The Higher Shari’ah Authority (“HSA”) was established, and its Members appointed, in accordance with resolutions enacted by the UAE Cabinet. Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018, regarding The Central Bank of the UAE and the organisation of financial institutions and amendments, reaffirmed HSA’s establishment and provided further details of its mandate.

The HSA aims to harmonise and standardise the practices of Islamic financial institutions, aligning them with internationally- recognised Shari’ah standards and widely-recognised practices through collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The HSA’s goal is to support the creation of a robust infrastructure that enables further development of the country’s Islamic finance industry, and advances the UAE’s vision in becoming an internationally-recognised hub for Islamic finance.

Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 mandated the HSA to determine the rules, standards and general principles applicable to Shari’ah-compliant businesses and licensed financial activities, and to undertake supervision and oversight of the Internal Shari’ah Supervision Committees of licensed Islamic financial institutions. In addition, HSA is mandated to approve Islamic monetary and financial tools developed by the CBUAE to manage monetary policy operations in the UAE.  The HSA also provides its opinion on specific regulatory rules and instructions relating to the operations and activities of licensed Islamic financial institutions.