Islamic scholars and bodies ruling on cryptocurrency.
Permitting·Deferring·Prohibiting
Every major ruling on crypto, set out in the scholars' and bodies' own words, with a link to each source.
Last reviewed 24 September 2026.
General Rulings & Scholarly Positions
Mufti Muhammad Abu-Bakar
The Blossom Finance paper (2018)
The most widely cited scholarly paper declaring Bitcoin permissible is "Shariah Analysis of Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and Blockchain" by Mufti Muhammad Abu-Bakar, drafted in 2017 and published by Blossom Labs in April 2018. He completed his specialisation in fatwa (Takhassus fil Ifta) at Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, where he wrote more than 400 fatawa through its Darul Ifta, and holds an MSc in Islamic finance and AAOIFI's Certified Shariah Adviser and Auditor qualification.
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His central conclusion is that Bitcoin is permissible in principle because it qualifies as property (mal) and as money by custom. He cites Ibn Nujaim's Hanafi definition of mal as "something which is desirable and can be stored for the time of need," and adds that "anything can be recognized as mal, when all or a group of people accept and act as if something is mal," which is why many Hanafi scholars treat copyrights, patents and trademarks as mal.
He sets out three kinds of jurisdiction: where crypto is explicitly banned, dealing in it is not allowed; where regulators are silent or only warn the public; and where regulators accept it as a financial asset or currency. In the last two, dealing in Bitcoin and other qualified cryptocurrencies is permissible. He also wrote: "Bitcoin and cryptocurrency cannot be declared haram (impermissible) based on the fact that they experience speculation. In fact if this principle was valid and applied, then trading in gold, silver, US Dollars, and Euros would all be ruled impermissible."
He attached cautions. It is "not advisable to buy cryptocurrency for investment purposes, like stocks or shares," because treating a currency as an investment asset "is against the basic objective of currency." On ICOs: "Although it is outside the scope of this paper to consider the permissibility of the ICO, all investors should exercise extreme caution," especially Muslim communities targeted by "halal investment" scams. And because preserving wealth is one of the objectives of Shariah, users must take care of the risks.
SourcesAbu-Bakar, full paper (PDF)Blossom Finance summaryAuthor profile
Mufti Faraz Adam
Author of "Is Crypto Halal?" (2026) and of SRB's coin assessments
Mufti Faraz Adam is the founder and head of Shariah advisory at Amanah Advisors. He completed a six-year Alimiyyah programme in the UK and specialised in ifta in Durban, South Africa, and holds a master's degree in Islamic finance, banking and management from Newman University, a fintech specialisation from the University of Michigan, and AAOIFI's Certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor qualification. He is the author of "Introduction to Islamic Fintech".
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2017. His paper "Bitcoin: Shariah Compliant?" reasoned that "Bitcoin does seem to be Māl (wealth) with Taqawwum (legal value), however, it does not possess Thamaniyyah (currency attributes)," and concluded that it "is not ideal as a long-term investment and neither should the Islamic finance industry consider its use in exchange unless there is a specific need to until a regulated and transparent framework is established."
Later view. On DarulFiqh he wrote that "Bitcoins are in the ruling of a currency. They will be a currency as long as people use and exchange them. As a result, Zakat will be compulsory on Bitcoin due to their monetary nature and Thamaniyyah," and that "all other issues with regards to volatility, laundering, black markets etc. are all external matters which need controls and regulation to address them." In "My Thoughts on Crypto-assets" he wrote: "To deny the existence of crypto-assets is clearly inaccurate; existence in a digital network cannot be quantified nor qualified with the same metrics as that of physical entities," while holding it premature to treat cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as universal currencies. With Mufti Abdul Kadir Barkatulla he co-wrote "Currency in Islamic Law: A Sharī'ah analysis of bitcoin" (Routledge, 2019).
2026. "Is Crypto Halal?" (July 2026) examines how classical rules of property and rights apply to digital assets. Amanah Advisors reports that he was invited to present this research to the Darul Iftaa committee of Darul Uloom Karachi.
His coin-by-coin rulings. For the Shariyah Review Bureau he researched individual coins, peer-reviewed by Mufti Irshad Ahmad and Shaikh Muhammad Ahmad. SRB's Sharia committee reassessed several on 21 January 2026. As published:
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Avalanche, XRP, BNB, Tether, Chainlink, Litecoin, Polygon, TRON, TON, NEAR, Filecoin, Internet Computer, Monero, Cosmos, Uniswap, Theta, Helium, Ethereum Classic, BUSD
USDC, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Hedera
Aave, Compound, DAI, Shiba Inu, Axie Infinity
Decentraland (avoid), The Sandbox (questionable)
Algorand, Stellar and Tezos were assessed as neutral platforms whose use has to be judged at the level of each user and transaction.
