Islamic home finance, compared

• Contract“Guidance's published white paper describes a diminishing-mushārakah co-ownership: the customer and a Guidance affiliate become co-owners”
• Title held by“Guidance normally goes on record as co-owner on the title”
• Pricing“Guidance determines the Profit Payment offered to its customers to be competitive with prevailing interest rates”
• On default“with any surplus to the customer”
• Independent ruling“Guidance ruled PERMISSIBLE in the face of need”

Note: In some states Guidance stays off title to avoid extra taxes.

• Contract“based on Mushārakah / Sharikatul Milk”
• Title held by“The title is in your name from day one”
• Pricing“We also track the mortgage industry pricing so that we stay competitive”
• On default“UIF has the right to foreclose on the property and sell it in the open market, which could result in a loss”
• Independent ruling“AMJA 2014 resolution: UIF ruled PERMISSIBLE only in dire need.”

Note: UIF waives going on title but keeps a security instrument and a right to foreclose.

• Contract“Devon Bank (Chicago; NMLS #412368) primarily uses Murābaḥah for residential purchase”
• Title held by“so the customer holds title after the bank's brief intermediate purchase, secured by a lien/security instrument”
• Pricing“calibrated to a market rate of return but fixed at contract, with no named interest index”
• On default“so the precise default clause is not verified here”
• Independent ruling“AMJA 2014 resolution: Devon Bank ruled PERMISSIBLE only in dire need (both contract types).”

Note: Devon also had an ijārah product, and AMJA's ruling covered both.

• Contract“the earlier descriptions we had conflict on whether LARIBA ever held a share of title or only a lien”
• Title held by“conflict on whether LARIBA ever held a share of title or only a lien”
• Pricing“Earlier descriptions say rent was set from market rental estimates rather than an interest index (not re-verifiable)”
• On default“no executed LARIBA contract, note or lien instrument is public”
• Independent ruling“AMJA 2014 resolution: LARIBA ruled IMPERMISSIBLE — the committee found its contract 'does not differ from a traditional mortgage' despite Islamic presentation.”

Note: Merged into UIF on 1 April 2026 rather than collapsed. Its contract documents are no longer online, so only AMJA's rulings are verifiable.

• Contract“(ijārah wa iqtinā) around a grantor trust”
• Title held by“Title is held by the trust, but the customer is the trust's initial trustee and beneficiary using their own SSN/tax ID”
• Pricing“the public materials do NOT state how the rent amount is calculated (no index, market-rent or formula disclosed)”
• On default“do NOT describe the default/foreclosure mechanism or recourse to the customer/heirs”
• Independent ruling“AMJA 2014 resolution ruled 'Ijara Loan' IMPERMISSIBLE — 'it is not allowed to deal with this company as their model contains clear and explicit interest'”

Note: A nonprofit facilitator that works with partner lenders; the customer is the trust's trustee and beneficiary.

• Contract“Ameen Housing is a member-owned cooperative (self-described as a Shariah-compliant REIT-style cooperative; certified by AMJA) using a mushārakah co-ownership.”
• Title held by“AHC and the member are both named on the title”
• Pricing“Rent is calibrated to fair market rental value via professional appraisal, explicitly NOT to interest”
• On default“the explicit default / non-payment mechanism and recourse are NOT documented in the public FAQ”
• Independent ruling“AMJA ruled it PERMISSIBLE, stating 'the contracts that Ameen Housing is now using are consistent with the laws of the Shareeah'”

Note: Invests only in California and Texas properties.

• Contract“the homeowner buys out Neeyah's share incrementally over 15 years”
• Title held by“the executed co-ownership agreement is not publicly posted; no NMLS number is publicly confirmable”
• Pricing“The homeowner pays monthly rent on Neeyah's share at local market rates”
• On default“the executed co-ownership agreement is not publicly posted”
• Independent ruling“AMJA Resident Fatwa Committee, Fatwa ID 87782, issued 14 January 2026 (listed on AMJA's site 22 January) — the controlling Shariah opinion, which declared the contract acceptable”

Note: A co-ownership model, but the text does not say how the buyer's share grows, how rent is set, who is on title or what happens on default.

• Contract“the buyer obtains a conventional interest-based mortgage first and the ijārah wrapper does not cure the interest”
• Title held by“Confirm the exact executed contract and whether any conventional interest-bearing loan sits anywhere in the chain before proceeding.”
• Pricing“Confirm the exact executed contract and whether any conventional interest-bearing loan sits anywhere in the chain before proceeding.”
• On default“Confirm the exact executed contract and whether any conventional interest-bearing loan sits anywhere in the chain before proceeding.”
• Independent ruling“AMJA does not name CMG”

Note: CMG's own pages describe the same trust structure as Ijara CDC, which AMJA's 2014 resolution ruled not allowed; AMJA did not name CMG, so that ruling is not counted against CMG here.

