Discussions on Islamic finance often focus on the financial asset classes of Islamic banking, Islamic bonds (sukuk), Islamic funds, and Islamic insurance (takaful), especially in Muslim majority countries such as Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, Islamic financial activities are also conducted by non-bank financial institutions. Further, finance in Islam goes beyond commercial transactions – almsgiving (zakat), for instance, is one of the five pillars of Islam and emphasizes the moral use of wealth to aid the needy and benefit society.