I thought finding halal stocks would be simple.
I was wrong.
Fourteen years ago, I had what many would call a dream job. I was an Equity Research Analyst, spending my days analyzing stocks, financial statements, and investment opportunities.
But as a practicing Muslim and investor, I kept asking myself:
Are the stocks I’m investing in truly halal?
At first, I assumed I could just Google it, find a clear list, and invest with confidence.
But the more I searched, the more frustrated I became.
One website said the stock was halal. Another said it wasn’t. Some lists were outdated. Others had no explanation.
I needed clarity, so I turned to financial advisors.
“Can you guide me on halal investing?”
Most had never even heard of it. Some pointed me toward ESG funds, thinking ethical investing was the same. Others dismissed it altogether.
That’s when it hit me.
If even the experts didn’t have answers, how were millions of Muslims supposed to navigate this?
I decided to figure it out myself.
I started manually analyzing financial statements, revenue streams, and debt ratios. But the deeper I went, the more complicated it became.
Some companies’ revenue was 99% halal (Shariah-compliant) but included a small portion of interest-based income. Did that make the entire investment haram? Others were halal today, but what if they took on excessive debt next quarter? Where do we draw the line? How much debt is too much?
What percentage of non-halal revenue is acceptable?
Even with my finance background, I couldn’t find a clear answer.
I kept asking myself: Why hasn’t anyone built a truly Shariah-compliant investment platform?
And then I realized…
I had to build it myself.
I knew this would take more than just an idea. It required knowledge, experience, and capital.
Knowledge – I pursued an MBA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned my CFA designation.
Experience – I worked for over seven years at Wells Fargo Securities, helping build trading platforms.
Capital – I invested $250,000 of my own savings—everything I had—to launch Musaffa in 2020.
I cashed out my 401(k), sold my apartment, and even my second car—because I believed in this mission.
From day one, Musaffa was built for the community, by the community.
Today, we’ve raised $4.3M from 630+ community members across 50 countries.
And now, as we prepare to launch our Shariah-compliant trading platform, we are raising another $5M to take this mission to the next level.
I started Musaffa because I lived this struggle firsthand.
And I know I wasn’t the only one.
So many of us want to grow our wealth, provide for our families, and build our futures — but we want to do it in a way that honors our faith. We want peace of mind, knowing that our earnings are not only smart, but pure.
Musaffa was born from that need. Not just to make investing halal, but to make it understandable, accessible, and rooted in trust.
This journey has taken sacrifice, patience, and a lot of du’a. But if it means helping even one person invest with confidence and without compromise, then every step has been worth it.
In the end, this isn’t just a platform. It’s a shared mission — to build a better financial future for our ummah, with integrity and ihsan.
And insha’Allah, this is only the beginning.
Jazakum Allahu khair for being part of it.
