{"id":13914,"date":"2025-10-23T10:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T10:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/?page_id=13914"},"modified":"2026-02-19T07:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T07:58:29","slug":"reassessing-coal-in-islamic-finance-securing-life-wealth-and-creation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/reassessing-coal-in-islamic-finance-securing-life-wealth-and-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance: Securing Life, Wealth, and Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance: Securing Life, Wealth, and Creation.<\/h2>\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>An Ethical Investment Turning Point.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Islamic finance is built on principles of fairness, compassion, and responsibility to protect life, preserve wealth, and safeguard the environment. Throughout history, Islamic finance has adapted its ethical standards when evidence showed clear harm to people or the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When scientific evidence on tobacco&#8217;s impacts became overwhelming, with 8 million deaths annually according to WHO, Islamic scholars made a clear moral choice: continuing to invest in tobacco could not align with Shariah principles. Tobacco was excluded from Islamic finance portfolios.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"705\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-1024x705.jpg\" title=\"Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance \" alt=\"Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance \" class=\"wp-image-13924\" style=\"width:463px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-1024x705.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1-494x340.jpg 494w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1.jpg 1569w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coal presents an even greater ethical challenge!<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">The ethical dilemma is both simple and profound: if tobacco was ruled haram for its harm to human health, how can coal, which harms both life and the environment on a greater scale, still remain permissible when alternatives are readily available?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"705\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-1024x705.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13935\" style=\"width:469px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-1024x705.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1-494x340.jpg 494w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/066406fc-artboard-2-100-1.jpg 1569w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About <\/strong><strong>the \u201c<\/strong><strong>Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance: Ethical Imperatives for&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>Divestment and Sustainability\u201d<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;paper<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n<p>This paper is an initiative of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative in partnership with Greenpeace MENA as part of the Ummah For Earth Alliance. It draws upon parallels between the jurisprudential treatment of tobacco and the ethical considerations surrounding coal.<\/p>\n\n<p>This isn&#8217;t just about coal. It&#8217;s about reassessing Islamic finance screening methodologies to truly embody <em>tayyib<\/em> (wholesome, ethical, pure) principles.<\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Coal and the Tayyib Test<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>For decades, Islamic finance focused on avoiding <em>haram<\/em>: alcohol, gambling, tobacco, and weapons. Essential, but insufficient. The Qur&#8217;an (2:168) calls for <em>halal<\/em> AND <em>tayyib<\/em>. Islamic finance must evolve from negative screening (avoiding harm) to positive screening (pursuing what is beneficial).<strong> Coal fails the <em>Tayyib<\/em> test.<\/strong> As the industry matures toward $9.7 trillion by 2029, screening must evolve beyond avoiding haram to actively pursuing investments that protect life, wealth, and the environment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Thi<\/strong><strong>s is the moment to lead!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-5590e8cb wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 is-style-cta\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-grey-100-background-color has-background has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/summary-executive-coal-engl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Download and Read the paper\u2019s executive summar<\/strong>y<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 is-style-cta\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2026\/02\/5526df8e-reassessing-coal-in-islamic-finance-paper-en-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Download and Read the full paper<\/strong> \u2b07\ufe0f<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:29px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n    <div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\"><\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\">\n        <div style=\"max-width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.2); border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; background-color: #f5f5f5;\">\n            <iframe \n                src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/viewer?url=https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2026\/02\/5526df8e-reassessing-coal-in-islamic-finance-paper-en-1.pdf&#038;embedded=true\" \n                style=\"width:100%; height: 800px; border: none; display: block;\" \n                frameborder=\"0\"\n                title=\"Greenpeace Report - Reassessing Coal\">\n            <\/iframe>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"wp-block-column\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance: Securing Life, Wealth, and Creation. An Ethical Investment Turning Point. Islamic finance is built on principles of fairness, compassion, and responsibility to protect life, preserve wealth, and safeguard the environment. Throughout history, Islamic finance has adapted its ethical standards when evidence showed clear harm to people or the planet. When [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13924,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_hide_page_title_checkbox":"on","p4_title":"","p4_subtitle":"","p4_description":"","background_image_id":"","background_image":"","p4_button_title":"","p4_button_link":"","p4_button_link_checkbox":"","p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-ummah-stateless\/2025\/10\/02bd9837-artboard-1-100-1.jpg","p4_og_image_id":"13924","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"Ummah for Earth","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"Oil","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,35],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-13914","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-ummah-for-earth-en","tag-coal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13914"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14403,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13914\/revisions\/14403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ummah4earth.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}