ShariaQuant's screening draws on his published framework. He has not reviewed or endorsed ShariaQuant or any of its verdicts.
SourcesAmanah Advisors profileBitcoin: Shariah Compliant? (2017, PDF)DarulFiqh articleMy Thoughts on Crypto-assetsRoutledge chapter (2019)Is Crypto Halal? (2026)SRB crypto assessmentsSRB scholars
Councils and bodies that permit cryptocurrencyPermit
At its 233rd and 234th meetings (29 June and 20 July 2020) the SAC resolved that digital assets are recognised as property (mal) and that investing in and trading them on SC-registered digital asset exchanges is permissible. Digital currencies with no underlying asset are treated as tradeable assets ('urudh), so the currency-exchange rules of bay' al-sarf do not apply to them. Digital currencies backed by gold, silver or currency are treated as currency and do fall under sarf.
A digital token is Shariah-compliant only if the money it raises is used for Shariah-compliant purposes and the rights and benefits it carries are Shariah-compliant. For tokens with mixed uses, the SAC's existing business-activity benchmarks apply. The SAC did not name individual coins as compliant.
At its 274th meeting (16 November 2023) the SAC ruled that burning transaction fees and "proof of burn" are permissible when disclosed in advance, because both work as a fee paid for a right or a service.
The 117th Muzakarah of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs ruled it permissible (harus) to use digital currency for payment, remittance and as a stored asset, on three conditions: transactions go through licensed and regulated exchanges only; users understand the types, features and risks of digital currencies, how to hold them safely, and the relevant rules; and, like any currency, they are never used to pay for non-compliant goods or activities.
Perak adopted the decision as Fatwa No. 23 on 4 August 2021, and Selangor's fatwa committee reached the same decision on 17 August 2021.
Adopted on 2 September 2019 in Houston, prepared by Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr. Abdulbari Mashal. It rests on the maxim al-asl fi'l-ashya' al-ibaha and holds that objections such as anonymity, uncertain future value and the absence of an issuing authority "are not strong enough to warrant a verdict of impermissibility." The Council agrees with those who say Bitcoins are "essentially halal."
Bitcoin takes the rulings of fiat currency: "All the rulings of riba will apply," exchanges "must be done as a spot-trade at the current rate of exchange," zakat is due, and mining is permissible. The ruling covers Bitcoin only; other cryptocurrencies need a separate examination.
SourcesFCNA ruling
A Shariah advisory firm licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain. It certified the Rain exchange (2019), was appointed by CoinMENA in January 2021 to run its Sharia certification and audit, and confirmed XRP as compliant in 2025.
SRB publishes assessments of individual coins, researched by Mufti Faraz Adam and peer-reviewed by Mufti Irshad Ahmad and Shaikh Muhammad Ahmad (see his section above). It has also published research concluding that yield from lending platforms is riba (2020) and that margin, futures, perpetuals and leveraged tokens are non-compliant (2025).
SourcesSRB crypto assessmentsRain certification (2019)CoinMENA appointment (2021)XRP confirmation (2025)SRB: yield farming (2020)SRB: trading strategies (2025)
As recorded in Mufti Abu-Bakar's 2018 paper, the seminary's fatwa centre holds that Bitcoin fulfils the conditions of mal and is therefore permissible to trade, while noting that to qualify as currency it would need approval from the relevant government authorities.
A 2018 INCEIF paper, as cited by Islamic Finance Guru, reports that South African scholars including Mufti Radha ul-Haqq and Shaykh Taha Karaan deemed cryptocurrency permissible because it has been accepted through social norms, irrespective of regulation.
SourcesAbu-Bakar, full paper (PDF)Islamic Finance Guru guide
Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar's advisory firm published a Shariah white paper on Ethereum in September 2019. It concluded that ether is compliant as a utility token used mostly to power the network, so the rules of currency do not apply, and said its proof-of-stake mechanism would be reviewed once built. If specific tokens were used to profit from interest, those would not be compliant.
The engagement came about through Ethereum's head of special projects at the time, so the paper was commissioned from the Ethereum side.
Bodies that prohibited or deferred judgmentProhibit / defer
A fatwa dated 24 Dhul Hijjah 1447 (10 June 2026), signed by Mufti Taqi Usmani and five other scholars, answered a question about books and an online course bought with USDT and another crypto token. It holds that "cryptocurrency is not considered 'maal' (wealth) in Sharia. Instead, it is merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account, whether in the form of USDT or other crypto tokens." The purchase was therefore invalid, and the questioner was told to return the books. The fatwa rests on "research and opinion of experts so far."
