About this area

Sharia compliance and UAE-court enforceability are not the same conversation, and a structure that satisfies one without the other will eventually fail at both.

Recent Islamic-finance work includes a DIFC mudaraba financing structure, a final mudaraba documentation pack for a foundation-administered wealth structure (coordinated with Ocorian), and a substantial Sharia-compliance advisory engagement covering DIB and EM-ISSC requirements on customer qabd rights and independent gold delivery, DFSA trust administration analysis, foundation verification-only structures, and EM-ISSC communication strategy.

We have also advised on a gold-monetisation structure built around deferred sale-purchase documentation, a substance-over-form assessment under the Finance Lease Law (Federal Law No. 8/2018), a Master Purchase Facilitation Agreement, and the SCA collective-investment-scheme analysis that determined whether the underlying instrument fell inside or outside the regulated perimeter.

Sharia-compliance and UAE-court enforceability are not the same conversation — a structure that satisfies one without the other will fail at both.

— Pillar I · Corporate & Transactions

Our work coordinates with Sharia supervisory boards, internal Sharia functions, and scholar engagement so that structuring questions are resolved without losing the commercial timeline — and so that the resulting documentation is something a UAE court or DIFC court can actually enforce.

The work, in detail

Four matter types we handle in islamic finance.

Wholesale and bespoke financing structures.

Sharia-compliant facility documentation across mudaraba, murabaha, ijara, wakala, and hybrid structures — including DIFC mudaraba financing arrangements and foundation-administered mudaraba documentation packs coordinated with offshore administrators.

Sharia-compliant digital and commodity assets.

Advisory on Sharia-compliant gold and digital-asset structures — deferred sale-purchase documentation, Master Purchase Facilitation Agreements, ADGM digital-depository feasibility, and DFSA and DIB engagement on customer qabd rights, independent delivery obligations, and trust administration.

Sukuk and structured instruments.

Issuance programmes and bespoke structured-instrument documentation for sukuk and Sharia-compliant securitisations — including the prospectus terms, security arrangements, and SCA collective-investment-scheme perimeter analysis that determine regulated-product status.

Sharia governance and scholar engagement.

Documentation aligned with fatwa requirements and the practical realities of ongoing Sharia audit. We coordinate scholar engagement (including EM-ISSC communication strategy and DIB Sharia-board interactions) so that structuring questions are resolved before the transaction is in execution rather than during it.

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Discuss an islamic finance matter with us.

We're available to assess your position and advise on the most effective approach. Initial conversations are always without obligation.