Religious authorities yesterday urged Muslims to keep away from investment schemes that are against Islamic principles.

Imams in their Friday sermon said financial schemes that do not meet the conditions and principles of buying and selling in Islam are Haram (unlawful).

Business products that are dubious and contain doubtful elements are also unlawful, both under state and religious, laws, are also unlawful, they added.

"As we know, get-rich-quick schemes are not new. These have been appearing frequently and will continue to do so as a result of certain individuals' or groups' plans to commit financial fraud." The sermon assumes significance in the backdrop of the resurfacing of two investment scams that believed to have trapped Bruneians in recent weeks.

Malaysian media reported in May this year that Selangor police arrested five men believed to be the operators of a foreign exchange investment cheating scheme involving about 1,000 victims including Bruneians with losses amounting to over RM5 million. Meanwhile in July, it was reported that Bruneian investors were believed to be among the hundreds of thousands of victims of a get-rich-quick investment scheme that was recently busted in Malaysia.

The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) unearthed the scam after questioning 14 people who were arrested for allegedly behind the 'hIghway Group' that recruited 500,000 investors with promises of huge dividends.

"Such investments are clearly against state laws and even more so against the laws of Syar'ie'. They occur perhaps due to negligence and greed among those who desire to make easy and quick wealth and indulge in luxuries without looking at the lawfulness of the income obtained, Imams said. "Hence, it is sinful to either directly or indirectly involve in such investment activities. To prevent such schemes from flourishing, it is very important for us to determine that businesses in the form of investments are registered and legally approved by the authorities so as to protect public interest, especially that of the Muslim Ummah, so that the income obtained is Halal and blessed by Allah the Almighty.

"Those who perpetrate these financial frauds are very sly and will always look for ways to convince others that their business is profitable, for example, by utilising the media such as the Internet, Facebook and WhatsApp, promising various luxuries, wealth, vast income and benefits.

"We need to be careful and to always check and refer to the authorities when we get any kind of offer or information on such schemes," Imams urged.

"It is sad to find that there are people within the Muslim community who have been influenced and are involved in such fraudulent schemes without considering whether the income obtained is Halal or otherwise. What is even more worrying is that this income is then spent on maintenance of one's family including ensuring provisions for wife, children as well as food, clothing and housing," they noted.

Financial investment schemes that do not meet the conditions and principles of buying and selling in Islam have some common traits such as unclear transaction contract, and the business products involved in these schemes may be doubtful in terms of legality, both under state and religious laws, and contain doubtful elements, making them Haram.

In addition, jahalah (unknown or insufficient information) and gharar (uncertainty) are elements of fraud and those will definitely be contrary to Syar'ie' and hence sinful if carried out. Elements ofjahalah occur when the identity, of the scheme's fund or the company's manager is not immediately known and there is no licence to prove their existence and accountability. Buying, selling and investing without knowing the identity of the manager may render the contract void as one of the conditions validating it

As Muslims, we should be cautious about any form of investment scheme offers that are suspicious and that promise significant returns in a short time. In fact, we cannot be sure of the real aim of such investments, hence we should try our best not to get involved in illegal investment activities such asgambling, prostitution, bribery and so on, they said.

In order to avoid falling prey to financial fraud, we should always be wary and be guided by the rulings of Syar'ie' as well as abide by the laws of the country. Therefore, any scheme that is offered to the public in this country should be referred to the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) first, Imams concluded.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]