On 11 July 2026 the chairman of Pakistan's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) met Mufti Taqi Usmani for what both sides called a constructive discussion, and in September 2026 PVARA announced a Shariah Advisory Board, with his involvement, to guide digital-asset transactions. Mufti Faraz Adam was also invited to present his research on the classification of digital assets to the Darul Iftaa committee of Darul Uloom Karachi.
SourcesDawn: the fatwaGeo NewsDawn: PVARA meetingProPakistani: Shariah boardIs Crypto Halal? (2026)
Religious Decree No. 4205 of 28 December 2017, under Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, declared dealing in Bitcoin forbidden, citing uncertainty, fraud, harm to individuals, criminal use, and the state's prerogative over currency. Allam also said cryptocurrencies needed further in-depth study.
In November 2017 the Diyanet said buying and selling virtual currencies "is not compatible with religion at this time" because their valuation is open to speculation, they can easily be used for illegal activity such as money laundering, and they are not under the state's audit and supervision.
SourcesHürriyet Daily News
The 7th Ijtima Ulama (9 to 11 November 2021) ruled crypto haram as a currency, citing gharar, harm (dharar) and conflict with Indonesian law, and ruled trading it as a commodity invalid for the same reasons plus gambling (qimar) and failure to meet the conditions of a valid sale item (sil'ah). A crypto asset that does meet those conditions, with an underlying asset and a clear benefit, may be traded.
SourcesCNBC Indonesia
Fatwa No. 89043 of 30 January 2018 held that Bitcoin meets neither the criteria of a legal currency nor those of a tradeable commodity, so dealing in it is not permissible. It added: "If a decision is made to regulate and adopt them and place them under a supervisory umbrella by those authorities, so that they meet the criteria that make them a legal currency ... then the ruling on dealing with them would take the same ruling as dealing with officially recognized currencies."
SourcesWasel & WaselFatwa No. 89043
In January 2022 Muhammadiyah's fatwa council ruled cryptocurrency haram both as an investment and as a means of exchange, citing extreme speculation and volatility, gharar, and the absence of any underlying asset.
SourcesMuhammadiyahTribunnews
NU has no central ruling. Its East Java fatwa forum (Bahtsul Masail, 24 October 2021) ruled the use of cryptocurrency in transactions haram, while its Yogyakarta forum permitted it.
Bayan Linnas No. 153 (15 November 2018) concluded that Bitcoin in its present form is not Shariah-compliant as a currency because it cannot hold value consistently and has no regulating authority, and that restricting it is justified to prevent harm (sadd al-dhara'i). It left the ruling open to change. Malaysia's National Fatwa Council later permitted crypto through licensed exchanges (see above).
SourcesBayan Linnas 153
IIFA Resolution No. 237 (8/24), adopted in Dubai on 4 to 6 November 2019, set out the types of digital currency (coins such as Bitcoin, alternative coins, and tokens), noted the significant risks, and deferred a ruling pending further research. A symposium in Jeddah on 8 November 2021 heard 15 research papers, and the Academy withheld its recommendations until they were revised.
In October 2021 AAOIFI's Secretary-General Omar Mustafa Ansari said: "as of now, we believe that it is not in our immediate agenda and we have not taken a view on that. From a Shariah perspective, people have to be careful about investing or using these currencies."
The Fiqh Academy's ruling AAOIFI's position
SourcesIIFA Resolution 237IIFA symposium (2021)Salaam Gateway interview
Other notable scholars and their positions
Former judge of the Shariat Appellate Bench of Pakistan's Supreme Court and former vice-president of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy. In May 2021 his Darul Iftaa published his view that cryptocurrency is not permissible to trade in because of how speculative it is.
In June 2026 he signed the Darul Uloom Karachi fatwa holding that crypto, including USDT, is not wealth in Sharia (see above).
SourcesDarul Iftaa post (May 2021)Islamic Finance Guru guideDawn: the fatwaBiography
Professor of Islamic finance and economics. He is often quoted, for example by Al Jazeera in 2018, as having called Bitcoin a legitimate medium of exchange in 2014. Asked about this in October 2020, he replied: "I do not remember I ever gave such Fatwa. Most likely it is a misunderstanding by the writer."
His published answers from 2018 to 2021 hold that Bitcoin "is neither a currency nor an asset and it is not permissible to buy it, sell, hold it, or trade it." In May 2021 he repeated that it is not permissible to buy, own, sell or mine it, and added staking. He has said he would accept a crypto currency as money once a government makes it legal tender.
