Halal Investing has several challenges, especially in New Zealand.
Can you be a good Muslim and also have serious financial goals you want to achieve? This is the challenge that Muhammad Lambat is facing.
And, he says, the answer is yes.
As a founder and content creator behind @muslimin -plating, he built a growing platform dedicated to breaking the Halal investment; Investing this aligns with Islamic financial principles.
He has a master’s degree in applied finances and worked as a heritage analyst, but even with a solid financial form, he found to apply these skills in a way that aligned with his faith quickly became complicated.
Money may be difficult enough for the ordinary person, but it adds the need to respect religious principles, and it is even harder to know what the right movement is to do.
What is ethical, it fits these personal and religious values, but also allows you to achieve these important financial goals?
ONEHe researched, he started posting his work on -line to help other people fight the same problem.
His 125,000 Instagram followers now trust him to help them discover, because, as he explains, it is an area in which many fight to start.
“I think a lot of people think they can’t be a good Muslim and be rich,” he says.
“There is this misconception that money is the root of all evil, or that investing is somehow out of boundaries. But the reality is that many people just don’t know how to navigate the world of finance as they keep their faith. ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvrissuQiy
What makes investment different for Muslims?
At Podcast Making Cent, Lambat divides the Halal investment difference into some principles -Chave:
- Without interest (Riba). “This is big,” he says. “Islamic finances do not allow you to pay or receive interest, because it is seen as an unfair exchange, where one side benefits at the expense of another.”
- Avoiding excessive risks and uncertainty (gharar). “Highly speculative investments, such as gambling or extremely volatile actions, are not allowed.”
- Profit sharing and losses. “Instead of taking all the risk, investments must be structured so that both parties share profits and losses fairly.”
- Ethical investment. “We avoid ‘sin industries’ such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling and weapons. It’s not just about making money. It is about doing this in a way that benefits the community. ”
Essentially, it all comes down to achieving financial goals in a way that does not unjustly advantage over the other.
The specific problem of investing as a Muslim in New Zealand
A major obstacle to those in New Zealand is the limited availability of Halal financial products.
See the property, for example. This problem with the use of interest -based products? This makes a mortgage very complicated.
“In a place like New Zealand, we basically have almost zero Islamic mortgage options,” says Lambat. “This makes it really hard for Muslims who want to buy a house while they are inside their faith.”
Islamic mortgages exist, but they work differently from conventional loans.
Instead of charging interest, the bank buys the property next to the buyer, and the buyer gradually buys the bank part over time, and pay rent in the part that does not have.
There are a small number of options in New Zealand, but they are more common in other countries and may be difficult to access here.
“They are often arrested by choosing between renting forever or taking a conventional mortgage that conflicts with their beliefs,” explains Lambat.
Another challenge? Finding Halal Investment Options.
Like most large companies dealing with some form of interest as part of their business, it is difficult to find actions that fully comply with Islamic financial principles.
To make it easier, many Muslim investors depend on Halal action screening tools, which filter companies based on their commercial activities and financial indices.
“We also have ETFS Halal (funds traded on the bag),” says Lambat.
“For example, there is a version of S&P 500 that removes non -compatible companies, so you still get the benefits of a broad investment in the market, but in a halal way.”
Erroneous concepts and reaction
Talking about money, especially faith -based money decisions, led to Lambat facing some online reaction.
He is used to people challenging -about the specificities of Islamic finance. Some question if certain investments are really Halal, while others accuse him of compensating the rules.
“Even when I’m just explaining how something works – like Islamic mortgages – I get comments saying, ‘Did you invented it yourself? This makes no sense, ‘”he says.
“People think I’m creating the rules when I’m just dividing them in an easy way to understand.”
Even within the Muslim community, there is disagreement.
Although fundamental principles, such as avoiding interest and excessive risk, are widely accepted, the details are obscure. Some scholars allow a company to get up to 5% of its revenue from non-halal sources, recognizing that avoiding it completely is almost impossible in today’s economy.
But others argue that even that is very mild, leading to heated debates.
So, of course, there are pure and simple internet trolls – people who are not part of the Muslim community, but argue with anything labeled “Islamic”.
Lambat deals with this, deliberately concentrating on ways to keep the conversation constructive.
“If someone genuinely doesn’t understand, I’ll get involved and try to explain,” he says. “But if it’s just negativity for negativity, don’t waste my energy.”
The irony is that controversies usually increase their reach.
His Tiktok videos about Islamic mortgages, a subject he considered one of the most controversial in Muslim finances, has accumulated millions of views. The more people discuss in the comments, the more the algorithm pushes its content.
“It’s great for engagement,” he admits to laugh.
At the end of the day, Lambat’s approach is simple: provide information, encourage discussion and let people make their own choices.
“No one is forced to invest this way,” he says. “I just want people to know their options.”
Halal investment strengths
Despite the challenges, Lambat sees great benefits in investing in a way that aligns with his values.
“The companies we invest tend to have lower debts and stronger fundamentals, because we display companies that depend a lot on interest,” he says.
In fact, there is research that suggests that Halal compliance investments may perform better during economic crises because they are less leveraged and more financial.
“Islamic finances encourage the construction of wealth in a way that benefits the wider community,” he explains.
“Much of our system is Zakat, where Muslims donate 2.5% of their liquid economies each year to support the needy.”
With Ramadan currently underway, many Muslims are now making these donations, so he is once again online helping people understand the best ways to combine their donations with their general financial goals.
For Lambat, Halal investment is not just following the rules – it is about encouraging people to build wealth in a way that aligns with their beliefs.
“It is not about choosing between being religious or being rich.
“It is about learning to do both, and understanding that financial security really gives you more freedom to live according to your values.”
“The more people know, the more they can ask for changes. And the more they ask, the more the financial world will have to adapt. ”
Listen to the full conversation about the Making Cent Podcast, available everywhere, including Apple, Spotify and Youtube podcasts.
