SHAPE Learning

Shabnam spearheads research and development activities at SHAPE. Some of the projects that she managed include: Review and enhancement of Fatwa on Credit Guarantee Scheme delivered by a Scandinavian development fund in Somalia; Research for a bankruptcy case in the US and a criminal case in Canada related to Islamic Finance Service providers; Analysis of Islamic ETF and Islamic structured product to develop an Islamic hedge fund product for a hedge fund manager based in GCC; Review and enhancement of Fatwa on Carbon Trading for a global energy trading firm’s London operation.

Shabnam also manages strategic and business plan formulation for launching of Islamic businesses and delivers customized trainings for clients covering full spectrum of Islamic Finance activities.

With a global clientele experience, Shabnam brings implementation knowledge taking into account the business context, regulation and Shariah views in different markets.

Shabnam serves as the Shariah Committee member for RHB Islamic Bank.

Sh. Ihsan holds a Diploma in Arabic Language and Bachelor in Islamic Law from the Islamic University of Medina. He then successfully completed his Master in Islamic Banking and Finance at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Sh. Ihsan supported SHAPE in product development, Shariah research, training and approval of Islamic finance products for different clients. He has worked on research projects relying to Islamic derivatives and other products for clients in the GCC. In addition to his academic studies, Ihsan has translated many Islamic books that have been published and distributed in America, Canada, and the UK. He also served as a research assistant for ISRA, where he assisted in the compilation of a number of projects, and translated fatwas issued by the Shariah boards of a number of Islamic Banks.

Sh. Abubakar holds a Diploma in Islamic Law with (Distinction) from Al-Imam University Riyadh and LLB (Hons) in Shariah from the same University. He successfully completed his (CIFP) Professional Masters Degree Programme at (INCEIF), Malaysia. Based in Abuja, Nigeria, Sh. Abubakar supports SHAPE® in product development, Shariah research and approval of Islamic finance products for different clients. Sh. Abu Bakr has worked with other scholars to deliver fatwa covering complex project finance structures, consumer finance structures, conflict of law issues, securitization, and depository products. Formerly, Abubakar was a Shariah Researcher in different units at International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Besides his primary assignments in ISRA, he taught Shariah Rules in Financial Transactions to CIFP online students. Separately he also taught MBA and BBA Students different Islamic Banking and Finance Subjects at University College of Bahrain. His prior positions include a Shariah researcher in the Fatwa and Muamalat (Islamic commercial law) unit at (The Message of Islam) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a translator during the Hajj seasons. Sh. Abubakar translated cases from the Riyadh Shariah Courts from Arabic into Hausa and vice versa. Sh. Abubakar also serves as a member of Advisory Council of Experts on Islamic Banking, for Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria.