We read the product, not just the paperwork. From structure review through Shariah pronouncement to a certificate your partners can verify, and ongoing supervision as you scale.
The problem
A fintech product is not made Shariah-compliant by the contract named in its terms of service. It is made compliant by whether the sequence of events in the code matches the sequence the contract requires: whether ownership passes before the sale is booked, whether a fee is charged for a service rendered or for time given, whether a late payment charge enters revenue or goes to charity.
Most Shariah risk in fintech sits in the gap between the documented structure and the executed flow. It is invisible in a term sheet and obvious in a product demo.
So we go further than the document. Where there is an app or a platform, we go into how it works, screen by screen, flow by flow, in the sequence a real user triggers them. Where there are several parties and layered agreements, we ask for all of them and for the detail of each party. The objective is a 360 degree view of the product, or of the entity, before any opinion is issued. And we do it before engineering time is committed, when a change of structure still costs a sprint rather than a rebuild.
Contract named
Murabahah, ijarah, wakalah, or a hybrid
Ownership transfer timing
Whether it happens before the sale is booked
Fee sequencing
Charged for a service rendered, not for time given
Late payment treatment
Whether it enters revenue or goes to charity
What we do
Assessing a proposed product against the underlying Islamic contract at design stage: murabahah, ijarah, wakalah, mudarabah, musharakah, tawarruq, salam, istisna or a hybrid, and identifying where the intended flow will not support the contract you plan to name.
A written pronouncement issued by a certified Mufti, in the form regulators, investors and partner banks ask for, followed by certification under a reference any counterparty can check independently on our Verify Certificate page.
Reviewing terms of service, in-app disclosures, consent screens, fee presentation and transaction sequencing against the contract they claim to implement. This is where most findings arise.
Continuous oversight as features ship, partners change and new markets open. Where your regulator requires a Shariah board, we can form and support one that conforms to the local regime, so the governance function exists without you having to build it in-house.
We assess every product against the objectives of Shariah as standard. Where an institution wants formal alignment against a named value-based framework, we deliver that as a distinct assessment.
The Shariah compliance pack that Islamic investors, Islamic banks and regulators ask for in due diligence, prepared to the standard those readers expect.
Coverage
Each links to a dedicated page covering the Shariah issues specific to that model.
Equity crowdfunding and peer to peer financing.
Learn more →Smart contract review, real world asset tokenisation, Shariah-compliant staking.
Learn more →Wallets, payments, remittance, stablecoin settlement and digital deposit products.
Learn more →Algorithm review, screening universes, purification logic.
Learn more →Buy-now-pay-later and instalment financing structures reviewed against the underlying contract.
Learn more →Takaful tech is covered on the Takaful page, and investing platform screening on the Shariah Screening page. Islamic home financing has its own domain page.
Why ADL
Our team pairs certified Muftis holding AAOIFI qualifications with people who understand code, systems and product architecture. We hold Malaysia Digital Status from the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, a technology credential, held by a Shariah advisory firm. Where there is an app, we go into it. Where there is a core banking system, we review the configuration.
Registered Shariah Adviser with the Securities Commission Malaysia and with Labuan Financial Services Authority.
We work primarily against AAOIFI standards and reconcile with the applicable local regime. An opinion grounded in AAOIFI travels across borders.
Beyond applying Islamic finance standards, our team has been commissioned by a standard-setting body: research towards a governance standard, participation in the drafting of a preliminary standard, and a series of training assignments.
Auditing against another adviser's pronouncement is ordinary work for us, as is being audited by another firm. Independence is the point of the exercise.
We work in jurisdictions with mature Islamic finance regulation and in markets with none at all, where the structure has to satisfy Shariah while operating entirely within a conventional rulebook.
Best Shariah Advisory in Islamic Asset Management, presented in Jeddah in February 2026.
Members of our team hold Shariah board and committee seats across the institutions we serve, so our advisory work is informed by governance experience, not only by external review.
How we hold ourselves
Our measure of a good year is not only revenue. It is whether we helped one more business get to halal. That is why we will take a call from a founder at ideation stage, and why our pricing bends to what a client can actually carry. We would rather a small platform get its structure right at the start than be priced out and get it wrong at scale.
A business built on an Islamic label still has to be a good business. Sound fundamentals, capable people, honest disclosure, and a high standard of compliance with local regulation, because that is what protects the customer and the investor. Shariah compliance sits on top of that foundation. It is not a substitute for it, and we will say so if we see it being treated as one.
The Lifecycle
Compliance is a state you maintain rather than a certificate you obtain, and the audit cycle is how you maintain it.
We understand the product before we quote.
Scope, timeline and fee agreed, agreement signed.
The deep stage: the screens, the flows, the layered agreements, and the sequence a real user triggers them in.
Findings returned and worked through with your product and engineering teams; the flow is adjusted.
Issued by a certified Mufti.
Issued under a reference any counterparty can verify independently.
For a fintech product the cycle runs for as long as the product ships: the flow is re-tested every year, and every time it materially changes.
We commit to two to four weeks for a first pronouncement. In practice it often runs longer, and in our experience the reason is the round trip rather than the review. We raise amendments, and your product and engineering teams need time to work through them. We would rather set that expectation now than surprise you in week three.
Engagements are scoped and priced individually. We have worked with startups at ideation stage and with licensed platforms operating across several jurisdictions. One size does not fit all. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you what it takes.
Evidence
Blockchain crowdfunding platform (North America)We reviewed the smart contract algorithms, the end-to-end process flow, the front end, and the underlying agreements. Certified, and now raising Shariah-compliant funds on-chain.
Peer-to-peer platform (Southeast Asia)Musharakah, mudarabah and murabahah structured across four financing lines. Operating for years, financing live.
Payment platform (North America, SE Asia, Middle East)An ongoing engagement advising on Shariah-compliant payments using stablecoins and fiat currency across its licensed markets.
We have also advised equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer platforms in Europe and South Asia, a Shariah-compliant staking platform across two major proof-of-stake networks, and robo-advisory platforms investing automatically into Shariah-compliant instruments.
Questions
Before engineering commits to a build. A Shariah issue found at design stage costs a change of structure. The same issue found after launch can cost a rebuild, a re-papering of customer contracts, and the purification of income already earned.
A pronouncement is the scholarly ruling, the reasoned opinion that a product, as described, complies. A certification is the instrument that evidences it, carrying a reference your counterparties can check. The pronouncement is the judgment; the certificate is the proof.
More than the documents. Where the product is an app or a platform, we go into how it works: the screens, the flows, and the sequence in which events fire. Where there are several parties and layered agreements, we ask for all of them and for the detail of each party. Reviewing the paperwork alone tells you what a product is supposed to do. It does not tell you what it does.
A charge levied to compensate the financier for delay is generally not treated as permissible income. The common treatment is a charge channelled to charity rather than recognised as revenue, disclosed to the customer, with the accounting configured so it never enters the income statement. The detail depends on the contract used and the jurisdiction.
It varies by client. Some stay with us for ongoing advisory as they build; others come back for audit on specific products or at specific points. Both are normal, and we would rather set the arrangement to what you actually need than sell a retainer you do not.
Our certification confirms Shariah compliance. It is not an assessment of whether a business is viable, whether its financials are sound, or whether the people running it can execute. Look at both questions, and do your own due diligence on the second. Every ADL certificate carries a reference you can check independently.
Book a consultation before engineering commits to a build. We will tell you at the first meeting whether the structure holds.