• Contract“a diminishing mushārakah + ijārah where each acquisition payment grows the customer's share and shrinks the bank's”
• Title held by“the bank holds legal title during the term ('the property is registered in our name') and transfers it to the customer on completion”
• Pricing“Rent is benchmark-linked, NOT an independent market rent: products carry an Initial/Fixed Rental Rate for 2 or 5 years, then revert to a 'Follow-on Rental Rate' equal to the Standard Variable Rate (SVR)”
• On default“Honest limit: the precise rent-calculation formula and the default/sale surplus-shortfall waterfall are not public”
• Independent ruling“No arm's-length fatwa-body review beyond the bank's own Shariah board was located.”

• Contract“StrideUp is an FCA-regulated (FRN 785299) non-bank HPP provider using diminishing mushārakah + ijārah”
• Title held by“StrideUp holds legal title during the term — per IFG's review, 'Strideup buys the house – it is actually in their name – and will remain so – until you fully buy it from them'”
• Pricing“the exact rent formula and margin, and the precise FSCS scope for the HPP are not published”
• On default“Honest limit: the legal-title/default clauses, the exact rent formula and margin, and the precise FSCS scope for the HPP are not published”
• Independent ruling“No internal Shariah board; products are independently certified by Amanah Advisors (the firm led by Mufti Faraz Adam).”

Note: Amanah Advisors certifies in place of an in-house board, so it is not counted as an arm's-length ruling; the FAQ allows a Base Rate benchmark but does not confirm one is used.

• Contract“Structure is co-ownership-with-leasing (diminishing mushārakah + ijārah)”
• Title held by“Offa is the legal owner of the property. You will not become the legal owner until you have completed all your payments.”
• Pricing“do NOT state whether rent tracks the Bank of England base rate, another benchmark, or an independent market rent”
• On default“the default/sale waterfall, FSCS scope, and the executed contract set are all unpublished”
• Independent ruling“No named independent scholar review located.”

Note: The text says Amanah Advisors certifies the products, but that is the provider's own certifier, not an arm's-length ruling.

• Contract“A non-bank provider positioning on a 'truly debt-free' diminishing-mushārakah model”
• Title held by“the property is held by a special-purpose company, Pfida Finance PLC ('The legal freehold title will be owned by Pfida Finance PLC')”
• Pricing“Pfida says 'The rent takes into account the local property market and several other factors, but not interest though'”
• On default“a customer who cannot pay can sell equity shares back to Pfida instead of paying”
• Independent ruling“examines the debt-free diminishing-mushārakah model — scholarly analysis rather than a fatwa endorsement”

Note: Now trades as Pfida; what happens once the equity buffer runs out is not described.

• Contract“a Diminishing Co-ownership Agreement (DCA / diminishing mushārakah), a Lease (ijārah), a Service Agency Agreement, and a Legal Charge”
• Title held by“For the duration of this deed, legal title to the Property shall vest in us”
• Pricing“Rent is benchmark-pegged, NOT a market rent: the 'Variable Rental Rate = Base Rate together with the Margin', Base Rate being the Bank of England rate”
• On default“can then sell free of the customer's rights (DCA cl.6.3), and pays any surplus after an eight-tier waterfall”
• Independent ruling“IFG is a review platform, not a fatwa body.”

Note: Retail home finance for UK residents is temporarily withdrawn; Premier Home Finance is advertised to applicants from five GCC countries. A sale shortfall stays owed.

• Contract“Its Ijārah HPP is a defensible co-ownership-plus-lease structure; but it also offers a Commodity Murābaḥa (Tawarruq) route”
• Title held by“but the full HPP terms and the executed contract are not public”
• Pricing“with rent "benchmarked against KFH PLC Base Rate (currently 3.75%) which tracks the Bank of England base rate"”
• On default“the full HPP terms and the executed contract are not public”
• Independent ruling“No external Shariah audit is publicly disclosed beyond the SSB's certification”

Note: Intermediary-introduced only, £250,000 minimum; the base-rate benchmark is stated for the Ijārah HPP route.

• Contract“offering "Shari'a-compliant property financing using Murabaha (cost-plus financing)" for London residential property”
• Title held by“the executed terms are bespoke and not public. A buyer should review the full Murābaḥa contract with an independent adviser and confirm exactly when the bank takes legal title before resale.”
• Pricing“QIB offers "either profit-only payments or amortisation plans, with fixed or variable profit rates"”
• On default“the executed terms are bespoke and not public”
• Independent ruling“No public external Shariah audit beyond SSB oversight; product-specific fatāwā are not published.”

Note: Private banking with a £1,000,000 minimum relationship, London only.