Chair of the Shariah committee of HSBC Amanah Malaysia at the time of Al Jazeera's 2018 report. He has said: "A large group of scholars say cryptocurrencies are permitted because of the social concurrence concept," while noting this does not necessarily make them a legitimate currency.
Co-author with Mufti Faraz Adam of the 2019 Routledge chapter on Bitcoin. He argues that Islamic law is more concerned with the morality of financial transactions than their form: "Any money or currency is neither halal – permissible – nor haram – impermissible," and "a Bitcoin-style crypto currency may constitute an effective instrument for the further development of Islamic finance."
UK-based mufti. In April 2020 he wrote: "My view is that Bitcoin in itself is halal to purchase and trade. However, in the UK context, I do not currently see it as a recognised currency from a shariah perspective."
SourcesIFG forum thread
Professor of Islamic economics and former director of the Centre for Research in Islamic Economics at King Abdulaziz University, and founder of the Shariyah Review Bureau. In recorded comments he has classed Bitcoin as mal and as a currency, so the rules of riba al-buyu' apply, and as permissible to own, buy, sell and use.
Islamic finance advisor. He argues that nothing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies requires a ruling of impermissibility, and that the ruling depends on how they are used, including following the Islamic rules of currency exchange.
Sourcesjoebradford.net
Member of Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Scholars. He holds dealing in digital currencies to be forbidden, in line with Egypt's Dar al-Ifta.
SourcesMakkah newspaper
Saudi scholar whose work on contemporary financial questions is cited by Malaysia's SAC. He has withheld a ruling on digital currencies, treating them as a contemporary question that needs further study.
SourcesMakkah newspaper
UK-based scholar. His fatwa of 10 September 2018 prohibits Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, chiefly because they create money from nothing and have no real value behind them, while allowing their use if a government made them compulsory legal tender.
Jeddah-based. In December 2017 he said: "Bitcoin in my opinion is haram," citing its anonymity, which he called "an open gate for money laundering," and the ambiguity of virtual currency exchange.
SourcesMorocco World News
Foundations & Principles
Quran and Hadith foundations of the scholarly debate
Both sides of the debate invoke the same scriptural sources and reach different conclusions.
Read the verses and hadithShow less
The foundational trade verse is Surah Al-Baqarah 2:275: "Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden riba." Scholars who permit crypto read its trading as lawful sale (bay'); scholars who prohibit it argue the transactions resemble gambling or riba more than genuine trade.
The prohibition of riba draws on Al-Baqarah 2:275-281, Ali 'Imran 3:130 and Ar-Rum 30:39. These govern staking, lending and yield products that pay interest-like returns. The FCNA ruled that "all the rulings of ribā will apply to Bitcoins, as they do to fiat currencies."
The concern with consuming wealth unjustly rests on Al-Baqarah 2:188 and An-Nisa 4:29. The Quran does not use the word gharar; the prohibition of excessive uncertainty is established through hadith.
The prohibition of gambling (maysir) rests on Al-Ma'idah 5:90-91. Scholars who compare speculative crypto trading to gambling, and MUI in citing qimar, rely on it.
Among hadith, the six commodities hadith (Sahih Muslim 1587) is central: "Gold for gold, silver for silver ... like for like, hand to hand." If crypto is treated as currency, the rules of sarf apply and exchange must be spot, which is why the FCNA requires Bitcoin exchanges to be "a spot-trade at the current rate of exchange."
The hadith forbidding transactions involving gharar (Sahih Muslim 1513) underlies the uncertainty objection. Scholars distinguish major, invalidating uncertainty from minor, tolerable uncertainty; those who permit crypto argue its uncertainty is comparable to other traded commodities.
"Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt" (Tirmidhi 2518) and "the halal is clear and the haram is clear" (Bukhari 52, Muslim 1599) are cited by scholars who counsel caution. The prohibition on selling what one does not own (Abu Dawud 3503) is among the grounds for prohibiting short-selling and futures that never end in delivery.
The jurisprudential principles that shape the debate
Three legal maxims (qawa'id fiqhiyyah) carry most of the argument.
Al-Aṣl fi'l-Mu'āmalāt al-Ibāḥah
"The default in commercial transactions is permissibility"
The central principle of the case for permissibility. The FCNA wrote: "The base ruling in Islam is that all matters pertaining to human relations (muʿāmalāt) are permissible unless proven otherwise," and found the objections to Bitcoin "not strong enough to warrant a verdict of impermissibility; hence, they remain upon the default." The principle puts the burden of proof on those who would prohibit.
