I have some things on my mind, as most mothers do: how can we ensure that we will always be able to provide for our children, and when they are grown, ourselves? As I have mentioned before, both my husband and I work full-time. We don’t roll around in extra dough in our spare time, we are not obsessed with material objects and don’t have any expensive habits (read: we both work because we have to). That said, we are blessed to have good, rewarding careers in healthcare. We are compensated fairly, receive very good benefits and are treated respectfully. Can it get any better?
As my 40th birthday looms over the horizon, the ticking clock gets louder and louder. I’m hoping that my husband and I can retire at age 60, this way we are completely free to roam the universe, explore new hobbies and spend plenty of quality time with our grandchildren. Since, as muslims, we are forbidden to receive (or pay) interest, wealth building for retirement seems pretty impossible. Most of my female colleagues who are either single or nearing retirement age are constantly discussing their financial portfolios, and basically their future wealth is based on interest. This just is not an option for us. We could just leave it all in God’s hands or we can start searching for a halal solution now, and do something about it. I choose the latter.
First and foremost I am a mother of two really stellar kids. I yearn to work part-time or not at all, but this happening is just as likely as a pig in my frying pan. The challenge when leasing a residence is saving a mammoth down payment for the controversial sharia complaint mortgage while still living and meeting all the basic needs of a family with children. How could I not work? We would be leasing for-ev-er. So I work. We work. Very hard. Once we get the house, we need to pay it off, so I will continue to work. Very Hard. Then inshaAllah our kids will go to college on our dime (I believe that education is one of the best investments). By the time said house is paid in full, I may have 10 years left in the workforce. Even if we lived only on my husbands salary and I saved every penny of my salary for that 10 year period, it would not be enough to sustain a retired couple of two, healthcare, property taxes and other expenditures of daily living including spoiling our grandchildren!
Where does that leave us? In a spare room at my son or daughter’s house? I don’t want to do this to them. When they are adults, I want them to be financially stable, and have thriving personal lives. I do not think that would be possible with my husband and I taking up residence under the same roof. Perhaps my views are a result of my culture; but I find it very difficult to believe that a healthy and loving marriage can stay happy with parents living in the house! I love my mother with my heart and soul and as long as I am on this planet I will always be here for her, and she will never be alone. Would I take her in if she needed us? Of course, but I would much rather have a two family house so she could have her own apartment with all the necessities.
My question is, how do muslims do it? There any many single income muslim families here that own their properties, and I cannot figure out how they manage the financial burden of it all.
I recently contacted the investment company that manages retirement funds for my employer. They have socially responsible funds, i.e. stocks and investments that are not fueled by tobacco or alcohol; this isn’t enough. I explained my religious observances and they claim I am not alone, and have other muslim clients who invest in the stock market without collecting interest. I hear the word “stock market” and a hundred red flags go up in my mind. I have no desire to risk loosing what I work so hard for. Wouldn’t that be akin to gambling?
If it isn’t too personal, if any muslims are reading this, what is your strategy? Can you recommend any resources where we could gain sound, halal compliant advice? I am really curious.
Midnight Mama 
February 7, 2012 at 4:57 am
I have a lot of the same concerns about financial futures, and similar unfamiliarity with the stock market. It’s become more of a concern in recent years since I’m not married and have a son to provide for. Further it seems very difficult to find a potential husband with much commitment to avoiding riba. Years back I had a very similar conversation that you had with HR in my company about their 401K and their “socially responsible” funds, and we came out of it with HR having no idea what I was talking about in terms of shariah-compliant investing (as far as I know, I’m also the only muslim working here), and me realizing that in fact I didn’t know much about it either or how non-shariah compliant investing worked, for that matter. So this has been on my list of things to learn for quite some time.
I’m not that much closer, but I did recently go to a workshop at a local islamic school about financial investments. The session was hosted by a halal investment firm called Azzad Asset management. Now, I am not currently at the point where I have enough spare cash on hand to invest, so I’m not using them right now and don’t have a basis of endorsement, but they did describe in quite some detail how their models work for halal mutual funds and other investments. They also handle financial planning for retirement, children’s college, and so on. Their website is http://www.azzad.net. The lady who gave the lecture (Fatima Iqbal) was very happy to answer questions in depth about how they make their investments as halal as possible and what they look for in terms of companies and risk management. She also encouraged further questions submitted through the website or by calling them on the phone. I did check to see if the mutual fund they offer was part of my company’s 401K offerings (it wasn’t) or my bank (also not) but apparently you can also invest in them independently or through other financial management sites, if you’re interested in investigating them further. I’ve found some limited information about other halal funds in searching online, though it seems they each operate under their own principles which vary.
While I’m saving to get my emergency fund up to speed before setting aside some money to invest, I also got a book on shariah-compliant investing to read. I would definitely like to find some more info on this and need to do further investment research, but Azzad did look most promising of what I’ve found so far, for starters.