Islamic Finance: A Leap Towards Digitalization
The global Islamic finance industry, valued at approximately $4 trillion, is undergoing rapid digital transformation as Islamic financial institutions adopt blockchain technology to enhance transparency and Sharia compliance. The Islamic banking sector is leading this wave, using smart contracts to automate murabaha and musharaka contracts, reducing costs and increasing trust.
Global Trade and Halal Supply Chains
Halal trade relies on tracking products from source to consumer. Blockchain provides an immutable ledger ensuring halal products remain segregated and uncontaminated. The halal food and beverage sector, exceeding $2 trillion, benefits from this technology to build trust among the 1.9 billion Muslim consumers.
Public Finance and Digital Zakat
Governments and charitable organizations use blockchain to collect and distribute zakat and sadaqah transparently. This technology tracks donations from donors to beneficiaries, ensuring funds reach rightful recipients without intermediary or gharar. Some countries have started issuing digital sukuk on blockchain for public project financing.
Real Estate and Islamic Property Finance
The real estate sector is transforming using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to represent ownership shares, enabling crowdfunding under Islamic finance principles. Ijarah wa iqtina contracts are programmed as smart contracts, providing transparent payment and lease terms while protecting rights of both seller and buyer.
How Qist Implements This
Qist is a decentralized Islamic finance platform on Base, where the seller owns the asset and the user pays in USDC, prohibiting riba and gharar. Surplus is returned at contract end, with a 3-day grace period. The contract is open-source and verified on BaseScan, with only a 2% fee. Users can finance real assets like real estate or halal commodities with full transparency, aligning with this growth roadmap.
