The Shari’ah Panel
Five Pillars is pleased to have the services of some of the best Shari’ah (also spelt as Shariah, Sharia or Syriah) and conventional finance experts and scholars that it draws its Fatwa or Shari’ah endorsement from. The following members sit on our advisory panel.
DR. MOHD A. ELGARI
Dr. Elgari is Professor of Islamic Economic at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Former Director of the Center for Research in Islamic Economics, in the same university. He is an Expert at the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy of the OIC and the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy of the Islamic World League and a member of the Shari’ah Council of AAOFI. He is member of editorial board of several academic publications in the field of Islamic Finance and Jurisprudence among them, Journal of the Jurisprudence Academy (of the IWL), Journal of Islamic Economic Studies (IDB), Journal of Islamic Economic (IAIE, London), and the advisory board of Harvard Series in Islamic Law, Harvard Law School.
Dr. Elgari is member of numerous Shariah Boards of Islamic Banks and Takaful Companies world wide. He authored several books in Islamic finance and published tens of articles on the subject both in Arabic and English. Dr. Elgari is also a frequent speaker in conferences worldwide. Dr. Elgari is the recipient of the Islamic Development Bank prize in Islamic Banking and Finance for the year 1424H (2004). Dr. Elgari holds a PhD from the University of California and was born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia in the year 1950.
PROF. OBIYATHULLAH ISMATH BACHA
Education: DBA (Finance), Boston University; MBA (High Honors), MA (Economics), Boston University; B. Soc. Sc, University Science Malaysia.
Experience: Prof. Obiyathulla is professor of Finance and Director of the Management Centre. Prior to joining IIUM, Prof. Obiyathulla was at Malayan Banking Bhd from May 1984 – August 1985. He was an Assistant Professor of Finance at BostonUniversity where he received the Allen E. Beckwith Teaching Award. He teaches finance courses at both MBA and undergraduate levels. The courses taught by him for the MBA Program are Financial Planning & Strategy, International Finance, and Managing Risks with Futures & Options. He is vice-president of the Malaysian Economic Association (MEA) and Committee Member of the Malaysian Finance Association. Dr. Obiyathulla has also been a trainer at several institutions such as the Securities Commission and Central Bank of Malaysia.
Research and publications: He has published in numerous local and international journals and presented papers at several international finance conferences. His paper on the Nikkei Stock Index Futures Contract won the 1993 Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Competitive Research Award.
DR. ASHRAF MOHD HASHIM
Education: Postgraduate Diploma in Shariah law & Practice, International Islamic University Malaysia, 2001 ,Ph.D (Islamic Law), University of Birmingham, UK, 1999 ,M.A (Fiqh & Usul Fiqh), University of Jordan, Jordan, 1995, B.A (Shariah), Islamic University Medina, Saudi Arabia, 1991
Experience : Dr Ashraf is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Fiqh and Usul Fiqh, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia. He is also a Consultant Researcher at International Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA). He has to his credit, a book and a number of articles published in local and international journals. He has been a Chevening Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom. Dr Ashraf has vast experience in providing Shariah views on retail and investment banking products, Sukuk structuring and unit trusts. He is also actively involved in advising Takaful and Retakaful companies. Currently, he is a Shariah Advisor for, among others, Al-Rajhi Bank (Malaysia), ACRRetakafulSEA (Malaysia based) and MEA (Bahrain based). Recently, he advised on Shari'ah issues relating to the Securus Data Centre Fund, world’s first Shari'ah compliant Data Centre Fund.
Dr Ashraf is proficient in English, Arabic and Malay.
ABDULAZEEM J ABOZAID
Education: PhD Islamic Law – Damascus University, Syria
Experience: Asst. Prof. Abdulazeem has extensive working experience as a Lecturer and Asst. Prof. at the prestigious DamascusUniversity specialising in Islamic Finance Law, Fiqh (Islamic Law), Arabic Language and Literature. He has also had various stints in Research Centers in Syria and UK.
Research and publication: Asst. Prof. Abdulazeem has work published in numerous local and international journals and presented papers at several international finance conferences. His expertise in Islamic Finance is demonstrated by his release of four authoritative books and the Merchant’s Directory to Fiqh and Morals published in 2005. Currently an eminent Shari'ah scholar cum trainer with the Emirates Islamic Bank in Dubai
Dr Farrukh Habib
Dr Farrukh Habib is an expert in Islamic law (sharia) and finance. He is a Researcher, Advisor, Consultant and Trainer by profession. Having a strong educational background of sharia, finance and economics, he has been doing research in capital market, sukuk, banking and social & ethical finance. Lately, he has found his interest in FinTech, including: crowdfunding, micro-investments & finance, blockchain, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs), tokenized asset offerings (TAO), disintermediation, decentralization, and collaborative consumption (sharing economy). Currently, he is involved in various ICOs,
cryptocurrencies and blockchain based projects. For instance, he is co-founder &; senior advisor of HalalChain (a blockchain & IoT tech-based Halal-ecosystem); finance and sharia advisor of Ultroneum (a blockchain-based financial services system); advisor of R-Project (a multi-sectoral blockchain-based global project for Rohingya community); consultant for Salihin Sharia Advisory (provider of sharia compliance, review and audit services); and consultant for several other blockchain-based projects, including: medical & health services, construction, renewable energy, financial services, etc.
Dr Farrukh Habib has also been a prolific speaker in several international dialogues, conferences and seminars and contributor in numerous academic journals, reports, research papers and business magazines. Dr Farrukh Habib holds a PhD degree in Islamic Finance from INCEIF, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He acquired a master’s degree (M.Sc.) in banking and finance from Queen Mary, University of London, UK. Prior to that, he obtained masters and bachelors degrees from University of Karachi, both in economics. He also received traditional Islamic (Sharia) knowledge through an extensive eight-years-course in Jamia Uloom- E-Islamya Banuri Town, Karachi, also acquiring bachelors and masters degrees in Islamic studies.
Mufti Faraz Adam
Mufti Faraz Adam has spent almost a decade studying Islamic law. He initially completed his Islamic studies in the six-year Alimiyyah degree at Darul Uloom Leicester. He then went onto specialise in Islamic law and graduated as a Mufti in South Africa at Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, Durban. He super-specialised in Islamic finance during his studies. Upon qualifying from the Darul Iftaa as a Mufti (juriconsult) in 2012, where he was accredited with: Masters of Arts in Islamic Theology with specialisation in Juristic verdicts (Iftaa) and a Diploma in Islamic Finance. Mufti Faraz went onto complete a Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management at Newman University in 2017. During his studies, he has attained various industry qualifications such as the Certified Islamic Finance Executive (CIFE™) under Ethica and the Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) with Chartered Institutes of Securities and Investment. Currently, he is studying ACCA and is working to become a qualified chartered accountant.
Mufti Faraz has been active in Shariah advisory services for a number of years and has written over 5,000 fatawa (religious edicts) with a large proportion regarding Islamic finance. In 2016, he joined National Zakat Foundation in UK where he serves as a Zakat advisor and researcher. He launched Amanah Finance Consultancy as a Shariah consultancy platform. Amanah Finance Consultancy provides global Shariah advisory services to a number of organisations such as Simplyethical, Ethica, Shariyah Review Bureau, iWill Solicitors, Ummah Finance, Gateway Lawyer LLP and others.
He regularly delivers lectures and workshops across UK on different aspects of Islam & specialises in delivering Islamic Finance training. Mufti Faraz Adam is passionate about establishing an economy which upholds justice, equity and growth for all members of society.