This lecture is A MUST listen for Muslims pursuing Halal wealth.

We contacted IlmQuest to buy the CD, but never heard back from them. However, after a little googling found the lecture online.

CD Set: Let’s Buy a House Islamically, By Ghassan Barqawi

After a quick search online, the following result was found:
[disclaimer: We have no affiliation with the result pasted below]

Buying a home is a major dream for almost every family. However, it is a decision that goes well beyond finances. You want your home to reflect your values and your lifestyle. The biggest advantage to owning a house over renting an apartment is that your house belongs to you. It’s your home, and that’s a pretty big achievement in itself. This is why when a person is ready to buy a house, emotion can often get in the way of effective decision making. Not only can it hinder sound financial planning, but it can lead one into major sins. This CD Set is a guide to know what Islamic Finance really is, how one can understand the different terms used by various Islamic financial institutes, and how to make the best decision for your family in this life as well as the next. Shiekh Ghassan had the honor to study under the late scholar of Yemen, Shiekh Muqbil bin Haadi al-Waadi’ee, and earned an Ijaazah in Hadith from him. He has a Masters degree in Business and is an advisor who is able to give guidance in the field of Finance. He is also the founder of the Islamic Institution of Islamic Studies of Columbia, South Carolina. At present he is the Imam of the Islamic Center of Mobile, Alabama.

Source: P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News

JEDDAH: Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has assured a delegation of Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF) that he would soon discuss the feasibility of introducing an interest-free Islamic banking system in the country with RBI governor.

“Our talks with Mukherjee were very positive. He has taken note of the major points in our memorandum and promised to have detailed talks on the topic later. I am now very optimistic about Islamic banking in India after the talks,” said H. Abdur Raqeeb, general-secretary of ICIF who led the delegation.

Raqeeb said the finance minister had informed him that he would meet the RBI governor next week and that he would discuss the matter with him. “The minister also told me that he would be visiting Saudi Arabia shortly and would be available in the second week of November and then a meeting could be arranged for ICIF to interact with the secretaries and officials of the ministry’s banking department,” he added.

Raqeeb said the minister was impressed when informed that Islamic banking would benefit not only Muslims but also non-Muslims in the country. “About 40 percent of the clients of Islamic banks in Malaysia and 20 percent in Britain are non-Muslim,” he said. The Vatican has recommended Islamic finance because of its emphasis on ethical and socially responsible investments.

The delegation also briefed Mukherjee on the Kerala government’s decision to launch an Islamic investment company with a capital of Rs.10 billion following a feasibility study conducted by Ernst & Young. The company could be developed into a global Islamic bank at a later stage with RBI’s consent.

The Finance Minister went through the three-page ICIF memorandum and keenly read the recommendations of Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms. The Committee had advised the government to take measures to permit the delivery of interest-free finance on a larger scale, including through the banking system.

The delegation convinced the minister that the introduction of Islamic banking and finance would help India attract huge funds in investments from oil-rich Gulf countries. It will also encourage many Muslims, who avoid dealing with interest because of religious instructions, to invest their money.

“In India billions of rupees earned in interest are kept in suspended accounts, as believers do not claim it,” Raqeeb said quoting an RBI journal report. “The assets controlled by Muslims are estimated at $1.5 trillion and growing at 15 percent a year,” the journal said. In Kerala alone it is reported that this money could reach more than Rs 400 billion.

The delegation urged the Reserve Bank to allow Islamic banking/products through subsidiaries of banks and amend the BR Act/RBI Act by way of insertion of a separate chapter exclusively dealing with all aspects of Islamic banking business/products.

It also called for the setting up of Bharatiya Interest-Free Banking Company and a National Interest-Free Banking Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Indian Friends Circle in Riyadh said they were intending to present a similar memorandum to Mukherjee during his visit to Riyadh to consider Islamic banking as an alternate financial channel. “As an experiment a Shariah-compliant fund can be started at State Bank of India’s Jeddah branch,” the circle said in a letter to the minister.

“As Saudi Arabia has a large NRI base, of which many are followers of Islam and would like to invest their hard-earned money in financial schemes that are based on Islamic faith,” said Ahmed Ali, its president. “This wealth can be used to enhance the economy of India,” he said, adding that a copy of the letter has been presented to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6&section=0&article=127905&d=30&m=10&y=2009

Here is a new type of income: Making money from your Twitter followers or Facebook friends.

So how much your friends worth?

Well, according to IBM, 948 dollars.

In New York Times’ article, it mentioned that in October 2009, Twitter user John Chow made around $3,000 from ads income, while some celebrities can reach $10,000 by sending a single message.

Of course, as Muslims you have to be careful of ads that may not fit the Halal standard. That’s why we hope Muslims can form their own ads network. One attempt we started is HalalBuzz.com, where you can earn 33% commissions for referring ad buyers to HalalBuzz.

Five suggestions to save your Dollars:

1. Buy gold, silver, commodities, or even beneficial things that you can store (stable food)
2. Invest in Japanese Yen or Chinese Yan
3. Invest in growth markets, like China or farming in Brazil
4. Invest in practical education
5. And the most wise move is: Invest it with Allah

Related Links:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-demise-of-the-dollar-1798175.html

I was reading about the Untouchables and caste system in India and it came to my mind the parallel caste system that we have in our “modern” industrial society, from the school system to corporate job title definitions.

Many Muslim parents have defined/dictated a set of study fields and occupations for their children. These choices (or restrictions) not only limit the potentials of their children but also lead to a narrow view to Allah’s Rizq (provision).

As if we have no future, unless we took that haram student loan, or bought properties using haram mortgages. As if our Rizq only comes during Jumaah prayer or only by working in haram businesses or jobs.

We, the caste members of the modern economic caste system, are far more outrageous than the Untouchables, because often time we lock ourselves into these “casted” job even that we can escape from them.

May Allah liberate us from being slaves to jobs or money.

Related Readings:

If you are currently locked in a corporate caste system. Read this book, Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, it may liberate you.

As Muslims, we know the seriousness of having a halal income and avoiding haram ones. However, there are tons of temptations and so called Sharia-compliant investment calling us to muddle with companies that deal with haram or earn haram income.

The return of those investment may look attractive to you, but in reality you are losing in this life and the hereafter.

يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا

He [Shaitan (Satan)] makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaitan’s (Satan) promises are nothing but deceptions. (An-Nisa 4:120)

Here is an excerpt of NY Times Op-Ed of Paul Krugman

Last week the Federal Reserve released the results of the latest Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial report on the assets and liabilities of American households. The bottom line is that there has been basically no wealth creation at all since the turn of the millennium: the net worth of the average American household, adjusted for inflation, is lower now than it was in 2001.

At one level this should come as no surprise. For most of the last decade America was a nation of borrowers and spenders, not savers. The personal savings rate dropped from 9 percent in the 1980s to 5 percent in the 1990s, to just 0.6 percent from 2005 to 2007, and household debt grew much faster than personal income. Why should we have expected our net worth to go up?

Here you can see the “growth” graph of Dow since 1966.

May Allah grant us Halal bucks

HalalBucks.com offers professional training and consultation for small businesses, from marketing to strategic thinking.