Even though the real estate industry is one that people usually charge excessive interest (Riba), which is unlawful (haraam) in Islam, there are Muslims who are thriving in that sector without disobeying Allah by charging excessive interests for their properties.
#1. Mohamed Anwar Hadid
He is Palestinian-American and a real estate developer, usually dealing with luxury hotels and mansions. He entered the real estate business in the 1980s and purchased the Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York and Washington for US$150 million then out-schemed Donald Trump and bought the Aspen, Colorado Ritz property. He’s had a lot of successful projects and one of the leading dealers in real estate. Now he works mostly in Beverly Hills, in Los Angeles County, California.
#2. Nasir Schon
Like Malik Riaz Hussain, Schon is a Pakistani business tycoon who got his wealth from the real estate industry. He is the CEO of Schon Properties. He is also the Honorary Consul-General of Sierra Leone in Karachi.
#3.Malik Riaz Hussain
He’s a man of all trades- Pakistani business mogul, philanthropist and a real estate investor. He was born into a poor family and made his way up the ladder with hard work and determination. He landed a job as a clerk at 19 and from there, established his own business called Bahria town.
#4. Abdul Razzak Yaqoob
Yaqoob was one of the wealthiest business tycoons in Dubai. He was the proprietor of ARY Group of Companies, which he established in 1972. Yaqoob was appointed the lifetime head of the World Memon Organization. He died on the 21st of February 2014 but his legacy shall forever remain.
#5. Sharif El-Gam
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sharif decided that formal education wasn’t for him and dropped out of university. He first entered the real estate market in the 1990s but then re-directed his interest to commercial real estate sales and re-entered the industry back in 2002 when he received his real estate broker’s license.
He started purchasing properties in 2007 and has since then had many successes in the real estate world. Currently, he is the chairman and chief executive officer of Soho Properties, a real estate company in Manhattan.
These Muslims made it in the real estate industry despite the odds. They are definitely worth emulating.
