← Resources Self-assessment · Shariah Compliance
Is your business actually clean? Not “do you call yourself a Muslim founder.” Whether what you sell, how you sell it, how money moves, and what your content does — holds up. Honest answers only. No rationalisations.
Before you begin — this is not a fatwa or a legal ruling. It is a mirror. Check only what is genuinely true about your business right now. The goal is not a passing score. The goal is clarity.
What You Sell Is the core product or service itself permissible? 0/6 The product or service you offer is not from a prohibited category — no alcohol, intoxicants, pork derivatives, gambling, pornography, interest-based instruments, or occult services.critical If the thing itself is haram, everything else is irrelevant. This is the first gate. You are not selling something you do not own and cannot reliably deliver at the time of the contract.critical Bay’ al-ma’dum — selling what does not exist — is prohibited. Pre-selling is fine if the obligation is real and the terms are clear. You are not knowingly concealing a defect, limitation, or relevant negative information about your product from buyers.critical This is tadlees — concealment. It doesn’t matter whether the buyer asks. If you know and hide it, the transaction is corrupt. The service you provide does not primarily enable a haram outcome for the client — even if the service itself is neutral.watch Designing a brand identity for an alcohol company; writing copy for a gambling platform. The tool may be halal. The use it enables may not be. If you work with clients in sectors that are debatable, you have genuinely thought through the ruling — not just rationalised your income.watch There is a difference between legitimate scholarly disagreement and motivated reasoning. Know which one you are in. Your product or service does not cause genuine harm — physical, financial, psychological, or spiritual — to the end user.critical Darar. Harm. Not “it could theoretically harm someone.” Genuine, foreseeable harm that a reasonable Muslim would object to. How You Sell It Are your marketing and sales methods free of deception? 0/6 Your sales copy does not use false urgency — countdown timers that reset, “only 3 left” when stock is abundant, “offer ends tonight” when it does not.critical False urgency is a lie. It manipulates a decision by creating a condition that does not exist. This is explicit tadlees in marketing. You do not manufacture fear or inadequacy in your audience as a sales mechanism — making people feel broken so they buy your fix.watch Exploiting the nafs rather than serving a genuine need is manipulation, even when the product is good. Your testimonials and social proof are real — not purchased, staged, or selectively presented to create a misleading overall picture.critical Fake reviews are tadlees. Showing only the best results while hiding the typical experience is gharar. Both are haram. Your pricing is honest — you do not inflate a fake “original price” to exaggerate a discount that does not reflect a real price change.watch This is a form of deception so normalised that most founders do not even see it. Normalisation does not make it halal. Your terms and conditions, refund policy, and material limitations are genuinely accessible — not buried in fine print to avoid disclosure.critical Hidden terms that the customer would object to if they read them are a form of gharar. They undermine informed consent. You do not use sexualised imagery, suggestion, or provocation to attract attention to your product or service.watch The product may be halal. The method of selling it may not be. The means are part of the ruling. How Money Moves Are your financial structures free of riba and gharar? 0/6 Your business does not rely on interest-bearing loans or credit lines as its primary financing structure.critical Riba is one of the most explicitly prohibited things in the Qur’an. Allah declares war on those who deal in it (Al-Baqarah 2:279). This is not a minor ruling. If you offer “buy now, pay later” or instalment plans to customers, you understand whether the structure is permissible and have verified it — not assumed.watch Many BNPL schemes involve riba in their backend structure. Offering them to customers without checking makes you part of that chain. Your contracts make the price, scope, and obligations of both parties clear and unambiguous from the start.critical Gharar — excessive uncertainty — is prohibited. If a contract is structured so that one party cannot know what they are really agreeing to, the contract is corrupt. You do not exploit a customer’s desperation or limited options to charge a price that you yourself would consider exploitative if the roles were reversed.watch Bay’ al-mudtarr — exploiting a distressed buyer — is condemned in Islamic jurisprudence even when the customer technically agrees. If you use affiliate or referral arrangements, the products being promoted are themselves halal.watch Referring someone to a haram transaction for commission makes you a part of that transaction. The commission itself becomes tainted. Your pricing reflects genuine value — it is not structured primarily to confuse, obfuscate, or overwhelm the buyer’s capacity for rational decision-making.critical Complexity as a sales tactic — opaque fee structures, forced bundle pricing, deliberate confusion — is a form of deception even without false statements. Content & Brand Does your public presence hold up to Islamic standards? 0/6 You do not present credentials, results, or experience that you do not actually have in order to attract clients or build authority.critical Followers and clients gained on false premises are a liability, not an asset. The Prophet ﷺ named the honest merchant as being with the prophets and the martyrs. Your visual content does not use immodest imagery of men or women to attract attention — including stock photography that sexualises its subject even subtly.watch Using the human body as a hook is exploitation regardless of what the product is. The ruling does not depend on how mild you consider it. You do not use Islamic language, terminology, or symbols in ways that are casual, ironic, or designed to appear culturally relevant without sincerity.critical This is a matter of adab and of taqwa — not a technicality. Using the deen as a branding hook while the business contradicts it is a form of hypocrisy. Your content does not promote or casually normalise astrology, manifestation, “the universe conspires” thinking, or similar beliefs.watch Zodiac-based marketing and “quantum” manifestation language contradict tawheed when taken seriously, and normalise what should be questioned when used casually. The overall picture your marketing paints of your offer, your results, and your business matches the reality a new client would encounter.critical Brand-to-reality gap is the most corrosive form of distrust. It is also, under Islamic business ethics, a form of fraud. You could show your full marketing and sales process — every post, email, ad, and pitch — to a person of genuine taqwa and feel no need to explain or justify it.critical Not perform approval for. Actually feel at peace with. This is the standard. And it is reachable. A self-assessment for Muslim founders — not a fatwa or religious ruling. For specific fiqh guidance on transactions, consult a qualified Islamic scholar. This tool reflects SiF8’s working framework for halal brand and business practice.
