IFG

It was wonderful hanging out with my old friends Shaan Tehal and Maroof Ahmed.

One man closes more tech deals than Elon Musk and is involved in many significant deals going down.

The other helps people quit addictions (and we are proud tiny investors in it).

Having friends like these is a blessing. Both from their experience and networks but also the standard they set for us all to aspire to.

Who is that friend for you? Tag them below - love to learn from them as well!

2 days ago | [YT] | 46

IFG

It’s been a tough few weeks for our community.

In just the last month we’ve seen:

* An arson attack on a mosque.
* A woman attacking Muslim girls with scissors as they left a mosque.
* The jailing of a neo-Nazi who slashed a Muslim student with a knife.

You probably didn’t see these stories on the news.
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.

And that’s the danger: when we stop hearing about it, we start forgetting it.

Islamophobia is not a headline. It’s a lived reality for far too many.
And right now, the far right feels emboldened. We’re seeing a visible spike in hate crime, in discrimination, even in sport.

It’s now or never for us as a community to take this seriously. To organise, to educate, to respond.

3 days ago | [YT] | 337

IFG

The average Muslim family in Britain pays thousands more for their Islamic mortgage. And God willing, we're about to fix that Islamic mortgage premium forever:

Our home finance fund just passed £40 million.

For context, that's tiny in the grand scheme of UK mortgages.

But I think it might be the most important £40 million in Islamic finance right now.

Here's why.

The dream for the Muslim community in the UK has always been simple: get a house in an Islamic way that's priced the same as everyone else's mortgage. That's it. Not asking for much.

But the reality is that Islamic home finance has consistently been 1-2% more expensive. On a typical mortgage, that's tens of thousands of pounds extra. So Muslims face this horrible choice - their principles or their financial well-being.

What we're doing with this fund is actually quite straightforward. We're providing funding lines to Islamic home finance providers. We've backed Stride Up and Offa. And we've got plenty more in the pipeline.

The mechanism is simple: more providers mean more competition. More competition means better pricing. It's not revolutionary economics, but nobody was doing it at scale before.

The interesting bit is what happens next. Once we solve the pricing problem - and I genuinely think we will in the next 2-3 years - we can start innovating on the actual mortgage structure itself. Making products that aren't just Sharia-compliant copies of conventional mortgages, but genuinely better alternatives.

Maybe products that share risk more equitably. Maybe structures that work better for freelancers or entrepreneurs. Maybe even products that non-Muslims would choose because they're simply superior.

We're not there yet. £40 million is just the beginning. But when we hit £400 million? That's when this market fundamentally changes.

The path from "Islamic finance is always more expensive" to "Islamic finance is the obvious choice" - that path is actually visible now.

And that's quite exciting.

3 days ago | [YT] | 474

IFG

When my dad wanted to invest with Cur8 he told me:

"I want to invest with Cur8, but this app business... can't you just do it for me?"

Classic Pakistani parent move. He's a doctor, has run a hospital ward for 30 years, but uploading a PDF? That's where he draws the line.

And you know what? He's not alone.

We've been getting this feedback more and more. Your parents want in. Your aunties who've been hoarding cash under the mattress for decades want in. Even that uncle who still uses a Nokia brick wants in.

But the whole "scan this, upload that, wait for approval" dance? Not happening.

So we thought - let's go old school.

On Saturday, 25th October, we're opening up our office for what we're calling a 'Passport Party'. If you're ready to make a minimum investment of £5k, bring your documents, bring your parents, bring that sceptical friend who's been sitting on the fence.

What's happening:

• Quick talk from me about what we're building at Cur8 (and why your money matters)
• Live demo - see exactly how your investment works
• Our compliance team approving docs on the spot (no back-and-forth emails for 3 weeks)
• Investment team ready for proper conversations
• Chai, biscuits, and that warm fuzzy feeling of meeting the people managing your money

Saturday 25th October
10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Cur8 Capital HQ, London

Sometimes the best technology is no technology.

Spaces are limited, so please reserve a spot: luma.com/bxro6qpr.

See you Saturday, inshAllah.

4 days ago | [YT] | 256

IFG

London 1995: One halal butcher in a 5-mile radius
London 2025: I can get halal wagyu delivered to my door in 30 minutes through Deliveroo. Why is that change important?

Most restaurants in London just have that little HMC logo in the window, and we barely even think about it anymore.

This evolution took about 30 years. And there's a pattern here that nobody talks about.

Stage 1: The "halal food store" era. Separate shops, separate customers. My mum would stock up monthly because that's what you had to do.

Stage 2: The integration phase. Mainstream supermarkets add halal sections. Still labelled, still distinct, but now part of the broader ecosystem.

Stage 3: The tick-box phase. It's everywhere, barely mentioned, just a small symbol that signals compliance. The product stands on its own merit - taste, quality, price. The halal aspect? That's just table stakes.

Islamic finance is somewhere between Stage 1 and 2 right now. We've got our Islamic banks (our halal butchers). We've got some mainstream banks offering Islamic products (the Tesco halal aisle).

From a Cur8 perspective, we're probably just about to hit Stage 2 properly, and Stage 3 will come faster than people think.

Why?

Demographics. Half of British Muslims are under 25. They don't want to separate anything. They want excellence that happens to be Sharia-compliant.

