---
title: "Why a murabaha API needs an ownership step before the sale"
type: Article
published: 2026-10-12T02:00:00.000Z
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/blog/murabaha-ownership-step
source: IslamicOpenFinance
---

# Why a murabaha API needs an ownership step before the sale

> In murabaha the bank must own the asset and bear its risk before selling it. Systems that record the sale first break the contract, however smooth the user experience.

Murabaha is a sale at cost plus an agreed profit. In banking it usually starts with the customer: they choose a car, equipment or goods and promise to buy them once the bank has acquired them. The IFSB defines murabaha in exactly these terms, as a sale at cost plus an agreed margin that can be preceded by the customer's promise to purchase.

The promise is not the sale. Bank Negara Malaysia's murabahah policy document stresses that the seller must secure ownership of the asset and assume the risks of ownership before the murabaha contract is executed. Possession can be physical or constructive, and the bank may appoint the customer as its agent to buy the asset on the bank's behalf.

For a digital product this creates a sequence that cannot be collapsed into one step:

1. The customer's purchase request and promise, sometimes secured with a deposit called hamish jiddiyyah.
2. The bank's purchase of the asset, directly or through an agent, with evidence of ownership.
3. The murabaha sale to the customer, with cost, profit and selling price disclosed.
4. The deferred payment schedule, which does not grow if the customer pays late.

Each step needs its own timestamp and record. If the system books the sale before the purchase, the transaction fails the contract's basic condition, and the error is both an operational failure and a Shariah breach. A well-designed API exposes the steps separately, refuses to execute the sale until ownership is recorded, and keeps the evidence for review and audit.

**Sources:** [Bank Negara Malaysia, Murabahah policy document, 2013](https://www.bnm.gov.my/documents/20124/938039/20131223_S_O_0001.pdf), [IFSB-23 Revised Capital Adequacy Standard (Banking Segment), 2021: Definitions, Murabahah](https://www.ifsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IFSB-23_En.pdf)

**Audio:** listen to [this week's episode](/podcasts/murabaha-ownership-step), a short conversation on the same topic.

## This week's business calendar: 12 October – 18 October, 2026

Generated automatically from the the IslamicOpenFinance calendar: business days, holidays and the T+1 settlement date for each day of the week.

### Week at a glance
- Business days, Saudi Arabia (weekend: Friday and Saturday): **5**
- Business days, United Arab Emirates (weekend: Saturday and Sunday): **5**
- Business days, Bahrain (weekend: Friday and Saturday): **5**
- Business days, Qatar (weekend: Friday and Saturday): **5**
- Business days, Kuwait (weekend: Friday and Saturday): **5**
- Business days, Oman (weekend: Friday and Saturday): **5**
- Business days, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) (weekend: Saturday and Sunday): **5**
- Business days, Indonesia (weekend: Saturday and Sunday): **5**
- Business days, Pakistan (weekend: Saturday and Sunday): **5**
- Business days, United Kingdom (England and Wales) (weekend: Saturday and Sunday): **5**
- No month end this week.

### Day by day
| Day | Status | T+1 settlement | Events |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monday, 12 October 2026 | Business day | 13 October | — |
| Tuesday, 13 October 2026 | Business day | 14 October | — |
| Wednesday, 14 October 2026 | Business day | 15 October | — |
| Thursday, 15 October 2026 | Business day | 18 October | — |
| Friday, 16 October 2026 | Weekend | 18 October | — |
| Saturday, 17 October 2026 | Weekend | 18 October | — |
| Sunday, 18 October 2026 | Business day | 19 October | — |

The same dates are available from the [calendar API](/calendar/), per market.