What is the ruling on dealing with Neeyah Company for Investment and purchasing homes?

Summary of the Fatwa:

The Committee has reviewed the diminishing partnership ending in ownership contract submitted by the company Neeyah and finds that it is a contract acceptable under Islamic law. The Committee advises the company to appoint an independent Shariah supervisory board to ensure the correct implementation of the standards of the partnership contract, based on the recommendations of the Islamic Fiqh Academy affiliated with the Organization of the Islamic Conference at its nineteenth session in the year 1430 AH. And Allah is the Grantor of success.

The Full Fatwa

All praise is due to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:

The Fatwa Committee of the AMJA received an inquiry from the brothers in charge of the real estate financing company Neeyah regarding the permissibility of the diminishing partnership ending in ownership contract that it enters into with its clients. The Committee tasked one of its members with forming a committee of specialists to study this contract carefully. The research committee met with the management of Neeyah and its Shariah advisor to receive their responses regarding the observations concerning the partnership contract.

The Fatwa Committee thanks the brothers in charge of the company Neeyah for their efforts to provide a permissible alternative to real estate financing for Muslims in the United States. May Allah reward them with goodness.

As for the observations identified by the Committee, they are as follows:

First: From the perspective of the investors:

1. The company, Neeyah, relies in its financing solely on investors’ funds. It does not deal with conventional banks or credit unions, nor does it sell its contracts to semi-federal mortgage companies or what is known as the “secondary market” in order to obtain sufficient liquidity, as some companies do. This grants it independence in decision-making and the ability to provide permissible financing without violations, which is commendable.
2. The relationship between Neeyah and the financing investors consists of both a lease (ijārah) contract and a muḍārabah (profit-sharing) contract. It is an ijārah because Neeyah receives annually a fixed percentage of the investors’ capital as a fee in return for its work. As for muḍārabah, it is because it takes a percentage of the profit when the investors’ shares are sold to the client, and it does not share in the loss if the shares are sold for a lower price.

The Committee urges investors who are keen on providing an Islamic alternative to contribute and invest in order to ensure the success of this emerging experience and to increase the number of Islamic financing companies independent of the secondary market.

Second: From the perspective of the clients:

1. The partnership contract that Neeyah enters into with its clients to purchase property is a valid contract. It stipulates that the client has the right to purchase Neeyah’s share gradually, if he wishes, over a period of fifteen years. If the period elapses and the client has not purchased it in full, then the agreement is that the property is sold on the market and each party receives its respective share. This is an acceptable condition.
2. If the client wishes to terminate the partnership contract, then Neeyah evaluates the property using established technical methods and sells it for a price not less than 97.5% of its market value, in consideration of the investors’ interests. The proceeds are then divided between Neeyah and the client, each according to his share.
3. The lease (ijārah) contract that Neeyah enters into with the client is a valid contract, in which both parties share the burden of maintenance expenses, insurance, and taxes, each according to his share.

Based on the above, the Committee holds that financing the purchase of real estate with the company Neeyah is permissible under Islamic law so long as the company adheres to the application of the standards mentioned above. The Committee advises the company to appoint an independent Shariah supervisory board to ensure the correct implementation of the standards of the partnership and lease contracts with clients, and the agency contract with compensation with investors, based on the recommendations of the Islamic Fiqh Academy affiliated with the Organization of the Islamic Conference at its nineteenth session in the year 1430 AH. And Allah is the Grantor of success.

AMJA Resident Fatwa Committee

25 Rajab 1447 AH
14 January 2026 CE