AAOIFI-aligned halal screening: our framework

Why we say "AAOIFI-aligned" not "Compliant"

Some crypto products advertise themselves as "AAOIFI Standard 21 Compliant" or "AAOIFI Standard 30 Compliant." We do not, and the reason is simple: AAOIFI does not currently issue product-level compliance certificates for crypto trading platforms. AAOIFI publishes Shariah Standards. Compliance certification, where it exists, is operated by AAOIFI's Certified Shariah Adviser and Auditor (CSAA) or by external certifying bodies, not by AAOIFI itself.

Claiming literal AAOIFI compliance therefore misrepresents both AAOIFI's certification process and our actual position. The honest framing is that our framework draws on AAOIFI Shariah Standards as its primary methodology — and the responsibility for that drawing rests with our reviewers and the bodies whose guidance we triangulate against, not with AAOIFI as an organisation.

Aligned is the right word. It signals fidelity to a published methodology while preserving honest attribution. It is also the framing most contemporary Islamic financial institutions use when describing their relationship to AAOIFI standards in jurisdictions where AAOIFI has not been formally adopted as the regulatory baseline.

Three sources of guidance

We draw on three published bodies of guidance simultaneously. Each is necessary; none is sufficient on its own.

1. AAOIFI Shariah Standards

AAOIFI is the leading global standards body for Islamic finance. Its Shariah Standards — particularly Standard 21 (financial papers), Standard 30 (monetary disposals), Standard 35 (zakat), and the standards on currencies, sales, and gharar — provide the methodological backbone for our screening. We treat them as the primary reference for any commercial or financial question. When AAOIFI has spoken on a topic, our framework defaults to that position.

2. Saudi Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

The Permanent Committee is the senior fatwa-issuing body of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its rulings on novel financial instruments, fiat currency operations, and the application of qabd to electronic transactions provide the jurisprudential anchor for cases AAOIFI has not directly addressed. Crypto, being newer than most AAOIFI standards, frequently sits in that territory. The Committee's general guidance on speculation, gharar, and maysir directly informs how we adjudicate borderline structures.

3. Al Rajhi Bank Shariah Board

Al Rajhi Bank is the largest Islamic bank in the world by assets, and its Shariah Board has issued public reviews on a range of digital asset products and structures. Where AAOIFI provides the standards and the Permanent Committee provides the jurisprudence, Al Rajhi's Shariah Board provides commercial precedent — concrete examples of how the standards translate into operating practice. Their public guidance shapes how we structure custodial arrangements, sanctions screening, and exit logic.

The four-gate framework

Every coin in our universe must pass four independent gates. Failing any one gate is sufficient to exclude the coin permanently or until the failing condition is resolved.

Re-screening cadence

A halal screen is not a one-time stamp. Coins evolve. Stablecoin issuers change their reserve composition. DeFi protocols pivot revenue models. Networks shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake or vice versa. We treat the screen as a living state, not a historical decision.

• Gate 1 (business activity): reviewed continuously. Any major tokenomics, governance, or revenue-mix announcement triggers an immediate re-screen. Manual review by our screening committee within 48 hours.
• Gate 2 (financial ratios): recomputed quarterly using fresh on-chain treasury data and public reserve attestations.
• Gate 3 (execution): reviewed semi-annually. Triggers immediate review if exchange listing terms or settlement mechanics change.
• Gate 4 (sanctions): automated daily refresh against OFAC, UN, EU, and equivalent lists.

If a coin transitions from pass to fail mid-cycle, new entries suspend immediately and existing positions unwind in an orderly manner. Customers receive notification within 24 hours.

Public methodology

The full methodology is published at /halal-methodology. Per-coin verdicts and reasoning are at /is-coin-halal. We refuse to operate as a black box. Anyone — your imam, your scholar, your investment committee — can inspect the screen and challenge it.

That openness is the core of why we believe this framework is durable. Closed systems of religious certification have a poor track record. Transparent, reasoned, auditable systems hold up.

Frequently asked questions

Citations

• AAOIFI Shariah Standards — primary methodology reference.
• Saudi Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta — published fatawa.
• Al Rajhi Bank Shariah Board — public reviews on digital asset products.