dealings, like the Mudhaarib (i.e. the one who manages the investment) conditioning a percentage from the capital money and not from the profit, and conditioning guaranteeing the money of Mudhaarabah. In addition to this, currency trading via the internet includes many prohibitions.

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 88426 , 88475 and 87385 .

Taken from: https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/128663/forex-trading-via-the-internet

Mufti Faraz view:

In my view, majority of the retail forex trading platforms do not satisfy the Shariah compliance requirements and are therefore not Shariah compliant. Retail conventional Forex trading, where individuals are merely speculating on currency pairs, is non-Shariah Compliant. Brokers which offer Islamic FX accounts advertise their product with ‘no rollover/swap fees’. What is more important and crucial to determine is whether there is actual trading and exchange of currencies in Islamic FX products.

The Fiqh (jurisprudence of the answer):

After reviewing dozens of materials and speaking to a number of Forex brokers, I am of the view that retail forex practiced by private investors and speculators is a form of non-deliverable trading agreements, where delivery of the currencies never takes place. A spot forex is an agreement to exchange a set amount of one currency for another at a predetermined exchange rate in two business days (T+2). In speculative trading, nobody actually wants to do the currency exchange, so at the end of each day, to avoid the exchange in two days, they offset their open position, and then re-open to start the new trading day. There is no “liquidating” of positions because there is nothing to actually liquidate.

When you do a trade, it’s as if you are borrowing the short currency at its overnight rate, exchanging it for the long one, and depositing that at its overnight rate. So if you go long USD/JPY it’s as if you are borrowing yen at the JPY overnight lending rate, converting them to dollars, then depositing the dollars at the USD overnight deposit rate. The carry is the difference between what you pay on the loan and what you receive on the deposit. When you close out your trade you reverse the process. Some brokers handle carry separately, while some incorporate it into the position rollover. (Note the “as if”. These actual transactions don’t really take place.)

Now, if you’re wondering why you see the carry on the T to T+1 rollover if the exchange doesn’t take place until T+2, it’s because your P&L is credited immediately for the overnight carry you will pay/receive going from T+2 to T+3. That’s also why you don’t see carry the day you close a position.

Thus, in retail forex, there is no actual trading of any currency. The entire industry is speculative.

There are multiple products offered by conventional brokers in non-deliverable FX trading such as:

  1. Contracts for Differences (CFDs)
  2. FX futures
  3. Spread betting
  4. FX options
  5. Spot FX

All of the above are non-compliant with Shariah due to the following reasons:

  1. Gharar

  2. Invalid commodity in Shariah

  3. Qimar

  4. Deferred counter-values

There is gross Gharar (uncertainty) in forex trading. The outcome of the open position where money has been staked is subject to Gharar. This Gharar is in the interim of a transaction and a component of the actual trade. This is different to purchasing shares, as one actually purchases a known subject matter. The transaction of purchasing shares is therefore free of Gharar. Its performance of one’s owned asset which is speculative – which is the nature and reality of all trade and business. Uncertainty in shares is therefore ex-post, whilst in FX trading it is ex-ante and during the trade.

Further, an FX trade does not involve any valid Shariah compliant commodity. One is taking a position on the movement of a currency pair. This is a Qimar (gambling) transaction as one is staking his wealth against his broker. The one who speculated correctly makes a profit at the expense of the other.

In futures transactions, because neither counter-value, is present at the time of contract, it is a mere exchange of promises. Futures trading, where both counter-values are deferred, is exchange of one debt for another, i.e., bay’ al-kali bil kali (a sale of two deferred counter-exchanges). The deferral of both counter-currencies results in a deferred transaction.

Deliverable Forex, which is open to companies and big firms, is different. In deliverable FX, there is actual trading of currencies. Deliverable FX has the potential to be Shariah compliant if other requirements of Shariah are fulfilled.

The IFG view:

We have previously written extensively on forex here and here. This writing is shaped by experience of working with forex companies as clients during our previous careers as lawyers.

In our view any “Islamic” accounts offered by forex companies is not properly Islamic.

We would strongly advise against getting into forex for Muslims, but also for non-Muslims due to the deep risks attached to it.

The operators of these companies don’t fully understand what Islamic law says about forex and are just trying to put a veneer of Islam over their products.

Forex is at heart a financial instrument (as opposed to dealing in the currency itself) and for it to be worthwhile there is leverage involved.

Most people who engage in forex lose money – and they lose it to people like eToro and other providers who can make money off losing trades. In fact, our understanding is that 80% of people who participate in forex lose money.

If you would like to invest then we recommend you check out our investment comparison page where you can compare all sorts of investments and choose one that’s best for you. If you would like to learn more about each investment and how to structure your investment strategy - check out Halal Investing Course here.

AsalamuAlaykum, I was just enquiring about Vantage FX who claim to offer Islamic Forex accounts and are SSB Approved.

They have a FAQ towards the end of this link explaining why it is permissible.

I would appreciate it if you would look into this and clarify. Jazakallah

Assalaamu alaykum, we pray you are well.

In regard to Vantage FX, I had discussed this matter with them and their Shariah board a few months ago, they gave me the following reply:

"Wassalamu Alaykum

Respected Mufti Faraz Adam,

The Vantage FX products have been certified by the Shariah Board and headed by Sheikh Hasan Qamra from Kuwait. The Shariah certification and Shariah Audits/ reviews are available on Vantage FX’s website.

The Shariah structure and mechanism of Vantage FX’s Shariah product is different from general products in that the process/documentation has been amended and we have board resolutions from Vantage FX to agree to shariah principles. The administrative fees are a valid remuneration/service fee in exchange of services (Ujrah) provided by Vantage FX in managing and administrating the Shariah account.

