- You helped shape south Africa’s first Shariah-compliant Islamic estate and wealth planning platform at Capital What gap in the market did you identify that drove the creation of Tazkiya?
Capital Legacy was the company that saw a gap in the South African Market, most clients wanted a Shariah compliant Will but did not want to take out a policy that was not shariah compliant as well.
With close to four million Muslims in South Africa that contribute about 14 percent of the South African GDP showed a massive gap in the market.
Tazkiya was officially launched in 2021 as the first Takaful life cover and estate plan for Muslims.
- How do you explain the concept of Islamic estate planning to a Muslim client who has never considered it before and is used to conventional wills?
Theres so much that tradition that goes into with estate planning that’s steeped in the sunnah. The core of which is based on the ruled of inheritance in Surah Nisa, added to that is that we know debts has to be paid and the family provided for.
Within a South African context there many fees and taxes that has to be paid while winding up an estate, these fees and taxes can at times cause families to lose their assets, having Tazkiya to plan with all these in mind allows families to hold on to assets without needing to liquidate.
- You transitioned from Internal Sales Consultant at Al Baraka Bank to leading Tazkiya at Capital Legacy. How did your experience in Islamic banking sales prepare you for this more specialized role in wealth planning?
This was an interesting journey, as a consultant at Albaraka bank I was able to understand the various forms of finance and how its implemented. Moving to Tazkiya, especially since takaful was not well known to the general public, I was able to articulate to clients the differences of these financial models and in what ways takaful is different to others. It also helped be a better sales person and identify the needs of clients.
- What is the single biggest misconception South African Muslims have about Islamic estate planning, and how do you address it during client conversations?
There are a few, the first is the importance of a shariah Will and why we as Muslims must adhere to the Shariah.
The second is that Islamic finance is not very well understood in the market, especially something new such as Takaful life products. We always go back to the Hadith of the Ashari tribe:
The Hadith: Prophet Muhammad said: “When the people of Ashari tribe ran short of food during the holy battles, or the food of their families in Medina ran short, they would collect all their remaining food in one sheet and then distribute it among themselves equally by measuring it with a bowl. So, these people are from me, and I am from them.” (Source: Sahih al-Bukhari)
As this forms the core of Takaful, we show how we have built products using this as the hadith.
There are various other aspects such as how we utalise a waqf to ensure that they can leave amounts of money for their families without over stepping any of the laws of the shariah.
- You describe yourself as passionate about building ethical, Shariah-aligned solutions. How do you balance commercial targets with ensuring every product truly serves the client’s long-term benefit?
For me commercial success and ethical responsibilities don’t compete. To build a sustainable company both must be sound. Sustainable growth comes from creating genuine value for clients. Long term growth is more important than short term profits.
- South Africa has a common law legal system that governs wills and estates. How do you ensure that a Shariah-compliant estate plan is legally enforceable in South African courts?
Due to South Africa’s legal system a person can choose how their estate is distributed and to whom. We utilize this to ensure that all Islamic Wills are legally accepted, our Wills do have all the requirements for making a Will legally accepted according to South African law, one of the requirements is that we provide a distribution certificate from an authorized religious body.
As for the Takaful product, all our products are licensed by authorized financial product providers which allows Tazkiya to be fully within the legal framework.
- You have experience working in Germany as a Junior Editor. How does that international exposure influence your approach to client communication and product design today?
Working internationally allowed me to understand people with a different culture to me. As a Muslim Indian from South Africa, we have very different tendencies to those in Europe and I’d say especially Germans. What I did enjoy was the directness of the German people. Client communication is always about navigating their needs and fears, being direct usually helped me get through to them in the most honest way.
For product design that I had to learn and still am learning how to build products that are sustainable by reading what the market needs.
- Your RE5 certification is a regulatory requirement for financial advisors in South Africa. How does the FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority) view Shariah-compliant estate products, and is there any regulatory friction?
I wouldn’t say that there’s any friction, Islamic finance is growing sector of the South African economy and the need for more products is a requirement for this growth.
South Africa is known for its brilliance in developing financial products and has a world renown financial sector, this allows us to be innovative within the legal framework. For the most part all Shariah compliant products need to comply with regulations of the shariah as well as the South African legal framework.
- You completed certificates in Islamic Law and Finance as well as African Leadership. How do these two disciplines—Islamic finance and leadership—come together in your role at Tazkiya?
They are such complementary disciplines, Islamic finance provides us with solutions rooted in fairness, transparency, shared value and accountability and leadership is what brings these values to life be it in building a business or products.
Having an understanding of African leadership through the courses I did at the institute also allows for a vision of what we can achieve as Muslims in Africa.
- What advice would you give to a young Muslim professional who wants to enter the Islamic finance space in South Africa but doesn’t have a traditional banking or scholarship background?
After studying Islamic, I tried for years to get into the Islamic finance sector and finally got in with Albaraka Bank. With my move to Capital Legacy/ Tazkiya I found something I’m passionate about.
My advice is just to go in, I started as an internal sales consultant and built my way up, in SA there’s a growing need for Muslims to join the industry that can bring fresh idea’s to the market. It’s something that is needed. From what I see today in the Islamic finance sector, we haven’t reached half our potential of what this sector can become for both South Africa and Africa.