Halal Universe is a news portal that delivers news and insights on Shariah-compliant finance and investments for retail investors.
After a hiatus, Halal Universe is back up and running with a fresh new look. We have opted for a website that has lots of colours and pictures, so that’s easy on your eyes. But it isn’t just a cosmetic change. We want to strive, inshaAllah, to answer the many questions that you might have on Shariah-compliant finance and investments. We will simplify the seemingly complex terms of finance and investments in a language that is hopefully far easier to understand.
The world of Shariah-compliant finance and investments is young. For instance Muslim investors weren’t allowed to invest in shares of companies listed on stock exchanges worldwide until in the mid-1990s when Shariah scholars came out with parameters defining a “Shariah-compliant” company. That was a watershed development. Armed with the parameters, index providers began to screen listed companies unleashing a vast universe of investable Shariah-compliant stocks available to Muslim investors.
Muslims must avoid riba (interest), maisir (gambling) and gharar (contractual uncertainties) in their life at all times. These are also the guiding principles when investing. The community, however, is still learning and discovering. Halal Universe would like to be the community’s partner in their learning journey and discovery in the world of Shariah finance and investments.
The phrase “Halal Universe” was deliberately coined as an antithesis to the phrase “High Yield Universe” in conventional finance that refers to the world of high yield bonds and leverage finance that pivots on interest rates.
Halal Universe will be the go-to repository site offering insights and information on all Shariah-compliant finance and investments. We aim to assist our readers to understand and make intelligent decisions with regards their finance and investments. We’d like to help our readers to improve their lives no matter how small that change might be.
Our Coverage
Our focus remains on the traditional investment asset classes including Equities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Funds and Gold.
We’ve added a number of new tabs (coverage) on our new site, reflecting the progress made in the world of Shariah investments. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) is a new addition. The Shariah-compliant ETF market, which was almost non-existent a decade ago, has grown significantly in recent years giving more opportunities to retail investors.
Under Personal Finance you can expect to read about debt and wealth management. Many in the community are hamstrung by debt preventing them from savings and investing and this could lead to many social ills. Sometimes they fall into these debt-traps unwittingly.
Through our “Halal Business” tab we hope to be the glue that connects people with halal businesses. We hope to feature both new ground breaking ventures such as Fintech or even traditional businesses under this tab.
Health is indeed wealth. We have included the tab on “Prophetic Medicine” that will look into the wisdom of treatments according to the Sunnah of the Prophet and the human bodies’ own healing powers.
We hope you’ll enjoy the new site as much as we enjoy researching and writing our stories.
Happy reading! And thank you for visiting Halal Universe.
Ms Hamisah Samad
Founder, Halal Universe
Ms Hamisah Samad is the founder and CEO of Al Jannah Group Pte Ltd., trading as Halal Universe. Prior to founding Halal Universe, she had a distinguished career in financial journalism. She was one of the pioneer journalists of Debtwire Asia, then part of the UK-based Financial Times Group’s global fixed income news service. She also helmed Dow Jones Asia Pacific Commodities News Editor. She graduated from the National University of Singapore with a BA in Economics and Political Science and holds a post-graduate Certificate in Islamic Banking and Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
Mr Fazrihan Duriat
Our Advisers
Mr Fazrihan Duriat has a First Class Honours BSc in Finance from the University College Dublin; Master of Laws in Islamic Law & Finance (L.L.M) from the Singapore Management University. A Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance (CPIF), Mr Fazrihan currently works at one of Malaysia’s largest banks with an Islamic banking window and is responsible for Shariah Risk Management. A banker with more than 10 years experience he’s held managerial positions on Shariah advisory. He is also a pro bono consultant with Financial Syariah Advisory Council of Pergas Investment Holdings affiliated to the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS). He also assists the Shariah Committee’s endorsements of various projects of clients as Shariah-compliant. He is also a certified religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (Quranic Teacher) under Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura. Mr Fazrihan is currently pursuing his PhD with Euclid University.
Mr Rizalsham Endut
Our Advisers
Mr Rizalsham Endut is the Chief Operating Officer of Quant Asset Management Pte Ltd., a boutique quant fund house in Singapore. QAM is a specialist Global and Asian equities manager with a focus on fundamental investing systematic value-momentum strategies. Prior to QAM, Mr Rizalsham was with the Singapore Unit Trusts Ltd., and Malaysia’s largest fund house Permodalan Nasional Bhd. Mr Rizalsham holds a Masters in Applied Finance and Investment with the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a degree in Operations Management from Universiti Tecknologi MARA.
About us
HalalUniverse.net delivers news and actionable insights on Shariah-Compliant finance and investments for retail investors.