Is Bitcoin Halal? Bitcoin fatwa from Saudi Arabia

Many Muslims worldwide want to know if the income made from Bitcoin is Halal. A scholar from Saudi Arabia has issued a fatwa on Bitcoin, which is given below.

Assim al-Hakeem, a Jeddah-based cleric, surprised everyone with his fatwa about cryptocurrency.  In his program ‘Ask Zaad,’ Assim al-Hakeem talked about cryptocurrencies and said that Bitcoin is not Halal under Islamic Law.

Why is it not Halal?

In his Fatwa issued by a scholar from Saudi Arabia, Assim al-Hakeem said that there are various reasons for Bitcoin to be prohibited;

1- The first and foremost is the currency’s anonymity. The money is not supervised, and we don’t know where it is used. This means it could be used for illegal purposes like money laundering, drug money, etc.

2- It has a speculative element as people are not keeping Bitcoin as a currency but as a tool to make more money when others buy it. In other words, you would be making money at the cost of someone losing it, which is a pure form of gambling and prohibited in Islam.

3- Al-Hakeem said that bitcoin has a lot of uncertainties, like security and sustainability. The currency’s security is also questionable, making such a significant investment vulnerable. The Islamic way of earning money, indeed, is not based upon such factors that the bitcoin possesses.

Because of these reasons, Turkey’s top religious body said cryptocurrency is incompatible with Islam.

Bitcoin Price Today

As of today, Monday, Rabiʻ II 15, 1445 AH / October 30th, 2023, the currency started to trade at 34,588.30USD or129,552.39SAR or 126,842.76AED.  To check the daily rate, click here