FAB Islamic Review - Halal Finance Products
Reviewed quarterly and updated for major content changes.
FAB Islamic offers halal financial products and services designed to align with Islamic principles. These options provide alternatives to conventional interest-based financial products, using structures like Murabaha, Ijara, and Musharakah.
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HalalWallet 2026 Review
FAB Islamic - At a Glance
4
Products Reviewed
All
Provinces (Nationwide)
4
Categories
Our Verdict
FAB Islamic is the strongest argument that a window can match a full Islamic bank on substance. The governance architecture goes beyond CBUAE minimums: named scholars with disclosed attendance, per-product fatwas customers can download before signing, segregated Shariah control and audit, and an Islamic Treasury managing the window's own liquidity. Pricing leads the market for bundled customers (2.15% flat auto, 3.99% home with a green discount, 4.79% personal finance), with worked total-cost examples printed on the pages, a disclosure habit regulators should make mandatory. The catch is the bundle: headline rates require salary transfer plus a FAB card, and unbundled pricing is materially worse. Purists who reject the window model on principle (as Qatar's regulator did) will prefer a fully Islamic balance sheet; for everyone else, FAB Islamic is arguably the best-documented halal retail offering in the UAE.
Pros & Cons
What We Like
- Downloadable ISSC fatwa for each retail product
- Named scholars, published meeting count and attendance
- Market-leading bundled rates with worked examples on-page
- Green home finance discount, a UAE Islamic first
- Full-bank infrastructure: branches, app, the UAE's largest balance sheet behind the window
What Could Be Better
- Headline rates need salary transfer plus card bundling
- It is a window: deposits sit inside a conventional banking group, segregated but not a separate licensed bank
- Mudarabah savings base rates are modest outside campaigns
- Premium documentation does not extend to publishing unbundled rate cards
- Islamic pages sit several clicks deep in a conventional-first website
Who Is FAB Islamic financing suite Best For?
Salary-transfer customers who will bundle
The 2.15% flat auto and 3.99% home rates are the sharpest published Islamic prices in the UAE for bundled relationships
Documentation-driven customers
Every product's fatwa is downloadable before you sign, with named scholars behind it
Green home buyers
A dedicated rate discount for certified sustainable properties, unique among UAE Islamic offerings
Detailed Analysis
First Abu Dhabi Bank, formed from the 2017 merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, is the UAE's largest bank, and its Islamic window inherits that scale. The window operates under a board-approved Islamic Window Framework with its own Internal Shariah Control Department, Internal Shariah Audit Department, Islamic Treasury and Islamic ALCO, the fullest segregation stack disclosed by any UAE window. The group also owns First Abu Dhabi Islamic Finance PJSC, a CBUAE-licensed Islamic finance company, and the same ISSC supervises the window, the finance company and the group's international Islamic operations.
Governance disclosure is the benchmark for this cluster. FAB's 2024 Corporate Governance Report names the ISSC for the May 2024-May 2027 term: Dr. Salim Al-Ali (chairman and executive member, UAE University, and a member or chairman of committees at ADCB, Al Hilal, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, HSBC Bank Middle East, Standard Chartered and Ruya), Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin (deputy chairman, ISRA Malaysia, also on RAKBANK's committee), Dr. Ahmed Rufai, and Dr. Khalid AlSaiari (from December 2024), plus two UAE-national trainee members, a scholar-pipeline practice worth noting. The committee met 13 times in 2024 with 100% attendance, and appointments carry Higher Shariah Authority approval. At product level, each retail page links its fatwa PDF: the practical customer-facing artifact most banks never provide.
The retail shelf prices aggressively for bundled customers. iSave and Mudarabah savings carry published pool financial disclosures with a 4% expected-profit campaign; home finance starts at 3.99% fixed for salary-transfer-plus-card customers with a green-home discount below that and FTV to 85%; car finance starts at 2.15% flat (about 4.1% reducing, converted on-page) with the same bundle condition; personal finance spans 4.79%-7.2% reducing via commodity or sukuk Murabaha up to AED 5 million, among the highest caps in the market. Worked examples showing total cost over the term are printed on the product pages. Unbundled customers pay visibly more, and FAB does not publish the full unbundled card, the one significant transparency gap.
