Sheikh Nizam Yaqouby
Sheikh Nizam Yaqouby, based in Manama, Bahrain, is widely described in industry press as one of the most sought-after Shariah scholars in global Islamic finance. He shows up twice in the US halal home financing story: his name traces back to the 1995 fatwa that underlies the trust-based Ijara structure still used today by Ijara CDC and its partner lenders, and — separately — he currently chairs UIF Corporation's in-house Shariah Supervisory Board, the standing board described in our fatwas and financing models guide.
Background
Public biographies describe Sheikh Yaqouby as trained in the traditional Islamic sciences from a young age, with further study in Mecca and Morocco. He has been repeatedly named among the most influential figures in Islamic finance by trade publications, and serves or has served on Shariah supervisory boards for numerous Islamic banks, index providers, and financial institutions across the Gulf, Europe, and beyond — a portfolio of board memberships that industry commentators cite as unusually broad even by the standards of senior Shariah scholars.
Role in US halal home financing
As described in our history guide, the trust-based Ijara model available in the US since 1996 traces its Shariah basis to a 1995 fatwa issued through Dallah Al Baraka, with scholars including Sheikh Yaqouby and Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani. That structure — a trust holds the property and leases it to the buyer, riding on top of standard Conventional, FHA, or VA loan guidelines — is the one Ijara Community Development Corporation and its participating lenders still coordinate today.
A second, separate role: chairing UIF Corporation's board
Distinct from the 1995 fatwa, Sheikh Yaqouby also chairs UIF Corporation's current Shariah Supervisory Board, per UIF's own published Sharia compliance disclosures. That board reviews UIF's Murabaha and Ijara-style financing programs on an ongoing basis and includes Abdulbari Mashal, Ph.D. as executive member and Mufti Abdullah Nana. It's a useful reminder that a scholar's name attached to one provider doesn't mean exclusivity — senior Shariah scholars commonly sit on multiple boards across different institutions and product types.
Next: Mufti Abdullah Nana