The episode follows Sheikh Salman Hassan’s personal shift from a transactional view of Islam and Islamic finance to a theology-first ethic of reflecting Allah’s attributes in life and business, prioritising real societal benefit over box-ticking legality. He urges collaboration across the industry—even pragmatically working within conventional frameworks when necessary—to tackle poverty and widen access to finance, while sharing candid stories about mentorship, ego, and spiritual transformation.

This podcast is hosted by Areeb Siddiqui, the founder and CEO of Kestrl, the app that helps people to grow their wealth without compromise

Find out more about our app here: https://kestrl.io/

And how we help banks here: https://business.kestrl.io/

Show Notes: 

00:00 - Opening 

05:03 — Spiritual crisis: knowledge without purification

09:52 — From transactional deeds to ma‘rifah (reflecting Divine attributes)

15:44 — Debt ethics via sabr/halim; theology-first approach to finance

34:41 — Collaboration over competition; “rizq is written”

49:32 — What’s missing in today’s Islamic finance

56:46 — Prioritizing poverty & access; serve all society

01:06:33 — Advice to fintechs: do everything with ihsan (even tidy bathrooms!)

01:09:05 — Start with istighfar; the “empty pipe” ego metaphor

01:12:52 — Boundaries; jamali vs jalali mercy/strength; Ali (r.a.) anecdote

01:16:17 — Being mentored by someone younger; humility lessons

01:17:19 — Dream of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani; signs of guidance

01:20:18 — “Sacred Compass” talk aligns; offer to mentor; wrap-up