SHARIA SUPERVISORY BOARD

An independent body, Guidance’s Sharia Supervisory Board is comprised of distinguished scholars from around the world. The Sharia Board actively participates in developing and overseeing the company’s products. It is responsible for certifying every product to ensure strict adherence to the principles of Sharia.

The Board includes Sharia scholars who are among the world’s leading experts in the Islamic law of financial transactions.  They are all internationally recognized authorities and serve on the Sharia boards of many of the world’s leading Islamic banks and financial institutions. They are active in teaching and research, and have authored many books and articles.

Chairman
Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani – Pakistan

Members
Shaykh Abdul-Sattar Abu-Ghuddah – Syria
Shaykh Nizam Yaquby – Bahrain
Dr. Mohamad Daud Bakar – Malaysia
Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo – United States
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani - Pakistan

Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani.   Justice Usmani has been a member of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1982.  Presently, he is Vice President of Dar Al Uloom Karachi.  Formerly, he was the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, Jeddah.  He is also Chairman of the Shari’ah Supervisory Boards of Guidance Financial Group, USA; Saudi American Bank, Jeddah; and Citi Islamic Investment Bank, Bahrain; Vice Chairman of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank; and member of the Shari’ah Supervisory Boards of Al-Baraka Group, Jeddah; First Islamic Investment Bank, Bahrain; and the Islamic Unit of the United Bank of Kuwait, among others. Justice Usmani holds Alimiyyah and Takhassus degrees from Darul Uloom, Karachi, an M.A. degree from Punjab University and an LLB from Karachi University.

Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah.   Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah is a member of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board of Guidance Financial Group.  He is also a director of the Department of Financial Instruments at Al-Baraka Investment & Development Company, a member of its Shari’ah Supervisory Board and Shari’ah Advisor to the parent company, Dallah Al-Baraka Group.  He is an active member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, Jeddah and the Accounting and Auditing Standards Boards of Islamic Financial Institutions. He has taught Fiqh and Islamic studies in Riyadh and Kuwait.  From 1982-1990 he was a member of the Fatwa Board in the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Kuwait.  He formerly lectured in the Faculty of Law and Shari’ah at Kuwait University. Dr. Abu Ghuddah obtained BA degrees in Islamic Shari’ah and in Law from Damascus University.  He then went on to earn his MA in Shari’ah and Hadith and his Ph.D. in Shari’ah and Comparative Fiqh from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

Shaykh Nizam Yaquby.   Shaykh Nizam Yaquby has contributed important original research on many aspects of modern Islamic finance, and is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the field. He is a member of the Shari’ah supervisory boards for several Islamic financial institutions, including Guidance Financial Group, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.  Since 1976, he has taught tafsir, hadith and fiqh in Bahrain. He is also the author of several articles and publications on Islamic finance and other sciences in English and Arabic. Shaykh Yaquby received his M.Sc. in Finance from McGill University in Montreal.  He was educated in the classical Shari’ah sciences in his native Bahrain and in Makkah.

Dr. Mohamad Daud Bakar.   Dr. Mohamad Daud Bakar is an Associate Professor in Islamic Law and the Deputy Rector, Student Affairs and Discipline, at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. His areas of specialization include Islamic Legal Theory, Islamic Banking and Finance, Islamic Law of Zakah and Islamic Medical Law. Besides his teaching and research assignments, Dr. Mohamad Daud provides Shari’ah consultancy, structuring and advisory services to various Islamic financial institutions.  Dr. Mohamad Daud is currently a Shari’ah Advisor to Guidance Financial Group and a member of the Shari’ah supervisory board of esteemed organisations such as the Securities Commission of Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, Takaful Nasional Berhad, HSBC (Malaysia), Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) in Bahrain, Keppel Insurance (Takaful) Ltd of Singapore, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and the Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd. Dr. Mohamad Daud obtained his Bachelor of Shari'ah from the University of Kuwait in 1988 and was later conferred with a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo.   Shaykh DeLorenzo is considered a leading authority on Islamic finance in the United States. He has translated over twenty books from Arabic, Persian, and Urdu for publication, including a three-volume Compendium of Legal Rulings on the Operations of Islamic Banks.  Shaykh DeLorenzo has also been a pioneer in internet education with a course entitled  “Principles of Islamic Investing.” He is a member of Shari’ah boards of several Islamic financial institutions in the United States and abroad, including Dow Jones Islamic Markets and Guidance Financial Group.  Shaykh DeLorenzo has served as secretary of the Fiqh Council of North America and was also an advisor on Islamic education to the government of Pakistan. Following a university education in the United States, Shaykh DeLorenzo studied the classical Shari’ah Sciences with scholars in Pakistan.

Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani.   Dr. Usmani has been teaching Islamic sciences for the past fifteen years in Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi and has published several books and articles, including Meezan Bank’s Guide to Islamic Banking. Dr. Usmani also serves as a Sharia Supervisory Board Member / Sharia Advisor to: State Bank of Pakistan, HSBC Amanah Finance, Credit Suisse, Lloyds TSB, Meezan Bank, Pak Kuwait Takaful Co and others. Dr. Usmani holds LLB, M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Islamic Finance from Karachi University as well as alimiyyah and takhassus degrees in Islamic Jurisprudence from Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi.