Masraf Al Rayan is an Islamic bank that operates on the principles of Shari’ah - a term which refers to Islamic law.

Because in Islam the charging of interest is forbidden, or haram, Islamic banking has looked at providing a parallel range of services and facilities to conventional banks and investment houses, but which conform to the teachings of the religion.

Although Islamic banking was initially developed to meet the needs of Muslim customers in predominantly Islamic countries, its popularity is spreading around the world. Islamic banking products and services are open equally to Muslims and non-Muslims and, indeed, many non-Muslims are finding the range of options wider and more appealing than those offered by conventional banks - leading many major international banks to open Islamic branches.