Reimagining Solidarity: How Blockchain and Sharia-Compliant Crypto Strengthen the Ummah and Support Baitul Maqdis
As the humanitarian situation in Baitul Maqdis continues to demand urgent attention, the question arises: how can the Ummah mobilize its collective resources more transparently, efficiently, and in full alignment with Sharia principles? Traditional funding mechanisms often struggle with barriers of trust, speed, and accountability, creating challenges that hinder the Ummah’s ability to act swiftly in times of crisis.
In this context, blockchain technology and Sharia-compliant crypto solutions open new pathways for ethical and transparent humanitarian financing. Beyond mere speculation, these tools hold practical potential to empower the Ummah in addressing real-world needs, including direct aid distribution, community-based zakat management, and sustainable waqf and microfinance initiatives.
This webinar explores how blockchain can serve as a moral technology that bridges innovation with Islamic values of justice, trust, and stewardship. The session will unpack the urgency of humanitarian crises, foundational concepts of blockchain and cryptocurrency, Sharia integration within decentralized systems, regulatory frameworks and fatwas on digital assets, and real case studies of Islamic crypto applications across the Muslim world.
By connecting the technical with the ethical, this session invites reflection on how blockchain can embody the spirit of tawhid and amanah to empower the Ummah globally and serve causes such as Baitul Maqdis with renewed transparency, dignity, and solidarity.
Jodhi Adhikaprana Sardjono is the Chairman of the Asosiasi Blockchain Syariah Indonesia (ABSI), Co-Founder and Managing Director at Orbitum, and Country Manager at UmrahCash. He is also a Sharia Private Equity Enthusiast, President of the Shafa Community, and Founder of Islamic Ikigai. His work explores the integration of faith, finance, and technology through an Islamic ethical lens. He is the author of Visionary Life, Islamic Ikigai, Blockchain in Sharia Perspectives, and Crypto in Sharia Perspectives.
The discussion and subsequent Q&A session was moderated by Muhammad Ghufron Mustaqim, Ummah International Khadim.
Summary
The Crisis and the Call for Financial Innovation
The future of global technology and finance lies in blockchain and crypto. Six hundred years ago, the Muslim world fell behind due to the late adoption of technology. The delay in embracing the printing press set the Ummah back by three centuries compared to the West and contributed to the decline of the last caliphate.
Crypto is not the game of a select few, but the fifth largest industry in the world by global market capitalization. This represents a second opportunity for the Muslim world—not to be left behind again in the next technological revolution
Muslims must understand blockchain and crypto technologies because they promote financial independence, align with Islamic principles, prepare the Ummah for a digital future, and open pathways to a more inclusive economic and social order. The just distribution of wealth remains the ultimate objective of the Islamic economic system.
Decoding Blockchain: Trust, Transparency, and Decentralization
Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions securely, permanently, and transparently using cryptography and consensus mechanisms. It enables real-time value transfer without central authority, making financial transactions faster, safer, and more efficient. With its core features of decentralization, transparency, and immutability, blockchain represents a transformative step toward trust-based digital systems.
Cryptocurrency is a blockchain-based digital asset that operates in a decentralized, secure, and transparent system where all transactions are verified through cryptography without intermediaries. It encompasses various types—such as utility, transactional, governance, platform, and security tokens—each serving distinct roles within the digital ecosystem. These assets function as tools for payment, investment, and the operation of decentralized applications.
When Faith Meets Technology: Integrating Sharia Principles into Blockchain Systems
Blockchain technology and crypto assets have the potential to uphold the Islamic principle of hifz al-mal (protection of wealth) by enhancing transparency, security, and efficiency while preventing usury (riba), corruption, and unlawful activities. They also open opportunities for broader economic benefit and social welfare.
From the lens of fiqh and usul al-fiqh, crypto is fundamentally mubah (permissible), with its ruling determined by its benefits (maslahah) and harms (mafsadah). It is considered Sharia-compliant when transparent, free from riba and gharar, used for lawful purposes, and provides real value to the Ummah.
Between Law and Fatwa: Navigating the Islamic Legal Landscape of Digital Assets
Legal Rulings on Cryptocurrency (MUI Fatwa, Ijtima Ulama Komisi Fatwa VII, November 2021): The use of cryptocurrency as a currency is haram due to elements of gharar, dharar, and its contradiction with national monetary regulations. Trading crypto as a digital commodity is invalid if it involves gharar, dharar, or qimar, and fails to meet sil‘ah requirements such as tangible form, clear value, and ownership transfer. However, crypto assets that meet sil‘ah criteria, have clear underlying value, and provide real benefits are permissible (halal) for trade.
Globally, scholarly discussions on the Sharia perspective of blockchain and cryptocurrency began around 2013, when Mufti Faraz Adam published his paper “Bitcoin: Shariah Compliant?” The study concluded that investing in Bitcoin can be permissible under Islamic law. His analysis also referenced the views of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Aqeel, who explored the relationship between Sharia principles and emerging blockchain technologies.
Crypto with Purpose: Sharia-Compliant Solutions for the Empowerment of the Ummah
Blockchain can be applied in both financial and non-financial sectors, enabling transparent and secure tracking of physical and digital assets across organizations. It ensures every movement is auditable and traceable from origin to destination. The technology’s design upholds data integrity, preventing any alteration or manipulation of information.
The practical use of blockchain technology extends beyond finance to real-world applications such as securing land certificates and documents, enabling faster and cheaper cross-border transactions, and facilitating transparent donations, voting systems, crowdfunding for property, and global business funding. These applications demonstrate how blockchain can empower the Ummah through efficiency, trust, and inclusivity. In essence, it transforms technology into a tool for collective progress and ethical impact.
The main challenges in humanitarian funding today are that the money often doesn’t reach its destination, transfers take too long, and exchange costs reduce the total value received. Cryptocurrency solves these problems by enabling fast, low-cost, and borderless transfers. In the case of Baitul Maqdis, blockchain-based crypto ensures aid is delivered directly and transparently to those in need.
Discussion
The Future of Crypto in Indonesia: Between Investment Asset and Transaction Tool
In Indonesia, cryptocurrencies are predominantly used as investment instruments rather than as a medium of exchange. Regulatory frameworks currently classify crypto as a tradable digital asset under Bappebti, not as legal tender.
Since the only legal currency in Indonesia is the rupiah, using crypto for direct transactions remains within a grey area. Some platforms have introduced crypto-based debit cards that rely on real-time converters to process payments, but widespread adoption faces significant legal and infrastructural barriers.
Crypto Without Power: Can Digital Assets Survive a World Without Electricity?
If electricity disappeared permanently, blockchain networks would stop functioning since all nodes depend on powered computers to maintain and verify the ledger. The data would still exist in saved copies but remain inaccessible without power.
The modern banking system would also collapse because it relies on centralized digital databases and electronic communication. Without electricity, both crypto and fiat systems would lose functionality, leaving only tangible assets as real value.
Under the Blockchain: Discovering Crypto’s Real Underlying Value
Each cryptocurrency has its own underlying value system. For Bitcoin, it’s the secure, decentralized network powered by cryptographic code and global computing energy, so understanding any crypto requires researching what real-world mechanism or utility backs its value.
This article was inspired by the concepts and insights shared during the Ummah International Webinar by Jodhi Adhikaprana Sardjono , a member of Ummah International. Generative AI was used to assist with elaboration, refinement, and image.