Date : 15-02-2023

Question :

Financial Leverage is fake money with which the brokerage firm helps the customer/trader to enter into the financial market. It isn`t a loan because the money is fake and interest-free. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. May His 


blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.


After examining the references related to the Forex trading, it was found out that Leverage is a strategy that allows the trader to take money from the broker to engage in bigger transactions that he (trader) can`t cover with his own funds, thus giving the trader the opportunity to make higher profits. For example, if the trader entered into the financial market with a capital of about a thousand JDs and chose to multiply this amount ten times, then the system of the Leverage allows him to invest ten thousand JDs; consequently, his profits will multiply. However, the whole value of the Leverage will be figured into the loss calculation in case there was a fall in the value of the stocks bought by the trader through the Leverage.


In fact, the financial Leverage is a loan from the broker to the trader whereby the broker benefits from every financial move that the trader makes when investing the sum multiplied through the broker. However, this is forbidden by Sharia since every loan that draws a benefit is Riba (Usury).


In conclusion, Leverage trading isn`t permissible since it is a usurious loan forbidden by Sharia. And Allah the Almighty knows best.