Assessment: for a customer comfortable with the window model, FAB Islamic is the UAE's most complete package: best-documented Shariah governance, sharpest bundled pricing, largest infrastructure. The editorial caveat is structural, not operational: a window's Islamic deposits are segregated by framework and committee rather than by corporate licence, and customers for whom that distinction matters (it is why Qatar banned windows in 2011) should weigh SIB or DIB instead. Nothing in FAB's disclosure suggests the segregation is anything but rigorous; indeed its paperwork exceeds most full Islamic banks'.
How It Works
FAB Islamic is an Islamic window: a Shariah-compliant business line inside a conventional bank, permitted and regulated in the UAE under CBUAE rules (unlike Qatar, which banned the model in 2011). Segregation is delivered through a board-approved Islamic Window Framework: separate Islamic funds and Mudarabah pools with published pool disclosures, a dedicated Islamic Treasury and Islamic ALCO managing the window's liquidity, and Internal Shariah Control and Audit departments reporting to the ISSC. Products use classical contracts: Mudarabah savings pools, Ijarah home finance, Murabaha auto finance and commodity/sukuk Murabaha personal finance, each carrying a published ISSC fatwa. The Higher Shariah Authority layer applies to the window as it does to full Islamic banks.
Price the bundle first
FAB's headline Islamic rates (2.15% flat auto, 3.99% home, 4.79% personal) assume salary transfer plus a FAB card. Confirm your bundled eligibility before comparing, and demand the unbundled quote in writing if you will not move your salary.
Download the fatwa and the example
Each product page links its ISSC fatwa PDF and a worked total-cost example. Read both before signing; they are the exact documents a diligent customer needs and almost no other bank provides.
Use the pool disclosures for savings
Mudarabah savings publish pool financials and expected rates; campaign rates (4%) are time-boxed, so check the current declaration rather than the advertisement.
Check the green discount
For certified sustainable properties, ask for the green home finance rate below the standard 3.99%; FAB is currently the only UAE Islamic offering with a published green discount.
Shariah Compliance Review
Oversight Level
Review details on provider's website
ISSC term May 2024-May 2027: Dr. Salim Al-Ali (Chairman), Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin (Deputy Chairman), Dr. Ahmed Rufai, Dr. Khalid AlSaiari; trainees Tariq Bujasaim and Mohamed AlMheiri; 13 meetings in 2024, 100% attendance (FAB Corporate Governance Report 2024, crawled 2026-08-05)
Per-product fatwa PDFs on bankfab.com Islamic product pages (crawled 2026-08-05)
Islamic Window Framework with segregated Shariah Control, Shariah Audit, Islamic Treasury, Islamic ALCO (governance report)
Same ISSC supervises First Abu Dhabi Islamic Finance PJSC and international Islamic operations
Appointments approved by the CBUAE Higher Shariah Authority
Shariah compliance should always be verified directly with FAB Islamic. HalalWallet reports publicly available oversight information but does not issue fatwas or certify compliance.
How It Compares
Among UAE windows, FAB Islamic leads on every governance and disclosure metric: Mashreq matches it on scholar seniority and fatwa publication but not on segregation architecture; ADCB and Saadiq trail on scholar disclosure; RAKislamic, CBD and NBF are smaller shelves. Against full Islamic banks, FAB's bundled pricing beats SIB's published rates for customers willing to bundle, while SIB wins for salary-independent customers. The honest framing: FAB Islamic versus DIB/SIB is a structure-versus-price-and-paperwork decision, and FAB has closed the paperwork gap entirely.
SIB offers a fully Islamic balance sheet with published rates and no bundling conditions; FAB Islamic beats it on price for bundled customers and on fatwa documentation.
Mashreq fields a more senior scholar bench and equally strong fatwa publication; FAB counters with deeper segregation architecture, sharper pricing and bigger infrastructure.
Group rivalry at window level: ADCB publishes tiered deposit rates FAB does not, while FAB publishes fatwas and scholar rosters ADCB does not.
Bottom Line
FAB Islamic is the best-documented and, for bundled customers, best-priced Islamic window in the UAE, with per-product fatwas and named-scholar governance that outclass most full Islamic banks. If the window structure itself does not trouble you, it belongs at the top of any UAE halal financing shortlist; if it does, take SIB's published rates instead.