SourcesFCNA ruling
Al-'Ādah Muḥakkamah
"Custom has the force of law"
Through this principle, scholars who permit crypto argue that social acceptance can make something property or currency without a government decree. Mufti Abu-Bakar wrote that the jurists of all four schools agree that "if something becomes valuable due to the custom and acceptability of people, then it is considered as mal." Mufti Faraz Adam wrote that "a system which is acceptable among people is sufficient to establish a currency in Shariah."
Lā Ḍarar wa lā Ḍirār
"No harm and no reciprocal harm"
From the hadith recorded by Ibn Majah and Ahmad, this is the principle most used by scholars who prohibit. MUI cited harm (dharar) as a core reason, and Malaysia's Federal Territories Mufti Office relied on the related principle of blocking the means to harm (sadd al-dhara'i).
Research and studies
- Habib Ahmed (2024), Durham University. Tests crypto-assets against eight attributes of property (mal) and finds them "relatively weaker" than conventional financial products, mainly because of technology-related risks.
SourcesHabib Ahmed (2024)
- Farukh Habib and Ahmed Jawa (2024). The only academic fiqh study of staking we found; it separates staking on a proof-of-stake chain from locking funds in a smart contract.
SourcesHabib and Jawa (2024)
- Muhammad Asif and Anas Sultan (2025). A thematic analysis of 32 public fatwas from 12 jurisdictions (2014 to 2024), identifying five themes: classification as property or money, uncertainty, speculation, harm, and conditional acceptance under regulation.
SourcesAsif and Sultan (2025)
- Raha Rafii (2022), Harvard Islamic Law Blog. An analysis of Egypt's Dar al-Ifta fatwa and its reliance on the state's authority over currency.
SourcesHarvard Islamic Law Blog
- Dr. Hamza Mushaqqah (2021), Jordan General Iftaa Department. A research paper, not a fatwa, concluding that Bitcoin has not met the conditions of an efficient currency.
SourcesJordan Iftaa research (2021)
Conclusion
There is no consensus, and 2026 widened the divide. Darul Uloom Karachi, one of the most influential Hanafi institutions, now holds that crypto is not wealth at all, while Malaysia's securities regulator and its National Fatwa Council permit it through licensed exchanges, and Mufti Faraz Adam rules coin by coin.
Scholars who permit crypto share three moves: they classify it as property through custom ('urf), they place the burden of proof on prohibition, and they treat volatility and criminal use as matters for regulation rather than defects in the asset. Scholars who prohibit it question whether a digital entry can be property at all, and weigh harm and speculation more heavily. Where they meet is on the details: lending for interest, futures and leverage are prohibited on almost every view, and several prohibiting bodies have said their ruling would change under regulation.
References
Primary sources, fatwas, standards and reporting
- Abu-Bakar, Mufti Muhammad (2018). Shariah Analysis of Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and Blockchain. Blossom Labs. islamicbankers.center
- Blossom Finance. Summary of "Shariah Analysis of Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and Blockchain". www.blossomfinance.com
- Muhammad Abu Bakar, professional profile (LinkedIn). www.linkedin.com
- Amanah Advisors. Mufti Faraz Adam, Founder and Head of Shariah Advisory. amanahadvisors.com
- Adam, Mufti Faraz (2017). Bitcoin: Shariah Compliant? Amanah Finance Consultancy. www.lopp.net
- Adam, Mufti Faraz. Shariah Interpretations of Bitcoin. DarulFiqh. darulfiqh.com
- Adam, Mufti Faraz. My Thoughts on Crypto-assets. Amanah Advisors. amanahadvisors.com
- Adam, M. F. & Barkatulla, A. K. (2019). Currency in Islamic Law: A Sharī'ah analysis of bitcoin. In Fintech in Islamic Finance: Theory and Practice. Routledge. www.taylorfrancis.com
- Adam, Mufti Faraz (2026). Is Crypto Halal? Research paper. Amanah Advisors. amanahadvisors.com