The winners won't be the ones shouting "Islamic Finance" the loudest. They'll be the ones building genuinely better financial products that happen to have that tick of compliance.

Just like that restaurant on your high street. You go there because the food's brilliant. The halal certificate on the wall? That's just reassurance, not the reason.

We're not building Islamic finance anymore. We're building finance that Muslims (and frankly everyone else) can actually use.

The genie's out of the bottle on this one.

1 week ago | [YT] | 167

IFG

Next time you give charity, remind yourself that you're "lending" to Allah and invest confidently, knowing He promises to multiply it beyond measure. 🤲

For our free Quranic eBook, please sign up here: www.islamicfinanceguru.com/resources/30-quranic-le…

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1 week ago | [YT] | 319

IFG

Is Pfida a genuine halal alternative to mortgages?

Watch here: https://youtu.be/cev_dCshfO0

#sharedownership #halal #mortgage

1 week ago | [YT] | 24

IFG

I know people are going around saying "a house is not an investment" but the maths says this is rubbish. I knew an elderly man with four children. Forty years ago, he bought four London homes on a mortgage, one for each child. Back then the whole lot cost around £100,000:

Today, that portfolio is worth millions.

Each child lives in their own London home:

None of them paid rent or a mortgage.

That one decision has transformed not just his life, but the lives of his children and grandchildren.

It’s possibly the single biggest financial move you can make: getting on the housing ladder.

Because while rent is money that never comes back, mortgage payments gradually build you equity.

Fast-forward a few decades, and you’re sitting on an asset that has likely appreciated massively, while your monthly payments are gone or far smaller than rent.

It’s not always easy, and there are trade-offs to make, but it’s worth thinking deeply about.

BTW - I am absolutely not encouraging conventional mortgages - maybe you could make an argument for necessity 40 years ago - but today we have Islamic mortgages and should use those.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 87

IFG

They invested in Apple before the iPhone existed. They've invested in Islamic Finance Guru. Now they manage nearly $10bn as the West's largest Islamic asset manager.

Saturna Capital doesn't make noise. They make money.

I recently visited their offices in Bellingham, Washington State (they're shareholders in Islamic Finance Guru). What I discovered was a masterclass in quiet excellence.

Four things set them apart:

1. Ruthless focus.

They do value investing for long-term growth in public markets. That's it. No crypto ventures. No side hustles. No FOMO-driven pivots. Just deep, patient, analytical investing.

2. They move like a startup.

For a $10bn manager, they're surprisingly nimble. New trend emerges? They're already analyzing it while others are still scheduling meetings about meetings.

3. Nobody leaves.

The team is sticky, well-incentivised, and loyal. When your receptionist has been there 15 years and your analysts turn down Silicon Valley offers, you know the culture is special.

4. They still hustle.

After decades at the top, you'd expect cruise control. Instead, the team is constantly travelling, meeting companies, turning over rocks. Success hasn't made them soft.

This is what struck me most: They've been doing halal investing since before it was a hashtag. No compromise. Just world-class performance that happens to be Shariah-compliant.

While everyone else is trying to be the "Uber of Islamic Finance," Saturna just quietly compounds wealth for Muslim families globally.

Sometimes the best strategy isn't disruption. It's excellence, repeated daily, for decades.

P.S. The Bellingham views alone are worth the visit!

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- Ibrahim

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 125

IFG

Uthman ibn Affan (RA) was one of the wealthiest men of his time. Many of us remember his legendary charity giving. But very few of us actually understand and appreciate the hidden business secrets behind how he actually amassed this enormous wealth in the first place.

Here are 4 lessons from his playbook that still hold true today, rooted in strategy, generosity and integrity:

1. Early investments with a long-term vision

Uthman (RA) put his wealth into projects that strengthened the community and outlived him, like the well of Rumah so Muslims could have free access to water.

His generosity built trust and goodwill. In return, doors opened for him in business. The same applies today: look after your community first, and the profits will follow.

Contrast that with today’s politics, where leaders like Keir Starmer are accused of short-termism and quick wins to secure votes rather than building lasting trust. The difference is vision: Uthman’s legacy is still talked about 1,400 years later.

2. Always Acting with Integrity

Uthman (RA)’s commitment to ethical business practices was a central part of his success.

He never engaged in exploitative or dishonest trade. Everyone reflects on the purchases of the well of Rumah but his purchase wasn’t the only exemplary act. It was also in his management of it.

He didn’t just decide to sell the water from the well, even though he could have. He made the honourable decision to make it available for the community for free without exploiting people’s desperate need for water.

This commitment to fair trade and integrity, and proper management, not only ensured his wealth but also earned him the constant respect of those around him, opening yet more doors for business opportunities for all those who wished to partner with him.

3. Strategic networking and alliances

Uthman knew that your net worth is tied to your network. He supported struggling merchants with loans and leniency, and when opportunities came, they naturally turned to him first. Strong relationships compound in value just like investments.

4. Diversification and risk management

His wealth wasn’t tied to one trade. He spread his investments across land, real estate, and other ventures, giving him stability and resilience. A timeless reminder not to put all our eggs in one basket.

Uthman ibn Affan (RA) built his wealth on principles that outlasted empires: vision, integrity, and service to others. Qualities we rarely see in today’s headlines.

That is why his legacy still matters. Because wealth without values crumbles, but wealth rooted in trust and generosity endures.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 146