Products from FAB Islamic
Why It's Halal
The product runs on Ijarah for completed property, with the ISSC fatwa for Islamic Real Estate Finance (Ijarah - completed property) published as a PDF: the bank buys the property and leases it to the customer, with rent (not interest) fixed for the initial period then floating against EIBOR within the live lease. FAB Islamic's segregated window structure means the facility is funded and booked Islamically, supervised by the four-scholar ISSC chaired by Dr. Salim Al-Ali under CBUAE HSA standards. Mandatory takaful arrangements and the fee-refund buyout design (rebating rather than profiting from switchers) sit comfortably within the fiqh. As with any benchmark-linked Ijarah, the EIBOR revision mechanism is a scholarly-accepted convention that some stricter voices still debate.
FAB Islamic
FAB Islamic Home Finance (Ijarah)
Ijarah home finance with fixed profit rates from 3.99% (1-3 years) and 4.19% (5 years) for customers bundling a salary transfer and FAB Islamic credit card, or 4.24%-4.44% without; after the fixed window the rate reverts to 3-month EIBOR plus margin. First-time buyers can reach 85% financing, buyout customers get 180-day (nationals) or 120-day (expats) grace periods with processing, valuation and early-settlement-fee refunds, and partial settlement of up to 25% annually is free in the variable period. A Green Home variant discounts the 5-year fixed rate by 0.25% and halves the processing fee, and non-resident foreign investors can finance up to 50% of UAE property up to AED 10 million.
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FAB Islamic
FAB Islamic Car Finance (Murabaha)
Murabaha auto finance up to AED 1.5 million or 80% of the car's value, for new and pre-owned vehicles, with a 90-day grace period before the first installment. Pricing is published in an honest dual format: UAE nationals with the Multi Product Package (salary transfer + Islamic credit card) pay from 2.15% flat (equivalent to 4.10% reducing), expats from 2.29% flat (4.35% reducing); salary transfer without the card prices at 3.19%/3.24% flat, and self-employed rates start at 3.44% flat (6.43% reducing). A worked example on-page shows a AED 100,000, 48-month finance costing AED 13,292-13,500 in total profit. Processing is 1.05% of the finance amount.
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FAB Islamic
FAB Islamic Personal Finance (Commodity Murabaha)
Commodity Murabaha cash finance up to AED 5 million for UAE nationals and AED 2 million for expatriates, with grace periods of up to 365 days (nationals) and 120 days (expats) before the first installment. Published fixed rates run from 4.79% per year for nationals with the Multi Product Package (salary transfer + Islamic credit card) to 7.2% for expats with salary transfer only, with the flat-rate equivalents and a worked example printed on-page (AED 100,000 over 48 months = AED 13,708-16,042 total profit). Processing is 1.05% (min AED 525, max AED 2,625) and a Sukuk Murabaha variant carries its own published fatwa.
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FAB Islamic
FAB Islamic Savings Account
Mudarabah savings at the UAE's largest bank, opened instantly on the FAB Mobile app with just an Emirates ID. A campaign anticipated profit rate of up to 4.00% per year applies to new funds until 31 August 2026, with up to 3.25% on existing funds. Minimum balance is AED 3,000 (profit is only paid in months where the average balance meets it), and UAE nationals get one entry into the Emirati Al Awwal draw (mega prize AED 1 million) per AED 25,000 of monthly average balance. Elite variants exist for premium segments, and the fatwa, campaign terms and Mudarabah financial disclosures are all downloadable from the product page.
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Where Available
Based on listings we track, FAB Islamic operates nationwide:
Nationwide availability
Availability may vary by product type. Always verify current availability directly with FAB Islamic.
How We Compare
- • We review publicly available information from providers, including Shariah compliance documentation.
- • We compare financing structures, total costs, down payment requirements, and state availability.
- • We prioritize providers that clearly explain their halal compliance rationale and operate with transparency.
- • We note which products are available nationwide versus regionally.
- • Learn more about our methodology.
Quick Answer
FAB Islamic offers halal financial products that comply with Shariah principles, avoiding interest (riba) and prohibited industries. Their products are available in 1 state and include Bank Accounts, Home Financing, Personal Financing, Vehicle Financing options.
Key Takeaways
- FAB Islamic offers Shariah-compliant financial products that avoid interest and prohibited industries.
- Products are available in 1 state: Nationwide.
- Product categories include Bank Accounts, Home Financing, Personal Financing, Vehicle Financing.
