About Shari’ah Advisor
Learn more about the expertise & qualifications of our dedicated Shari’ah Advisor.
MUFTI SYED ZAHID SIRAJ
Mufti Syed Zahid Siraj is a highly educated and renowned Islamic scholar with over 29 years of experience in Islamic Banking, Takaful, Shari’ah audit, Shari’ah compliance and Islamic Finance. He has a strong background in professional, religious, and contemporary education, including a Darajah Al-Ijazah Al-Aliyah from a prominent religious institution, where he obtained first position, and a Shahadah Al-Alimiyah from Tanzeem-ul-Madaris (Ahl-e-Sunnat) Pakistan with a distinction of first class second position in the country. Besides this, he was also awarded Shahadah Al-Takhassus Fil-Fiqh & Sanad-ul-Faragh wal-Ijazah Fil-Hadith.
He completed his Masters in Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi and Masters in Economics & MA in Arabic & Islamic Culture (Equivalence) from University of Sindh. He is also a Law graduate and completed his LLB from the University of Karachi. In addition, he is AAOIFI Certified Shari’ah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA) Fellow and holds other certifications such as, Certified Islamic Banker (CIB), Certified Takaful Professional (CTP), and Certificate in Shari’ah Audit and Compliance (CSAC).
Mufti Siraj is a passionate and dedicated Shari’ah trainer and subject expert, offering lectures and training sessions at various universities and institutions. He is a registered Shari’ah Advisor, as per the Shari’ah Advisors Regulations 2017 issued by the SECP. He was a member of the Shari’ah Audit & Review Committee established by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for PMEX Murabaha Transactions.
Prior to joining U Bank as a Shari’ah Advisor, he worked as the Head of Internal Shari’ah Audit at Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Limited.
His other current engagements include:
- Shari’ah Board Member – Dawood Family Takaful Limited
- Shari’ah Advisor – IGI Insurance Limited, Window Takaful Operations
- Member Board of Studies – University of Karachi
- Head Mufti Dar-ul-Ifta – Al Arqum Riaz-ul-Uloom, Karachi
- Founder & Chairman – Research & Ifta Academy, Karachi
- Member Shari’ah Board – Saylani Welfare Trust International
- Secretary General – Idara-i-Tahqeeqat-e-Imam Ahmad Raza, Karachi
Difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking Products
Explore further to understand how Islamic Banking is different from the Conventional Banking mechanism.
Current Account
| Islamic Banking | Conventional Banking |
|---|---|
| Islamic Current Account is Qard based and funds are invested in Shari’ah-compliant avenues. | Conventional banking Current Account is also based on loan, wherein customer’s deposited funds are used in lending and interest earning businesses. |
Saving Account & Term Deposit Account
| Islamic Banking | Conventional Banking |
|---|---|
| Savings Account and Term Deposit in Islamic banks are based on the concept of Mudarabah. Islamic banks pay out as per agreed ratio actually earned profits on Shari’ah-compliant transactions.
Mudarabah is a partnership of services and capital between two parties. In Islamic banking, banks render their services and expertise against a capital (deposit) of a customer. It is a partnership where the returns are shared between the bank and depositors as per the agreed profit sharing ratio and weightages, whereas, the loss in principal is borne by the depositors as per their respective investment ratio. |
Savings Account and Term Deposit in Conventional banks are based on loan or Qard basis. Conventional banks pay interest earned on loans to its depositors as returns. |
Financing Products
| Islamic Banking | Conventional Banking |
|---|---|
| Islamic banks primarily utilize different modes of finance such as Murabaha, Salam and Diminishing Musharakah, etc.
Murabaha: Salam: Diminishing Musharakah: |
Conventional banks only have one mode of financing for their customers and that is a ‘Loan’. Be it an individual customer, a business partnership, or a corporate client, they can avail an array of products with an underlying mode of loan from a conventional bank.
However, conventional banks have designed several products such as credit cards, running finance, car and house loans, and long-term loan facilities for different customer segments, but all of them simplify as a loan advanced by a bank to its customer. For instance, a credit card is also a debt instrument, a car lease finance translates into an accrued loan for any customer. Likewise, a registered partnership or a corporate customer avails both short-term and long-term financing facilities. All of them are essentially outstanding loans to a company and they pay interest or mark-up to the bank on quarterly or annual basis. For example, if a customer avails a house or car finance from a bank and due to some reason car or house gets damaged or is destroyed, the bank would then ask the customer to keep paying monthly installments despite the asset loss till insurance settlement comes in or else the customer would be reported as a defaulter in case of non-payment of the same and their e-CIB shall be adversely affected. |
Difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking
Read here to learn about how our Islamic Banking products differ from conventional ones.
| Islamic Banking | Conventional Banking |
|---|---|
| Money is not a commodity – it is used as a medium of exchange, measure of unit and store of value. Therefore, it cannot be sold at a price higher than its face value nor it can be rented out. | Money is a commodity, besides other functions of the money, medium of exchange, measure of unit and store of value. Therefore, it can be sold at a price higher than its face value and it can also be rented out. |
| Profit on trade of goods or charging on providing service is the basis for earning the profit. | Time value is the basis for charging interest on capital. |
| Islamic Banking operates on the basis of profit and loss sharing. In case, the business has suffered losses, the Bank will share these losses based on the Participatory mode (Mudarbaha and Musharakah). | Interest is charged even in case if the organization suffers a loss. Therefore, it is not based on profit and loss sharing. |
| The execution of agreements for the exchange of goods and services is mandatory, while disbursing funds under Murabaha and Salam. | While disbursing cash finance, running finance or working capital finance, no agreement for exchange of goods and services is made. |
| Islamic Banking tends to link with the real sectors of the economy by using trade related activities. Since the money is linked with the real assets, therefore, it contributes directly in the economic development. | Conventional Banks use money as a commodity which leads to inflation. |
Ask Shari’ah
Contact our Shari’ah compliance team for your queries.
Contact Details of Shari’ah Compliance Department
Jamil Ahmed Sabri – Head Shari’ah Compliance
Email: jamil.sabri@ubank.com.pk
Contact: 0331-0103879
