Question:

I was planning for investment, one agent from Singapore recommended this plan HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund. He told me I need to invest 300 sgd (for 15 years) or 500 sgd (for 10 years). He told this programme is completely shariah compliance. I have attached the document provided him.

If this is not halal, kindly please suggest better alternatives other than keeping the money in bank.

Answer:

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund aims to track the Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Titans 100 Index of the 100 largest global stocks that comply with Islamic investment guidelines.[1] The DJIM Indices are monitored by a Sharīʿah Board comprised of reputable scholars including Muftī Taqī ʿUthmānī (حفظه الله). The HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund also has a Sharīʿah Committee comprised of Dr. Nizam Yaquby and Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari, who are also both members of DJIM’s Sharīʿah Board.[2]

The criteria utilized by the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund are Sharīʿah compliant in theory. We cannot comment on the actual implementation of the procedure.

And Allāh Taʿālā Knows Best

Muftī Mohammed Wahaajuddin
Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA

Checked and Approved by:

Muftī Faisal bin Abdul Hamīd al-Mahmūdī
Darul Iftaa Canada (www.fatwa.ca)

[1] https://www.assetmanagement.hsbc.co.uk/en/institutional-investor/capabilities/equities/islamic-global-eq-index-fund

[2] https://www.fpinternational.sg/documents/HSBC_r217_afr.pdf