Sukuk

Sukuk (Arabic: صكوك‎, plural of صك Sakk, "legal instrument, deed, check") is the Arabic name for financial certificates, but commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) as "securities of equal denomination representing individual ownership interests in a portfolio of eligible existing or future assets." The Fiqh academy of the OIC legitimized the use of sukuk in February 1988 Since fixed-income, interest-bearing bonds are not permissible in Sharia or Islamic law, Sukuk securities are structured to comply by not paying interest. This is generally done by involving a tangible asset in the investment. For example, by giving partial ownership of a property built by the investment company to the bond owner who collect the profit as rent, which is allowed under Islamic law. Upon expiration of the Sukuk, the rent payments cease.

HSBC estimates that as of 2009 there was $822bn Islamic finance debt outstanding in the world. According to the 2014 Global Islamic Finance Report, $1.813 trillion of assets are being managed in a sharia compliant manner.