Shariah Capital draws on the top tiers of internationally recognised Shariah scholars to form separate Shariah boards for each of its projects. This means Shariah scholars work on projects best suited to the particular areas of their expertise.

This process, says Shariah Capital, ensures the right scholars develop, certify and supervise the financial products and services endorsed by the company.

The scholars on the Al Safi Shariah supervisory baord is made up of leading scholars in Islamic finance drawn from Bahrain, Malaysia, the US and UAE.

Sheikh Nizam Yaquby (Bahrain), chairman
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby has an advanced degree in Economics and Comparative Religion from McGill University and has authored numerous fatwa related to innovative Shariah-compliant financial products. Sheikh Nizam is internationally known as one of the leading scholars of modern Islamic finance.

He serves on the Shariah supervisory boards of over 40 financial institutions worldwide, including several key memberships on the boards of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes and the Auditing and Accounting Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). 

Sheikh Nizam is an advisor to a number of banks and financial institutions including National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Investcorp, Gulf Finance House, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Islamic Bank of Britain and European Islamic Investment Bank. He is frequently called upon to consult with governmental and regulatory authorities on issues related to Islamic finance

Having taught tafsir, hadith and fiqh in Bahrain since 1976, Sheikh Nizam contributes original research on many aspects of modern Islamic finance and is the author of several articles and publications published in English and Arabic. He recently participated in the development and certification of several international sukuk issues.

Dr Mohd Daud Bakar (Malaysia)
Dr Mohd Daud Bakar is the president/CEO of the International Institute of Islamic Finance and Amanie Business Solutions, a consulting company. He is also the chairman of the central Shariah advisory council of the Central Bank of Malaysia and a member of the Shariah advisory council of the Malaysian Securities and Exchange Commission. He is considered the leading authority on Islamic legal theory and Islamic finance in Malaysia.

A former associate professor in Islamic law and deputy rector, student affairs and disciplines, at the International Islamic University Malaysia, his areas of specialisation include Islamic legal theory, Islamic banking and finance and Islamic law of zakat.

Dr Daud is a member of a number of international Shariah supervisory boards including the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, HSBC (Malaysia), Unicorn Investment Bank (Bahrain), BNP Paribas, Oasis Asset Management, the Japan Bank for International Co-operation, the Shariah board of AAOIFI and others.

Dr Mohammad Abdul Rahim Sultan Al Olama (UAE)
Dr Mohammad Abdul Rahim Sultan Al Olama is a member of the faculty of Shariah at UAE University and a member of the fatwa committee at the department of religious and charitable affairs in Dubai. In addition, he is a member of the board of AAOIFI and serves as a member of the Shariah boards of Mawarid Finance, Manazel Real Estate, Al Mada’in Finance and others.

Dr Mohammad has written extensively on modern Islamic finance and has presented numerous research papers at industry conferences. He holds a PhD in Islamic law from Umm Al Qurra University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo (US), non-voting executive representative
Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, the chief Shariah officer at Shariah Capital, is a scholar of Islamic transactional law. He is the author of Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks, the first English/Arabic reference on the fatwas issued by Shariah boards. Shaykh Yusuf also wrote the introduction to Islamic Bonds, the 2003 book that introduced sukuk. His work has appeared in academic and industry journals and as chapters in books.

Shaykh Yusuf was a special consultant to the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank on their joint project for the Islamic Financial Services Board. He is a member of the Council of Scholars, ISRA, Central Bank of Malaysia and a member of the governing council of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Malaysia. Recently, Shaykh Yusuf was appointed a member of AAOIFI’s Shariah board.