- Always verify compliance directly with FAB Islamic and consult qualified Islamic finance advisors when needed.
- Compare FAB Islamic's products with other providers to find the best fit for your needs.
Important: HalalWallet provides educational information and comparisons to help you explore halal financial options. We do not provide financial, legal, or religious advice. Product structures and Shariah compliance oversight vary by provider. Always verify halal compliance directly with providers and consult with qualified Islamic finance advisors or scholars for guidance on specific products and your individual circumstances.
Sources and review process
This page is reviewed against HalalWallet editorial standards and source documentation.
Reviewed by: HalalWallet Editorial Team
Last reviewed: 2026-03-09
How to cite this page
Preferred format:
For time-sensitive claims (rates, fees, state availability), please verify directly with the provider's official documentation and note the retrieval date.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of halal products does FAB Islamic offer?
FAB Islamic offers 4 products across 4 categories. FAB Islamic is best for [object Object],[object Object],[object Object]. Review the products listed above or contact FAB Islamic directly for current offerings.
How does FAB Islamic ensure Shariah compliance?
ISSC term May 2024-May 2027: Dr. Salim Al-Ali (Chairman), Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin (Deputy Chairman), Dr. Ahmed Rufai, Dr. Khalid AlSaiari; trainees Tariq Bujasaim and Mohamed AlMheiri; 13 meetings in 2024, 100% attendance (FAB Corporate Governance Report 2024, crawled 2026-08-05) Per-product fatwa PDFs on bankfab.com Islamic product pages (crawled 2026-08-05) Islamic Window Framework with segregated Shariah Control, Shariah Audit, Islamic Treasury, Islamic ALCO (governance report) Same ISSC supervises First Abu Dhabi Islamic Finance PJSC and international Islamic operations Appointments approved by the CBUAE Higher Shariah Authority
How does FAB Islamic work?
Price the bundle first: FAB's headline Islamic rates (2.15% flat auto, 3.99% home, 4.79% personal) assume salary transfer plus a FAB card. Confirm your bundled eligibility before comparing, and demand the unbundled quote in writing if you will not move your salary. Download the fatwa and the example: Each product page links its ISSC fatwa PDF and a worked total-cost example. Read both before signing; they are the exact documents a diligent customer needs and almost no other bank provides. Use the pool disclosures for savings: Mudarabah savings publish pool financials and expected rates; campaign rates (4%) are time-boxed, so check the current declaration rather than the advertisement. Check the green discount: For certified sustainable properties, ask for the green home finance rate below the standard 3.99%; FAB is currently the only UAE Islamic offering with a published green discount.
Is FAB Islamic available in my state?
FAB Islamic operates nationwide, though specific products may have regional limitations. Always verify current availability directly with FAB Islamic.
What are alternatives to FAB Islamic?
Among UAE windows, FAB Islamic leads on every governance and disclosure metric: Mashreq matches it on scholar seniority and fatwa publication but not on segregation architecture; ADCB and Saadiq trail on scholar disclosure; RAKislamic, CBD and NBF are smaller shelves. Against full Islamic banks, FAB's bundled pricing beats SIB's published rates for customers willing to bundle, while SIB wins for salary-independent customers. The honest framing: FAB Islamic versus DIB/SIB is a structure-versus-price-and-paperwork decision, and FAB has closed the paperwork gap entirely. Sharjah Islamic Bank: SIB offers a fully Islamic balance sheet with published rates and no bundling conditions; FAB Islamic beats it on price for bundled customers and on fatwa documentation. Mashreq Al Islami: Mashreq fields a more senior scholar bench and equally strong fatwa publication; FAB counters with deeper segregation architecture, sharper pricing and bigger infrastructure. ADCB Islamic Banking: Group rivalry at window level: ADCB publishes tiered deposit rates FAB does not, while FAB publishes fatwas and scholar rosters ADCB does not.
Are FAB Islamic's products more expensive than conventional options?
Halal financing structures can have different fee structures compared to conventional products. Some options may be competitive with conventional rates, while others may have different cost structures. Pricing varies by product type, location, and individual circumstances. Always compare total costs and terms when evaluating options.
How do I contact FAB Islamic?
Contact information for FAB Islamic should be available through their website or the product listings above. Use the action links provided with each product to visit FAB Islamic's website or contact them directly for more information.
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