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Crypto assessments, researched by Mufti Faraz Adam and peer-reviewed by Mufti Irshad Ahmad and Shaikh Muhammad Ahmad. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Our Sharia scholars. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Bitcoin. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Ethereum. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Solana. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Cardano. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Avalanche. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Filecoin. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Tether (USDT). shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: USDC (status updated 21 January 2026). shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: DAI. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Aave. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Compound. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Uniswap. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Polkadot (status updated 21 January 2026). shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Dogecoin (status updated 21 January 2026). shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Shiba Inu. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Axie Infinity. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: Decentraland (MANA). shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Assessment: The Sandbox. shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau (December 2020). Crypto Yield Farming: Can the mechanics address Sharia principles? shariyah.net
- Shariyah Review Bureau (February 2025). Shadows of Strategy: A Shariah Analysis of Crypto Trading Strategies. shariyah.net
- The Daily Hodl (20 March 2019). Sharia-certified crypto exchange lists XRP. dailyhodl.com
- DDCAP (18 February 2021). Central Bank of Bahrain licences CoinMENA. www.ddcap.com
- Coin Edition (26 September 2025). XRP deemed Shariah-compliant by Shariyah Review Bureau. coinedition.com
- Securities Commission Malaysia, Shariah Advisory Council. Resolutions of the 233rd and 234th meetings (29 June and 20 July 2020): Digital Assets from the Shariah Perspective. www.sc.com.my
- Securities Commission Malaysia, Shariah Advisory Council. Resolution of the 274th meeting (16 November 2023): Burning of digital currency backed by technology without any underlying. www.sc.com.my
- Perak State Fatwa Committee (4 August 2021). Fatwa No. 23, adopting the 117th Muzakarah of the National Fatwa Council (MKI) on digital currency transactions. mufti.perak.gov.my
- Selangor State Mufti Department. Hukum Matawang Kripto (Cryptocurrency): Satu Analisa Syarak. www.muftiselangor.gov.my
- Federal Territories Mufti Office, Malaysia (15 November 2018). Bayan Linnas Series 153: Hukum Penggunaan Mata Wang Bitcoin. muftiwp.gov.my
- Fiqh Council of North America (adopted 2 September 2019). Regarding the Islamic Ruling on Bitcoins. Prepared by Dr. Yasir Qadhi and Dr. Abdulbari Mashal. fiqhcouncil.org
- Yahoo Finance (September 2019). Ethereum is halal, conclude prominent Muslim scholars (on Amanie Advisors' Shariah White Paper on Ethereum). finance.yahoo.com
- Dawn (July 2026). Mufti Taqi Usmani declares crypto-based purchases impermissible under Islamic law. www.dawn.com
- Geo News (July 2026). Mufti Taqi Usmani's fatwa rules cryptocurrency purchases impermissible. www.geo.tv
- Dawn (July 2026). Crypto czar holds "constructive" discussion with Mufti Taqi Usmani on Shariah status of digital assets. www.dawn.com
- ProPakistani (10 September 2026). Mufti Taqi Usmani is helping launch Shariah board for cryptocurrencies. propakistani.pk
- Darul Iftaa, Darul Uloom Karachi, on X (13 May 2021). Statement of Mufti Taqi Usmani on cryptocurrency. twitter.com
- Wikipedia. Taqi Usmani. en.wikipedia.org
- Rafii, Raha (5 May 2022). Fatwās on Cryptocurrency: Egypt's Dār al-Iftāʾ. Islamic Law Blog, Harvard Law School Program in Islamic Law. islamiclaw.blog
- Middle East Eye (January 2018). Bitcoin is prohibited by Islam, says Egyptian mufti. www.middleeasteye.net
- Hürriyet Daily News (November 2017). Turkey's top religious body declares Bitcoin "inappropriate". www.hurriyetdailynews.com
- CNBC Indonesia (12 November 2021). Penjelasan lengkap MUI soal Bitcoin cs haram. www.cnbcindonesia.com
- Abuwasel, Mahmoud (4 May 2023). Shariah rules and crypto disputes: UAE court judgment and official Fatwa invalidate cryptocurrency transaction. Wasel & Wasel. waselandwasel.com
- UAE General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (30 January 2018). Fatwa No. 89043: Hukm al-ta'amul bil-bitcoin. www.awqaf.gov.ae
- Muhammadiyah (January 2022). Pandangan Majelis Tarjih terkait mata uang kripto. muhammadiyah.or.id
- Tribunnews (21 January 2022). NU dan PP Muhammadiyah haramkan mata uang kripto. www.tribunnews.com
- Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law. Islamic legal reasoning on the legitimacy of cryptocurrency within the fatwa of Nahdlatul Ulama Yogyakarta. mjsl.usim.edu.my
- Al-'Anzi, Salem. Fatawa al-'umlat al-raqmiyyah. Makkah newspaper (opinion). makkahnewspaper.com
- International Islamic Fiqh Academy (4 to 6 November 2019). Resolution No. 237 (8/24) on Electronic Currencies. iifa-aifi.org