With regards to your specific queries, we can confirm all the laws and principles of Bay al-Sarf are applied to all transactions including that of Milkiyyah and Taqabudh. This is done via actual liquidity providers through operational mechanism approved by the Shariah Board. Vantage FX serves as the agent (Wakeel) on behalf of the traders to manage the actual liquidity provided by the liquidity providers and such funds are segregated in a specific bank account. All the trades are executed in real time and have a direct effect on the real market.

You are welcome to contact us should you have any further queries.

And Allah Knows Best

Shariah Board, Vantage FX"

You may enquire further from Vantage FX or follow their Shariah board’s approval. That is a matter for you to consider.

For more information on Forex, kindly see:

Jazakallah for the reply. From what they have mentioned in their Q and A, does it appear to be Sharia compliant?
I have been enquiring alot from vantage FX about what they offer but due to my ignorance in this field, I am unable to judge weather it is permissible or not.

Assalaamu alaykum,

I believe more transparency is required on how things actually work. The processes are still obscure somewhat. As this is probably the only “Shariah compliant” retail FX platform, it requires much more transparency than other shariah compliant products. That is not due to doubt in the Shariah scholars at all, but just that the level of curiosity is very high in this structure and therefore Vantage should provide as much as transparency as possible.

In most Shariah compliant products, the certification of a Shariah advisor or board is sufficient for people to follow as those products are not “exotic” or rare.

Regards

4 Likes

Salam,

I was looking at the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oakLG3d-2Tw&t=27s

and I would love to hear your opinion regarding whether you think his method is considered shariah-compliant or we should solely focus on the AAOIFI standard (or other well-known standards).

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Fatwa: Are Forward/Futures Haram or Halal?

Assalamu aleykĂźm

is vantage forex trading halal ?
is it allowed to open leverage or short positions ?

I researched a broker called fp markets very deeply and talked to them, and they gave me the following answer:

About Halal Forex
Trading - Halal Trading
with Islamic Forex
Accounts

Islamic finance is guided by four basic principles:

1 | Prohibition of gambling

According to Islam, gambling is prohibited but trading forex and other financial instruments can be considered an educated game of chance which involves the buying and selling of assets based on forex market analysis and using a variety of concepts and trading strategies.

2 | Prohibition of payment and
receipt of any interest rate (Riba)

Usually, when a trader holds open positions at the close of a trading session, FP Markets charges a swap commission linked to an interest rate which is in turn related to the fact that traders receive an indirect loan through leverage. This leverage usually results in profit for the forex broker and therefore why a standard trading account is classified as haram given it includes interest payment whereas an Islamic trading account would be halal as it does not feature payment of these swap interest rates and therefore satisfies the riba threshold.

3 | Risk and benefits distribution

One of the principal concerns about trading is the element of shared risk. Interest ensures a reward for the lender and the borrower is the one who incurs the risk. Excessive or a high level of risk (gharar) is prohibited in the same way that excessive gambling is. Financial activity must also be seen to promote social and economic activity and justice as well as happiness. With an Islamic trading account, all interest charges are waived.

4 | Immediate Exchange or “Hand in Hand”

Now that interest rates not being applicable, the next item to consider is that trading is only permitted if it is “hand in hand”. In times gone by this meant face-to-face but in the modern world and with the advent of online trading and e-commerce, which involves an almost instantaneous transaction between broker and trader executed in seconds, is considered halal under Shariah and is therefore permissable.

and they told me they didn’t charge any commission or interest on leverage
and in short-selling, they said, a person can be allowed to sell the debt they receive on the condition that they pay back the debt when they have consent, and so it is halal.
what is your opinion ?
is it forbidden for me to trade here ?

Assalamualaikum in one word please answer me in Islamic view Forex halal or haram ?

Conventional, retail, non-deliverable Forex is not Shariah compliant.

1 Like

Is bittorent $BTT a halal coin to invest in?

Assalmu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Sheikh(s),

I already invested in conventional forex trading, my bad is I didn’t study well, and what I understand from the information/knowledge shared in this group is that this may be haram. If my intention is to get rid of the business with retrieving my investment ONLY, and that is as soon as I can, will it be ok, or I have to stop immediately regardless of I gain/lose??

Salam Alaykom,
I manage a family fund. We invest in shariah compliant stocks and do the screening via Islamically.

I usually invest in London, Hong Kong and US. My investments are in equities only.
To buy stocks in London/ Hong Kong and US, I need to regularly sell and purchase currencies.
I use Interactive Brokers and Citi Bank to manage my fund. I don’t use any leverage.

Is it shariah compliant for me to exchange currencies only to buy equities in different markets using Interactive Brokers or Citibank? Note that I only use cash account.

If its not shariah compliant, how am i supposed to exchange currencies to purchase stocks?
It would be very expensive to wire the money back and forth between brokerage and Islamic banks to complete a transaction and it would take about a week for money settlement to happen.

Yes, my brokerage account earns interest but i donate it all away.
Note that I use only Cash Accounts.

Thank you!

Assalamualaikum Mufti Faraz Adam,
Kindly reply as I a really need the answer.
I have been researching about online forex trading(only currency related) that whether it’s permissible or not.
And I came to know about leverage and swap fee.
Now question is if I do forex trading(just on currencies)with swap free account and also without any leverage at all, so is it permissible??
No swap fee
No leverage
Kindly reply as I really need to know.
Jazakallah.

Note: The link to halal investments is:
Compare Halal Investment Funds - IFG (islamicfinanceguru.com)


I talked to Vintage broker team they replied me since 2021 we are no more shariah complaint broker.

problem with cfd is asset involvement.check interactivebrokers,heard they provide spot pairs.