Our Broker Review Methodology: How We Test for Halal Compliance

This is the most important page on The Forex Lens. It is our unbreakable promise of transparency to you.

In an industry filled with confusing claims and “get-rich-quick” schemes, our reviews are not for sale. A broker cannot pay for a good rating, and our recommendations are earned, not bought. We designed this rigorous audit to answer two critical questions: “Is this broker safe and high-quality?” and “Is its Islamic account truly Sharia-compliant?”

Our mission is to protect both your capital and your faith. Here is the 5-point audit every broker must pass to earn our recommendation.

Our 5-Point Sharia-Compliance & Quality Audit

1. Sharia Compliance & Riba (Interest) Audit

As a Chartered Certified Accountant, my first audit is for true Sharia compliance. A “swap-free” label is just marketing; we verify it. We check if the broker provides a clear Sharia compliance certificate from a recognized authority, but that is not enough.

More importantly, we open a live Islamic account and hold trades (including exotic pairs and indices) for 7+ days to actively hunt for hidden fees. We look for “administration charges,” “weekly fees,” or abnormally wide spreads on these accounts that are simply Riba (interest) in disguise. Any broker that charges hidden interest fails this test.

2. Regulation & Trust (E-A-T Audit)

Your capital is only as safe as the broker holding it. We verify each broker’s license directly on the official registers of top-tier regulators (like the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, or CySEC in Europe). We also check their history for major fines, sanctions, or a pattern of client complaints.

We will never recommend an unregulated offshore broker. This violates the core Sharia principle of protecting yourself from Gharar (excessive uncertainty or risk). A trustworthy broker must be a regulated one.

3. Fees & Spreads (Cost & Fairness Audit)

Once we’ve established an account is truly swap-free, we audit its fairness. Many brokers try to compensate for lost swap revenue by charging exploitative, high fees. With 19+ years of financial analysis experience, I compare their live spreads, commissions, and other charges against the industry average.

We only recommend brokers whose Islamic accounts are both compliant and fairly priced. A broker that exploits a religious need with unfair fees is not one we can recommend.

4. Platform & Execution (Performance Audit)

A broker’s trading platform is their core product. We test its performance under real-world pressure. We analyze their execution speed, average slippage, and requote frequency, especially during high-volatility news events (like the US NFP report). A broker that offers a compliant account but consistently fails on execution is not a professional tool.

5. Customer Support & Withdrawals (Service Audit)

Can you get help when you need it? We test their support team with complex questions specifically about their Islamic account policies to see if they are trained or just reading a script.

Most importantly, we audit their withdrawal process. We make a real deposit and then request a withdrawal, timing how long it takes from the request to the money arriving in our bank account. Any broker that creates unnecessary delays, hurdles, or “errors” in the withdrawal process automatically fails our trust audit.

How We Score and Rank

At the end of this 5-point audit, we assign a final, objective score to the broker’s Islamic offering. Only brokers that pass all five categories—especially Sharia Compliance and Regulation—are eligible for our list of “Best Islamic Brokers.”

This rigorous, transparent process ensures that when we give a broker our “Sharia-Compliant” seal of approval, it means we have done the expert-level work to prove it.