• Contract“Nomo's residential product uses Commodity Murābaḥa (a metal-commodity chain handled procedurally) rather than a direct property Murābaḥa or Ijārah”
• Title held by“uses Commodity Murābaḥa (a metal-commodity chain handled procedurally) rather than a direct property Murābaḥa or Ijārah”
• Pricing“The 'follow-on' variable-rate formula is not publicly disclosed.”
• On default“early repayment carries no penalty but the deferred profit remains contractually owed plus a settlement fee”
• Independent ruling“A March 2025 fatwa is cited as confirming the product's compliance; the full text is not publicly reproduced.”

Note: Only for residents of GCC countries; the text does not describe title or default terms.

• Contract“using "two modes of Islamic finance, namely Diminishing Musharaka and Commodity Murabaha", depending on the finance required”
• Title held by“executed T&Cs are not public, so an investor should request the full agreement and the IFAAS certificate before committing”
• Pricing“executed T&Cs are not public, so an investor should request the full agreement and the IFAAS certificate before committing”
• On default“executed T&Cs are not public”
• Independent ruling“which "oversees the Shariah compliance of our Sirat banking services and conducts regular compliance reviews and external Shariah audits" (HBZ)”

Note: Buy-to-let and commercial property only, not homes to live in; it uses diminishing mushārakah or commodity murābaḥah depending on the finance.

• Contract“Manzil offers two home-finance contracts: a Murābaḥa (cost-plus sale, fixed rate/term up to 25 years per the Manzil–IFAAS launch note) and a declining-balance diminishing Mushāraka”
• Title held by“whether the mushāraka shows Manzil on title or only a registered charge are not public (AMJA implies title is NOT taken in Manzil's name)”
• Pricing“Honest limit: the executed Murābaḥa and Mushāraka contracts, the exact profit-rate benchmark”
• On default“the default/foreclosure & recourse clauses, the fee schedule”
• Independent ruling“the Murābaḥa was ruled permissible OUT OF NEED on 28 Jan 2025, and the Mushāraka on 29 Jan 2025”

Note: The murābaḥa price is fixed; the mushāraka rate is fixed for 2 to 5 years and then repriced.

• Contract“the financier uses a Shariah-compliant commodity (not the home) as the underlying asset, sells it to the customer who on-sells it to the open market, generating cash to acquire the home”
• Title held by“the customer is 'the legal and beneficial owner of the property,' keeping all appreciation and absorbing any loss; the borrower signs exactly two agreements — 'The Murabaha Agreement' and 'The Legal Mortgage Charge.'”
• Pricing“Pricing is a posted profit rate on up-to-5-year renewable terms 'each at its respective rate' (i.e. repriced at renewal)”
• On default“the full default/foreclosure escalation path (the 'Security' FAQ on default/negative-equity sale could not be captured)”
• Independent ruling“AMJA's Canada Resident Fatwa Committee added an EQRAZ section dated 1 June 2026 ruling its murābaḥah 'permissible in cases of need'”

Note: AMJA (June 2026) flagged its reliance on bank-style tawarruq. The posted rate is fixed for each term of up to 5 years and repriced at renewal; what sets it is not stated.

• Contract“Alberta-based CHFC offers both a Murābaḥa and a Mushāraka (diminishing co-ownership), each certified halal by a posted fatwa.”
• Title held by“clients have full ownership rights and only our client's name is registered on the title and there are no third-party incumbrancers, such as banks, involved”
• Pricing“secondary explainers describe the murābaḥa markup as benchmarked to the Bank of Canada overnight rate, but CHFC's own FAQ does NOT publish a benchmark or formula”
• On default“Default is handled by accommodation rather than foreclosure: CHFC says it will 'work with you to help you resolve this problem'”
• Independent ruling“Not addressed in the AMJA Canadian resolution”

Note: Only the client is on title and CHFC says it registers no charge, so how it secures its share is not public. Al Rashid Mosque's finance committee ended its association in January 2024; CHFC says its newer contracts were approved by Al Azhar University, but no published ruling from that body is cited.

• Contract“member and co-op jointly purchase the home, the member pays occupancy charges (rent) on the co-op's share and progressively buys the co-op's shares until owning the unit”
• Title held by“the co-op 'transfers the title to the homeowner' (implying the co-op holds title until then)”
• Pricing“how the occupancy-charge rate level is actually set, and fee/membership-share detail are not public”
• On default“the executed occupancy/share agreement, the default and forced-sale recourse procedure”
• Independent ruling“The AMJA resolution did not cover Ansar; no other named independent scholarly review is verifiable.”

Note: The title point comes from secondary sources; Ansar's own page does not restate it.

