About Us
TAIF: The new journey, tough, difficult, and challenging, but on the path to eternal success.
After 10 years of preaching in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him had no significant success so he decided to try new venues of dawah – the garden city of TAIF. The response there was completely reverse of the expectations. They not only refused to listen but misbehaved and mistreated the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him and even injured him. But this apparently failed mission brought the message of Islam out from the tiny confines of the valley of Mecca and presented it to the whole world out there.
This journey of the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him is a key inspiration for us as it reveals to us these valuable learnings :
- Move out of your comfort zone
- You may apparently fail initially, but your trust in Allah, your sincere efforts, your commitment to the purpose, and your steadfastness will bring you ultimately glory
- Every pain is followed by comfort
We are starting this journey with a commitment to sincerely facilitate the promotion of Islamic finance as an economic solution that the world needs by offering digital learnings in Islamic finance.
Dua of Prophet Muhammad SAW-Peace Be Upon Him:
“I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy. I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put in their right course against incurring your wrath or being the subject of your anger. To You, I submit until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without your support.”
Our Vision:
TO BE THE LEADER OF ISLAMIC FINANCE LEARNING INDUSTRY.
Mission:
We aim to increase the awareness of Islamic Banking and Finance and to bridge the human capital gap in the Islamic Finance Industry. We will provide the most comprehensive bouquet of digital learning solutions and will facilitate and support the organizations that share the common goal.
Values:
IHSAN ( EXCELLENCE ): Strive to deliver more than what is expected.
LEADERSHIP - Leading by example, Inspiring, and Be Accountable
INNOVATION – Look for continuous improvement, Be original and do things better differently
TEAMWORK - Belief in Partnerships internally & externally.
INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY - Be honest, do what is right, be transparent
PASSION - We continuously strive to move forward, innovate and improve with passion
Our Team
Muhammad has about three decades of diverse experience of successfully leading businesses of various sizes and nature in the middle East, Asia, and Africa. His assignments included the Head of Treasury role in the largest Housing Finance Institution in Pakistan and CFO/CEO /COO roles in Ghana, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Nigeria. Business transformation is his key area of specialization. He is also an expert in developing top-performing teams, especially in challenging locations and circumstances.
Muhammad is a fellow member of the ‘Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan’ and beliefs in constant learning. He has attended several training courses from leading institutions like Darden Business School, UVA, IMD, and Harvard.
Muhammad has a passion for ethical & economical solutions. He believes Islamic Banking and finance are the just and equitable solutions that the world needs now. He wants Islamic Finance to be offered as an alternative solution to the whole world.
A seasoned Islamic Banker and Cloud Computing based Software Development Specialist, Fahad has over 17 years of Islamic banking experience and held senior management positions in various geographies, including MENA, Sub-continent, and the Far East. Fahad also led various financial technology initiatives in APAC and North America for branch transformation and digital transformation.
Fahad believes we can grow the Islamic Finance industry by riding the digital revolution 4.0/5.0 by doing experiments to innovate, replace legacy IT systems with the latest technologies, break silos, and working together collaboratively.
He also firmly believes that the Islamic Banker of tomorrow will need to upgrade and acquire skills and adapt to roles that are not normal today. There will be a constant need to support continuous learning, whether the focus is short-term skill acquisition for the entry-level staff or domain command for management.
A seasoned technology leader with over 16 years of experience in banking, payments, training, and the financial self-service industries.
Ryan has led development teams to deliver complex software products, including video teller banking systems, core banking integration, mobile banking, and developed strategic partnerships with companies like Google, Facebook, and Mastercard.
An Entrepreneur and certified accountant based out of the UK. With experience of over 25 years of working in Finance, Farhat has worked in the manufacturing and services industry. Worked in some of the toughest economies in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Sudan, Farhat has led the Finance teams to implement new initiatives successfully.
A fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, Farhat is also a member of ICB (UK) and CFI.
MARKETING
An experienced Digital Marketer with a demonstrated history of working in the Technology industry and organizing Digital Marketing Strategy, Business Services forums. Ahsan is also skilled in Event Planning, Supply Chain Management, Customer Service, Intercultural Communication, and managing Creative Direction initiatives within the Organization. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree focused on Project Management.
A senior consultant and trainer in the finance industry for twenty years. He has managed, designed, coordinated and presented training programs for more than 1,000 of SME owners & Entrepreneurs.
With both CIB (Certified Islamic Banker) certificate from CIBAFI and Islamic Culture diploma (FIQH) from the Ministry of AWQAF Egypt, he is a leading authority in Islamic finance knowledge.
He also lectures at the King Saud University for Entrepreneurial subjects and supervises 120 different graduation projects.
Experience. Expertise. Excellence.
Our Shariah Advisors
Mufti Ismail Desai is an internationally reputed Shariah advisor and investment banker who currently serves as a special advisor to various Islamic financial institutions, Islamic Banks, investment entities, central banks, and educational institutes around the world. Mufti Ismail has developed various Shariah auditing, governance, and risk management standards for Islamic financial institutions and has issued several thousand expert legal opinions (fatwas) with a special focus on Islamic finance and economics. Mufti Ismail Desai has attended and delivered papers at international conferences and has created the first-ever Shariah Compliant models for leveraged/structured finance and currency trading.
Mufti Ismail Desai has conducted deal advisory of over 4 Billion USD on a range of transactions including complex mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate restructures, bond issuance's, corporate capital raising, cash management, structured finance, and IPO/LBO/MBO transactions. He is the chairman and advisor to various banks, financial institutions, and global funds. He has appeared on various prestigious media such as Bloomberg and Reuters. The Mufti holds an MA, Islamic Banking, MA, Islamic Theology, and BSc Banking from the London School of Economics (LSE) among other honorary academic qualifications.
Well-known UK-based Islamic finance & fintech consultant. He heads the Shariah advisory firm Amanah Advisors. He is the advisor to a number of well-known global Islamic financial institutions and serves across the Islamic economy in Islamic banking, SME financing, Zakat, Waqf, and Islamic Capital Markets.
CSAA (AAOIFI), CIFE (Ethica), MSc (INCEIF), Mufti. Graduated from traditional shariah school with specialized degrees in Fiqh and Islamic Jurisprudence, Yousuf has 12+ years of experience in providing training and advisory on Shariah, Islamic Finance, and Fintech. Yousuf is an AAOIFI Master Trainer and a member of a couple of working committees of AAOIFI Governance Standards. Yousuf is a registered Shariah Advisor from the Securities Commission of Malaysia and also is an Ordinary Member of the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance (ASAS) and Senior Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIF).
Shari’ah scholar advising in the field of Islamic banking and finance with more than 22 years of experience in international, regional, and local organizations. He has vast experience in rendering Shariah advice in relation to Islamic products, services, and transactions across the Islamic banking and finance industry and continues to collaborate closely with regional Shariah scholars.
Rooted In Tradition.
Ready For Tomorrow.
TAIF was founded to spread awareness about Islamic Finance principles and the role they will play for businesses of the future Part of this initiative is TAIFLlearning.com our forward-thinking digital learning platform That was designed to help businesses and individuals upgrade their knowledge of Islamic finance and related subjects through courses and training modules created by experts in the field. To meet the needs of the bold new future.