- International Islamic Fiqh Academy (8 November 2021). Final statement of the symposium on encrypted digital currencies, Jeddah. iifa-aifi.org
- International Islamic Fiqh Academy (14 May 1992). Resolution No. 63 (1/7) on Financial Markets. iifa-aifi.org
- Salaam Gateway (8 October 2021). Q&A with the Secretary-General of AAOIFI, Omar Mustafa Ansari (Part 2). salaamgateway.com
- AAOIFI. Shari'ah Standard No. 21: Financial Paper (Shares and Bonds). aaoifi.com
- AAOIFI and World Gold Council (2016). Shari'ah Standard No. 57: Gold and its Trading Controls. www.gold.org
- Islamic Finance Guru. Cryptocurrency: Haram or Halal? Definitive Guide. www.islamicfinanceguru.com
- Islamic Finance Guru Forum. Fatwa: Is Bitcoin Halal or Haram? (includes statements by Mufti Barkatulla and Mufti Billal Omarjee). forum.islamicfinanceguru.com
- Kahf, Monzer. Fatawa: money, currencies, gold, sarf, 2000 to 2021. monzer.kahf.com
- Al Jazeera (8 April 2018). Islam and cryptocurrency, halal or not halal? www.aljazeera.com
- Cryptonews (2020). Sharia compliance in Bitcoin: what it's all about. cryptonews.net
- Morocco World News (December 2017). Saudi cleric says digital currency Bitcoin is haram in Islam. www.moroccoworldnews.com
- Islam and Bitcoin. Is Bitcoin halal? 10 scholars' opinion on Bitcoin (summary of Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari's recorded comments). islamandbitcoin.com
- Shariyah Review Bureau. Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari. shariyah.net
- Bradford, Joe. A note on cryptocurrencies and how Islamic law creates rulings. joebradford.net
- Al-Haddad, Shaykh Dr. Haitham (10 September 2018). Fatwa on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Islam21c. www.islam21c.com
- Chowdhury, Mufti Muajul I. (27 March 2024). Meme coins. Darul Iftaa New York. askthemufti.us
- SeekersGuidance (23 February 2025). Are meme coins halal in Islam? Answered by Shaykh Muhammad Carr, checked by Shaykh Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib. seekersguidance.org
- SeekersGuidance (24 November 2024). Is airdrop mining permissible? Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel, checked by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat. seekersguidance.org
- Ahmed, Habib (2024). Cryptoassets as property (maal): Islamic legal and ethical foundations and evaluative framework. In Ali, S. N. & Jumat, Z. H. (eds), Islamic Finance in the Digital Age. Edward Elgar. ideas.repec.org
- Habib, Farukh & Jawa, Ahmed (2024). Crypto staking from the Shariah perspective. In Ali, S. N. & Jumat, Z. H. (eds), Islamic Finance in the Digital Age. Edward Elgar. ideas.repec.org
- Asif, Muhammad & Sultan, Anas (2025). A Thematic Analysis of Fatwas on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency. International Journal of Islamic Economics and Governance, 6(2), 96 to 115. ojs.mul.edu.pk
- Mushaqqah, Dr. Hamza Adnan (6 July 2021). Digital money from an Islamic economic perspective: Bitcoin as a model. General Iftaa Department, Jordan (research paper, not a fatwa). www.aliftaa.jo
Shariah Rulings by Cryptocurrency Type
No single ruling covers the whole market. What scholars and bodies have said about each kind of asset and activity, with the source for each.
Platform coins and smart contracts
Coins such as ETH, SOL and ADA pay for computation on their networks. Malaysia's SAC treats digital currencies with no underlying asset as tradeable assets that may be traded on registered exchanges.
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB assessments found nothing in breach of Shariah in Ethereum, Solana, Cardano or Avalanche, describing such networks as neutral infrastructure whose use must be judged at the level of the user.
A smart contract is neutral code. What it executes decides the ruling: an automated sale is permissible, an automated interest-bearing loan is not.
SourcesSC Malaysia SAC resolutionsSRB: EthereumSRB: SolanaSRB: CardanoSRB: Avalanche
Utility tokens
Malaysia's SAC treats a token as compliant only if the money it raised is used for Shariah-compliant purposes and the rights and benefits it carries are compliant. For mixed-use tokens its business-activity benchmarks apply.
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB assessment found nothing in breach in Filecoin, a decentralised storage token. A token that gives access to gambling is impermissible whatever it is called.
Governance tokens
The ruling follows what the protocol does. Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB assessments rule Aave and Compound non-compliant because they are interest-based lending protocols, and found nothing in breach in Uniswap, a spot exchange.