• Contract“ACU's product is a mushāraka 'Declining Partnership Agreement': the member contributes a minimum 20% and ACU the balance, establishing each party's percentage ownership.”
• Title held by“i.e. customer-name title with ACU's interest secured as a registered mortgage charge (not title in ACU's name)”
• Pricing“the profit is 'comparable to the best rate ACU would charge for a conventional, closed, fixed-rate mortgage”
• On default“Default/hardship is handled non-coercively — the member 'may request assistance from a philanthropic source of your choice within the Muslim community'”
• Independent ruling“No named independent scholar outside the ACU/Manitoba Islamic Association advisory arrangement is verifiable.”

Note: Manitoba only; the foreclosure path if mediation fails is not public.

• Contract“Servus Halal buys the home from the seller and resells it to you under a Murabaha agreement”
• Title held by“the title-registration mechanics (whose name on title after resale)”
• Pricing“Pricing is uniquely fixed for the whole term: 25-year term and amortization, 'profit is calculated using a fixed profit rate for the term of the mortgage,'”
• On default“the explicit default/foreclosure & mediation procedure are not public (the Al Rashid sub-page on default specifics returned 404)”
• Independent ruling“CIFB (Dr. Muammar Sawan) is the certifier rather than a fully independent third party; no separate independent scholarly review was located.”

• Contract“the contracts do not reflect any shape or form of a musharakah”
• Title held by“AYA's response/any remediation, title-registration mechanics and fee schedule are not documented”
• Pricing“Honest limit: the contracts themselves are not public (only the fatwa's quotations of them)”
• On default“the contracts themselves are not public (only the fatwa's quotations of them)”
• Independent ruling“AMJA's Canada Resident Fatwa Committee (ruling dated 26 Feb 2025) did NOT approve AYA's mushāraka in its reviewed form”

Note: AYA links buyers to the financier, Moya Financial; it is sold as diminishing mushāraka, but the reviewing fatwa says the documents work like a conventional mortgage.

• Contract“The diminishing-mushārakah structure itself was broadly sound”
• Title held by“it is unclear who ultimately owns the home in the case of a bankruptcy by the lender, if legal title remains with the lender”
• Pricing“Executed UM–homeowner contracts are not public.”
• On default“Executed UM–homeowner contracts are not public.”
• Independent ruling“Not assessed by AMJA. The Islamic Banking and Finance Network (IBFN) reposted a Reuters report on the collapse”

Note: Collapsed into receivership in 2011; listed as a warning, not an option.

• Contract“The declining-balance co-ownership with the client on title from day one is the cleanest Canadian model for avoiding double land-transfer tax”
• Title held by“The client holds legal title from day one (Tjara takes only a registered mortgage charge)”
• Pricing“the executed contract text is not public, the usage-fee benchmark is undisclosed, and AMJA has not reviewed Tjara”
• On default“the executed contract text is not public”
• Independent ruling“no independent Canadian review was located”

Note: Tjara says it is 'a referral agent' and that unnamed partner institutions provide the funding; its 2023 product fatwa is from its own advisory board.

• Contract“The co-op buys housing units in the Greater Montreal area and transfers them to members in good standing under a diminishing mushārakah”
• Title held by“The gaps are governance and disclosure: no named independent Shariah board, no published contract”
• Pricing“an undisclosed administration/management-fee basis (whether the fee is a fixed charge or proportional to actual co-op cost matters for permissibility)”
• On default“no named, publicly-documented Shariah board could be located and the executed contract is not public”
• Independent ruling“Not named in the AMJA 2025 Canada resolution; no public fatwa document located.”

• Contract“Members buy shares ($100/share, minimum six plus a membership fee); pooled funds purchase properties; monthly payments reduce the co-op's stake until title transfers.”
• Title held by“the corporate boundary with Ansar (shared portal) makes title-holding less clear”
• Pricing“the administration fee (if it is a fixed return regardless of property performance it edges toward guaranteed profit)”
• On default“The executed member contract is not public and no Shariah audit was located.”
• Independent ruling“Not named in the AMJA 2025 Canada resolution; no independent fatwa located.”

Note: Title is said to transfer at the end, but the shared portal with Ansar blurs who holds it meanwhile.

• Contract“Ijārah wa iqtinā is a recognised, AAOIFI/IIFA-approved contract”
• Title held by“A trust purchases the property and leases it to the buyer under ijārah wa iqtinā, with title transferring for $1 at the end”
• Pricing“Ijara's own pages do not describe the funding”
• On default“No executed Canadian contract is public.”
• Independent ruling“says it studied the contracts and concludes 'Ijara CDC is not Shariah Compliant'”

Note: The interest link rests on an Askimam fatwa's statement that the trust buys through a conventional mortgage; Ijara's own pages do not describe the funding. Buyers can opt for an unrecorded deed that keeps them on title.