Islamic Housing
The Scholars

Meet the Scholars Behind the Fatwas

Updated August 2026 · 2 minute read

Every fatwa on this site traces back to a person, not just an institution. When a provider says "our Shariah board approved this," it's worth knowing who is actually on that board — their training, their other positions, and which company relies on them. This page profiles six scholars connected to US halal home financing: some sit directly on a provider's Shariah board today, others are the source of a foundational historical fatwa, and a couple are prominent Islamic finance scholars whose broader work — not a board seat at one of these specific companies — is what makes them worth knowing about.

How we handle these pages These are short, independently-researched biographical summaries built from public statements, provider disclosures, and institutional bios — not authorized or reviewed by the scholars themselves. We are not a religious authority and these pages are not a ranking or endorsement of anyone's scholarship. If you notice something outdated or inaccurate, please tell us and we'll correct it.
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Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Pakistani jurist and former Supreme Court judge; one of the most prominent figures in global Islamic finance.

Read the profile → Ijara CDC (1995 fatwa) · UIF Chairman

Sheikh Nizam Yaqouby

Bahrain-based scholar who sits on dozens of Shariah boards worldwide, and currently chairs UIF Corporation's board.

Read the profile → UIF Corporation

Mufti Abdullah Nana

US-trained mufti providing Islamic finance guidance to institutions, including UIF's Shariah board.

Read the profile → UIF Corporation

Dr. Abdulbari Mashal

Shariah audit specialist and executive member of UIF's Shariah Supervisory Board, active in AAOIFI governance.

Read the profile → Wahed Invest · Fajr Capital

Sheikh Taha Abdul-Basser

American scholar and longtime Muslim chaplain at Harvard University, now chairing Wahed Invest's Ethical Board.

Read the profile → Founder, SeekersGuidance

Sheikh Faraz Rabbani

Founder of SeekersGuidance, whose platform has published guidance on the permissibility of home mortgages.

Read the profile →

Next: Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani

A correction, for transparency An earlier version of this page and several of these profiles listed Sheikh Taha Abdul-Basser, Sheikh Ashraf Gomma Ali, and Sheikh Faraz Rabbani as members of UIF Corporation's Shariah Supervisory Board. We were unable to verify that against UIF's own published disclosures, which list a different roster. We've corrected the affected pages and replaced the unverifiable Ashraf Gomma Ali profile with one for Dr. Abdulbari Mashal, UIF's actual executive board member.
These profiles are independently researched summaries of publicly available information. They are not authorized biographies, are not a religious ranking or endorsement, and Islamic Housing has no financial relationship with any scholar or institution named. Verify current board membership and credentials directly with each provider.