Stablecoins
Malaysia's SAC treats digital currencies backed by gold, silver or currency as currency, so the rules of sarf apply and exchanges must be spot.
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB panel found nothing in breach in Tether while urging caution about the company, and moved USDC to compliant in January 2026. It rules DAI non-compliant because borrowing DAI carries stability fees.
Darul Uloom Karachi's June 2026 fatwa holds that USDT, like other crypto, is not wealth at all.
SourcesSC Malaysia SAC resolutionsSRB: TetherSRB: USDCSRB: DAIDawn: the fatwa
Staking and lending
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB assessments treat staking on proof-of-stake networks as part of validating the network (Avalanche, Cardano). A 2024 academic chapter by Farukh Habib and Ahmed Jawa separates staking on a proof-of-stake chain from locking funds in a smart contract.
The same SRB panel warned that Polkadot crowdloans may be a loan (qard) funding another project's slot, in which case any reward for it is riba. Dr. Monzer Kahf holds staking impermissible.
Lending tokens to earn interest is riba whatever the platform calls it. SRB's 2020 paper concludes that yield on lending platforms is riba.
SourcesSRB: AvalancheSRB: CardanoHabib and Jawa (2024)SRB: PolkadotDr. Kahf's fatwa collection (PDF)SRB: yield farming (2020)
Liquidity pools (AMMs)
SRB's 2020 paper holds that providing liquidity to an automated market maker can be compliant if the tokens are compliant, the return is not guaranteed so the provider can gain or lose, and the provider owns a percentage share of the pool rather than a fixed amount.
SourcesSRB: yield farming (2020)
Futures, perpetuals, options and margin
IIFA Resolution 63 (1992) rules options contracts impermissible, rules commodity contracts that do not end in actual delivery "essentially not permissible," and forbids buying shares with an interest-bearing broker loan.
SRB's 2025 paper rules margin trading, futures, perpetuals and leveraged tokens non-compliant, while dollar-cost averaging and trades backed by actual ownership align with Shariah principles.
Token burns
Malaysia's SAC (274th meeting, 16 November 2023) ruled that burning transaction fees and "proof of burn" are permissible when disclosed in advance. Both are a fee for a right or a service, and burning to control supply is not a waste of wealth.
SourcesSAC 274th meeting (PDF)
Meme coins
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB panel rules Shiba Inu non-compliant because its "use cases and focus ... do not add any real-world value and promote a meme culture which arguably has very little benefit." It moved Dogecoin to compliant in January 2026.
Darul Iftaa New York (March 2024): "meme coins and function-less altcoins are Shari'ah non-compliant and problematic."
SeekersGuidance (February 2025): a meme coin may be accepted if it gains acceptance as a currency through social concurrence.
SourcesSRB: Shiba InuSRB: DogecoinDarul Iftaa New YorkSeekersGuidance: meme coins
Gaming and metaverse tokens
Mufti Faraz Adam's SRB panel rules Axie Infinity non-compliant for promoting "a gaming culture which arguably has very little benefit," says Decentraland "should be avoided," and calls The Sandbox's benefit "questionable."
Tokenized gold and shares
Gold: AAOIFI Shari'ah Standard 57 requires spot exchange and actual or constructive possession of fully allocated gold, for example through a certificate that identifies the specific bars.
Shares: the company is screened under AAOIFI Shari'ah Standard 21 on shares. We found no published fatwa on specific tokenized-stock wrappers, so whether a holder owns the share or only a claim on the issuer remains an open question.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
No major body has ruled on NFTs. In October 2021 AAOIFI's Secretary-General said it had not taken a view on cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
The general rules of trade still apply: the subject matter must be permissible, and paying for pure speculation or waste (israf) raises the same concerns as elsewhere.
SourcesSalaam Gateway interview
Airdrops
SeekersGuidance (November 2024): receiving airdropped tokens is permissible if the project follows Shariah principles, and impermissible if the tokens come from a project already judged non-compliant.
SourcesSeekersGuidance: airdrops
Presales and ICOs
Mufti Abu-Bakar's 2018 paper leaves the permissibility of ICOs outside its scope and warns that "all investors should exercise extreme caution," noting that Muslim communities have been targeted with "halal investment" scams.
Malaysia's SAC requires that the money a token raises is used for Shariah-compliant purposes.
SourcesAbu-Bakar, full paper (PDF)SC Malaysia SAC resolutions
Mining
FCNA: "It is permissible to mine Bitcoins and to be paid for one's efforts in doing so."
Dr. Monzer Kahf (May 2021) holds it not permissible to buy, own, sell or mine Bitcoin.