Independent Shari'ah Committee

The Independent Shari'ah Committee is an external committee comprising independent Shari'ah scholars selected by the Manager based on the advice of the Shari'ah Adviser.

Sabana REIT is pleased to have the services of some of the best Shari'ah and conventional finance experts and scholars that it draws its Shari'ah endorsement from.

Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari

Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari

Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari is Professor of Islamic Economics at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Former Director of the Center for Research in Islamic Economics, in the same university. An expert at the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy of the OIC and the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy of the Islamic World League, he is part of the Shari'ah Council of Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions. He is also a member of the editorial boards of several academic publications in the field of Islamic finance and jurisprudence such as the Journal of the Jurisprudence Academy (of the IWL), Journal of Islamic Economic Studies and Journal of Islamic Economics (IAIE, London). He also sits on the advisory board of the Harvard Series in Islamic Law, Harvard Law School.

Dr. Elgari is a member of numerous Shari'ah boards of Islamic banks and Takaful companies globally. He authored several books on Islamic finance and published many articles on the subject in both Arabic and English. Dr. Elgari is also a frequent speaker at conferences worldwide, and is the recipient of the Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance for the year 2004. He holds a PhD from the University of California.

Professor Dr. Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha

Professor Dr. Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha

Professor Dr. Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha is Professor of Finance and Head of the Graduate Studies and Finance and Accounting Departments at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance ("INCEIF"). Prior to joining INCEIF, he held several key positions at the International Islamic University Malaysia. Before that, Professor Obiyathulla worked at Malayan Banking Berhad from May 1984 to August 1985. Professor Obiyathulla was also an assistant professor in Finance at Boston University, where he taught at both MBA and undergraduate levels.

Professor Obiyathulla is Vice President of the Malaysian Economic Association and a committee member of the Malaysian Finance Association. Professor Obiyathulla has also been a trainer at several institutions such as the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Central Bank of Malaysia. He has been featured in numerous local and international journals and has presented papers at several international and Islamic finance conferences. Professor Obiyathulla is a member of the Shari'ah panels of Great Eastern Malaysia (Shari'ah compliant products) and Securus Data Property Fund in Singapore.

Professor Obiyathulla received his Doctor of Business Administration (Finance), Master of Business Administration (High Honours) and Master of Arts (Economics) from Boston University and Bachelor of Social Science from the University Science Malaysia.

Dr. Ashraf bin Mohammed Hashim

Dr. Ashraf bin Mohammed Hashim

Dr. Ashraf bin Mohammed Hashim is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Fiqh and Usul Fiqh, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia ("IIUM"). He also serves as a Senior Researcher at the International Shari'ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance. Dr. Ashraf has to his credit, two books and a number of articles relating to Islamic law and Islamic finance published in local and international journals and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom from November 2006 to August 2007.

Dr. Ashraf has vast experience in providing Shari'ah views on retail and investment banking products, Sukuk structuring and unit trusts and is also actively involved in advising Takaful and Retakaful companies. He is currently a Shari'ah committee member for Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation (Malaysia), ACR Retakaful Malaysia & Bahrain and Securus Data Centre Fund, and was previously a Shari'ah committee member for Alliance Bank, Takaful Malaysia and Asean Retakaful International Limited.

Dr. Ashraf holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Shari'ah Law and Practice from IIUM, a Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Law from Birmingham University (U.K.), a Master of Arts, Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh (Jordan) and a Bachelor of Arts, Shari'ah (Madinah). He is proficient in English, Arabic and Malay.