There is no single answer. Islamic scholars and fatwa bodies disagree on whether Bitcoin is halal, and the split has widened in 2026. On 10 June 2026, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and five other scholars at Darul Ifta, Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, ruled that cryptocurrency is not maal (recognised wealth) in Sharia, so purchases made with it are invalid. Other scholars and one national regulator's Shariah council have reached the opposite conclusion: Bitcoin can be lawful property, and trading it can be permissible under conditions. Which answer applies to you depends on the scholar or body you follow and on what you actually do with Bitcoin.
The newest development: the Karachi fatwa of June 2026
The fatwa is dated 24 Dhul Hijjah 1447 AH (10 June 2026). Dawn and Pakistan Today reported it on 10 July 2026. It was issued by Darul Ifta, Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, and signed by Mufti Taqi Usmani, a former judge of Pakistan's Federal Shariat Court, and five other scholars whom the reports do not name.
According to those reports:
- The question: whether books and online courses may be bought with cryptocurrency.
- The reasoning: the fatwa says that "according to research and expert opinion so far" crypto is not maal in Sharia. It describes crypto as "merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account", naming USDT among other tokens.
- The consequence: because the buyer paid with something that is not wealth, the buyer never became the owner. Books bought this way should be returned to the seller, and course files should be deleted.
The ruling is about whether crypto counts as property at all, not only about speculation. That makes it stricter than most earlier prohibitions, which focused on volatility and misuse.
The reaction
Pakistan now regulates virtual assets through the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA). Cointelegraph reports that PVARA operates under the Virtual Assets Act 2026, passed in March. Its chairman, Bilal bin Saqib, met Mufti Taqi Usmani after the ruling, around 11 July 2026. He did not dispute the fatwa. He argued that blockchains, stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets merit "careful technical assessment alongside rigorous Shariah examination, rather than being viewed through a single lens." ProPakistani reported that nobody said whether the ruling had changed after the meeting.
On 7 August 2026, Prof. Zahid Mughal of NUST published a critique on the Islamic Economics Project blog. He argued that bank balances and fiat money are also largely ledger entries, which the fatwa's own framework accepts as assets. He also separated two questions: whether something is maal, and whether it qualifies as currency. Concerns about gharar or harm, he wrote, bear on how property may be used, not on whether it is property.
The three questions behind every ruling
Every fatwa on Bitcoin turns on some mix of these:
- **Is it maal?** Lawful property has to be valued, ownable and transferable. If Bitcoin is not maal, as the Karachi fatwa holds, nothing else matters: you cannot validly buy, sell or pay with it. If it is maal, the remaining questions decide how you may use it.
- Gharar (excessive uncertainty). Critics point to price swings and unclear legal status. Supporters reply that gharar concerns uncertainty in the contract itself, such as not knowing what is being exchanged, not the market risk every asset carries.
- Riba and maysir (interest and gambling). Bitcoin pays no interest on its own. These concerns usually come from what is built on top of it: interest-bearing loans, lending products and short-term betting on price.
Some technical facts that matter to these debates, from bitcoin.org:
- Bitcoin is recorded on a shared public ledger, the blockchain.
- Transactions are signed with private keys and confirmed by mining.
- Supply is capped: "there will never be more than 21 million bitcoins."
Rulings and positions, oldest to newest
| Body or scholar | Date | Position | Stated basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diyanet (Turkey) | November 2017 | "Buying and selling virtual currencies is not compatible with religion at this time" | Speculative valuation, use in money laundering, no state audit or surveillance |
| Dar al-Ifta, Grand Mufti Shawki Allam (Egypt) | Reported 1–4 January 2018 | Forbidden | Risky and unregulated; could enable tax evasion, money laundering, fraud and corruption |
| Mufti Muhammad Abu Bakar, Blossom Finance working paper (Indonesia) | 10 April 2018 | "Bitcoin fully meets the definition of Islamic money under certain conditions" | Customary money where accepted; not permissible as money where national law forbids it; warns many token offerings likely involve gharar |
| International Islamic Fiqh Academy, Resolution 237 (8/24) | November 2019 | No final ruling; called for further research | A follow-up symposium in Jeddah (November 2021) postponed its recommendations |
| Shariah Advisory Council, Securities Commission Malaysia | July 2020 | "In principle, it is permissible to invest and trade in digital currencies and tokens on registered digital asset exchanges" | Announced as not yet final, with details to follow |
| Mufti Faraz Adam, Amanah Advisors (UK) | 27 February 2021 | Crypto-assets with lawful utility "can be deemed as Māl"; calling them universal currencies "may be premature" | Says screening each asset before investing "is absolutely essential" |
| Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Ijtima Ulama | 11 November 2021 | Haram as currency; as a commodity, not tradable unless it meets the requirements for sil'ah (tradable goods) and has an underlying asset and clear benefit | Gharar, dharar (harm), conflict with Indonesian currency law |
| Darul Ifta, Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi (Mufti Taqi Usmani and five others) | 10 June 2026 | Crypto is not maal; purchases with it are invalid | Crypto is "fictitious numbers in an account" |
Two things stand out. First, most prohibitions are dated and some are qualified: Turkey's says "at this time" and MUI's leaves room for assets that meet its commodity test. Second, AAOIFI, the body that sets Shariah standards for Islamic financial institutions, has not issued a final standard on cryptocurrency.
