Harris Irfan, a leading Islamic finance expert and former investment banker, presenting the 1st session of a 4 part course titled “Prophetic Economics” at the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking.

The course aims to bridge the gap between modern financial practices and Islamic values, offering a critical perspective on the current global riba financial system.

Harris explores the concept of Prophetic Economics as a fair, risk sharing model rooted in trade, skills, and industry, rather than the modern focus on creating money out of money.

He cites scholars like Al-Ghazali to explain that money should be a medium of exchange to measure value, not a commodity to be traded itself.

He also argues that unfortunately modern Islamic banks fail to practice true Mudaraba (risk sharing partnerships), instead using structures like commodity murabaha to replicate conventional interest / riba bearing loans. He describes this as a form of “reverse engineering” the conventional system rather than building a true alternative.

Harris shares his personal experience working in the industry, including his involvement with HSBC Amana and Deutsche Bank. He recounts the “Manhattan Project” of Islamic finance. A technique to replicate the returns of conventional riba financial instruments using what he calls an “apparently halal black box,” which he now critiques for contributing to the financialization of debt.

Throughout the discussion, Harris emphasizes the lack of ihsan (excellence) in the muslim community’s response to financial issues. He encourages individuals to skill up, become the best in their fields, and build their own alternative ecosystems rather than relying on current, often inadequate, Islamic financial products.