In the realm of business, it’s important to adhere to the rules of ethics and morals. Most of the time, the goal to maximise wealth often blinds the gap between what is right and wrong. Greed takes a very significant turn and corrupts good business practices, which often leads to exploitation. Hence, sticking to morals is such an important value every investor should have. Fortunately, there are better alternatives out there, like halal investment. You probably heard of “halal” before in the religion of Islam; it basically means “lawful.” It’s an ethical system Muslims across the world follow, and it adheres to Sharia Law.

You don’t have to be a Muslim to engage in halal practices in business; it offers a great alternative to traditional business ventures that can be easily exploited for the sake of gaining more wealth. In this type of setup, it’s more community-based rather than individually motivated and follows a stringent set of rules that offer to uplift both investors and stakeholders. Halal investment Australia has recently seen an upward trend. Although, before you take to your investment plan, let’s take a look at what you’re dealing with first. After all, it’s important to be informed and be culturally sensitive.

Asset-Based Investment: Sharia law dictates that money holds no special value for people; to entertain that idea is considered “haram” (sinful). Because of this, investments in halal are often to aid and uplift others. Seeing value in this arrangement means investing in businesses that not just acquire wealth but also put sentimental value on culture, the arts, and humanity. Some examples of stocks that you could explore in halal investments include real estate, a small online business, the food industry (except pork), and charities.

Declining Interest-Rated Ventures: debts are allowed under Islamic law; what is not allowed, however, are interests, known as “Riba” in Sharia law. Interests are forbidden since they put the debtor or investor in serious suffering because of the added burden of having to pay additional fees, and these fees hold no intrinsic value, and with what we’ve learned so far, you should only be spending money on things that benefit others. You must understand that Islam looks at investment and business in a very egalitarian way, meaning both lender and debtor must benefit from each other in the long run.

Avoiding Risky Undertakings: traditionally, businessmen tend to love taking risks in their decisions, since plans like this can make them score a lot of money when they become lucky enough. But in halal investments, this is considered “gharar” (deceit). Shady business exploration can lead to scams or a massive loss of profit. That’s why, in these types of investments, you have to scrutinise your decisions carefully since it’s pretty hard to predict whether one is appropriate or not. To help in this matter, you should be wary of the following: unclear contracts, short-selling, unspecified dates, and transactions that are derived from debts.