As cryptocurrency gains prominence in conventional global finance, it remains a controversial investment both for some government, organsations and individuals. While countries like Germany recognized cryptocurrency, the likes of the United States of America believes it is too risky and volatile to be incorporated to conventional financial market.
Today, Islam scholars in Nigeria are divided on trading on cryptocurrency. The antagonists of cryptocurrency argue that the trade is against the tenet of Islam since it involves trading that results to usury.
Sheik Yakub Kazeem advised that clerics should rather seek knowledge and understanding on the operations of cryptocurrencies before taking position on whether it is halal or haram. He lamented that Islamic clerics do not seek knowledge outside the context of the Holy Quran, which he said the Holy Prophet encouraged.
Emphasizing that disruption is part of human nature and advancement he said, “as far as human beings are concerned, there will always be disruption at every point in time. Those who understand the Holy Quran having understand the nature of such disruption would go ahead to seek the knowledge.”
He said God is the author of every disruption. He argued that anyone who would declare bitcoin as haram must have deep knowledge of Blockchain and its operations.
He advised that any Muslim faithful who wants to know more about cryptocurrency should seek knowledge on how it work to gain more in-depth knowledge. He said wealth creation is a deliberate decision. “Wealth creation brings about innovation that we have around us today. The technological breakthroughs are all source of wealth creation.
According to a report by Aims, bitcoin halal or bitcoin haram is a concept that would not be resolved in a hurry nor would it be resolved easily. Aims argued that some aspects and features of cryptocurrency are considered halal but it becomes haram when it is used purposely for gambling or related acts which would make it haram.
Meanwhile Khairani Noordini in his report spoke to Dr. Ziyaad Mahomed, an associate Dean of Executive Education and e-learning at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), who advised that Muslim investors must understand the basic concept of cryptocurrency.
“Cryptocurrencies are recognized as a medium of exchange within a community and are identified as tokens with digital signatures, instead of banknotes or physical coins. It requires some effort to solve the ‘crypto’ or a puzzle to identify the digital signature.
It is really easy to understand the legitimacy and sustainability of a cryptocurrency is based on the legitimacy of the puzzle, then anyone can make currencies and sell them, which have happened before in Islamic history.”
He concluded that from a sharia perspective, the ultimate goal is leveraging new technologies to benefit all parties in a legitimate, halal manner. This he sees as the future of cryptocurrencies.
