Bitcoin coin illustrating the Pakistan crypto Shariah debate among Islamic scholars. Photo by BeInCrypto
Can Muslims buy Bitcoin? Pakistan’s top Islamic scholars cannot agree on whether crypto follows Shariah, Islam’s legal code.
The fight matters far beyond the mosque. Pakistan is one of the world’s biggest crypto markets, and its government wants to lead in digital assets.
Why the Pakistan Crypto Shariah Debate Matters
On June 10, Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, a top religious school, issued a fatwa, or religious decree. Mufti Taqi Usmani and other senior scholars signed it.
The ruling bans purchases made with Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins, and other digital tokens. It calls them “merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account.”
That verdict carries weight. Mufti Usmani advises Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s second-largest lender by market value, on Shariah. In his view, crypto does not count as real wealth, or maal, under Islamic law.
His word has moved markets before. In 2008, he judged that up to 85% of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, failed Shariah tests. Global sukuk issuance then fell from $50 billion to about $15 billion in a year, though the financial crisis also weighed.
The audience this time is even bigger. Pakistan ranks third worldwide for grassroots crypto adoption, behind only India and the US, according to Chainalysis.
The 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index Top 20. Source: Chainalysis
The timing is awkward for the government. Pakistan has used crypto to build ties with US President Donald Trump, whose $1 billion crypto earnings drew scrutiny.
Pakistan’s finance ministry agreed in January to explore World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin.
PVARA chief Bilal bin Saqib, 35, told Bloomberg the crypto push rebuilt trust with Washington.
Analysts told Al Jazeera their stablecoin deal amounted to paying for Trump White House access.
Trump’s platform, World Liberty Financial, signed a non-binding pact in Pakistan this year.
India’s central bank, meanwhile, wants to go further at home by isolating banks from crypto altogether.
Other Muslim Clerics Say Crypto Is Halal, With Conditions
Saylani Welfare International Trust, one of Pakistan’s largest charities, disagrees. Its head mufti, Wasim Akhtar Al-Madani, issued a 37-page fatwa around 13 months ago.
He treats crypto as a recognized right, not conventional wealth. This week, Saylani held an emergency meeting in Karachi to stand by that ruling.
“The purchase and sale of crypto currency or digital assets may be considered permissible as a recognized right, provided that such transactions are not prohibited by the law of the country and do not expose an individual to unlawful humiliation, punishment or legal consequences,” Al-Madani cited the fatwa in a statement.
Saylani has sent it to the Council of Islamic Ideology and the State Bank of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s crypto regulator now sits in the middle. Bilal bin Saqib chairs the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA). Lawmakers created it by ordinance in July 2025 and locked it in by law this year. Saqib asked Jamia Darul Uloom to treat speculative tokens and asset-backed tokens differently.
He pointed to sukuk recorded on a blockchain, gold-backed tokens, and fully reserved stablecoins. Each gives its holder a claim on something real. The distinction matters as tokenized real-world assets pass $60 billion and stablecoins hit record monthly volumes.
“The central question the fatwa raises is whether a digital asset constitutes recognized wealth under Shariah. That is precisely the right question, and it is why these instruments must be examined individually,” Saqib made the remarks to Reuters.
He met Usmani last week and called the talk constructive.
Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital, said the fatwa could slow crypto adoption by banks. Trading volumes, however, look steady so far.
How Other Muslim Countries Rule on Crypto
Pakistan’s split mirrors a wider divide across the Muslim community. Major countries have reached opposite verdicts on the same question.
Malaysia sits at the permissive end. The Securities Commission’s Shariah Advisory Council resolved in 2020 that digital assets count as maal and may trade on registered exchanges.
The Gulf takes a pragmatic route. Dubai and Abu Dhabi license crypto firms under dedicated regulators and courts to Shariah-compliant products, with no blanket religious ruling.
Indonesia’s Ulema Council went the other way in 2021. It declared crypto haram as currency, allowing trade only in tokens with a clear underlying asset.
Egypt’s Grand Mufti ruled in 2017 that all crypto use was forbidden, likening it to gambling. Turkey’s religious authority voiced similar doubts, and the country still allows trading while banning crypto payments.
Pakistan’s Top Islamic Scholars Clash Over Whether Crypto Is Halal
Pakistan sits in the middle of this spectrum. Usmani’s ruling echoes those of Egypt and Indonesia, while PVARA’s asset-backed push points toward the Malaysian and Gulf models.
The next move belongs to the scholars. Their answer may decide how far Pakistan’s push for halal digital finance can go.