Which Bitcoin rulings apply to you?
Answer up to four questions to see which part of the scholarly debate covers your situation.
Does the scholar, fatwa council or Shariah board you follow treat crypto as maal (recognised wealth)?
- No, for example the June 2026 Karachi fatwa → Crypto is not property on this view
- Yes, or yes under conditions → next question
- I don't know, or it has not ruled → Find your authority first
Do you want to pay for goods with Bitcoin in a country whose law bans crypto payments?
- Yes → National law decides this one
- No, or the law allows it → next question
What are you doing with Bitcoin?
- Buying outright with my own money and holding it → next question
- Borrowing at interest, leverage, futures or fixed-yield lending → The product raises riba and maysir questions
- Buying a token with no underlying use → Tokens without lawful use are excluded
Have your holdings stayed at or above nisab for one full lunar year?
- Yes → Zakat is due on this view
- No, or not yet → Holding is the case permissive views address
Under the Karachi fatwa of 10 June 2026, purchases made with crypto are invalid: books bought this way should be returned and course files deleted. The zakat question falls away because Bitcoin is not wealth.
The positions are not interchangeable. Rulings range from Turkey's November 2017 'not compatible with religion at this time' to Malaysia's July 2020 permission in principle; IIFA has no final ruling and AAOIFI has no final standard.
Blossom's paper says Bitcoin is not permissible as money where national law forbids it, as in Indonesia, where payments must be in rupiah. MUI also cites Indonesian currency law.
A permissive view of owning Bitcoin says nothing about what is built on it. Interest-bearing loans, deferred obligations and betting-like features bring the riba and maysir objections back into play, whatever you think of Bitcoin itself.
Mufti Faraz Adam's screening approach and MUI's sil'ah test both exclude assets that lack lawful utility, an underlying asset or clear benefit.
Zakat Foundation of America's guidance: 2.5% of market value on your zakat date, once holdings have stayed at or above nisab (85 grams of gold, or 595 grams of silver for bodies using the silver nisab) for one lunar year. Holdings worth $30,000 give $750.
Buying outright and holding is what the permissive positions cover. No zakat is due until a full lunar year at or above nisab; record your zakat date so you know when it starts.
This maps the positions the article reports; it is not a ruling, it cannot tell you which authority to follow, and it does not cover mining or tax law.
What changes the answer: your activity
Even scholars who accept Bitcoin as maal treat different activities differently. Here are the questions their reasoning raises, from least to most contested:
- Buying outright with your own money and holding it. This is the case the permissive positions address. It still fails for anyone who follows the Karachi fatwa or MUI's currency ruling.
- Paying for goods with Bitcoin. The Karachi fatwa targets exactly this. Blossom's paper says it is not permissible where national law bans crypto payments, as in Indonesia, where payments must be in rupiah.
- Borrowing to buy. If the loan carries interest, the riba objection applies to the loan whatever you think of Bitcoin.
- Leveraged products, futures and fixed-yield lending. These add interest, deferred obligations or betting-like features on top of the asset, which brings the riba and maysir questions back into play.
- Tokens with no underlying use. Both Mufti Faraz Adam's screening approach and MUI's sil'ah test exclude assets that lack lawful utility or benefit.
Zakat on Bitcoin
If you hold Bitcoin and accept it as wealth, Zakat Foundation of America's guidance treats it as zakatable:
- Threshold (nisab): the value of 85 grams of gold. Some bodies use the silver nisab (595 grams) instead, which gives a much lower threshold, so ask your zakat authority which one it uses.
- Holding period (hawl): one full lunar year at or above nisab.
- Rate: 2.5% of the market value on the day your zakat is due.
Example: if your holdings are worth $30,000 on your zakat date and stayed above nisab for the whole hawl, zakat due is $30,000 × 0.025 = $750. Check the current gold price to set your nisab. Fixed dollar figures go out of date.
If you follow the Karachi fatwa, Bitcoin is not wealth, and the zakat question falls away.
How to decide
- Pick your authority first. Find out which scholar, fatwa council or Shariah board you follow, and whether it has ruled on crypto. The positions above are not interchangeable.
- Check your country's law. Several rulings depend on it: MUI cites Indonesian currency law, and Blossom's paper treats national bans as decisive.
- Separate the asset from the product. A permissive view of owning Bitcoin says nothing about loans, leverage or yield products built on it.
- Record your zakat date if you hold Bitcoin and your scholar treats it as wealth.
The Karachi ruling is less than five months old, and the PVARA dialogue may still produce a revised view. This is not religious, legal or investment advice.
Last updated: 25 October 2026.
