Islam is the youngest among the three abrahamic religions that base on the first ancestor Abraham (the others are Judaism and Christianity). All three religions share a number of social and<ins> </ins>ethical values. In the Islamic religion, Jewish prophets of the Old Testament are mentioned as well as Jesus. The prophet<ins> </ins>Mohammed (P.B.U.H) is the emissary of God (Arabic: Allah)<ins> </ins>who received with the Quran the last revelation of Allah.To become a Muslim, it suffices to asscent the simple statement that there is no other god beside Allah and the prophet Mohammed is his emissary. This credo (Shahada) is one of the five pillars of Islam.It is the only formal requirement that a person has to fulfil in order to become a Muslim: five prayers each day (Salat) according to a distinct ritual, the act of fasting during the Ramadan month (Saum), the pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah as well as the charity tax (Zakat), comparable to a wealth tax to contribute money to the benefit of the deserving, are the other four pillars of Islam. The pillars of Islam determine and guide the live of the faithful.

The Shari’ah, the body of the Islamic religious law, constitutes what is virtuous or forbidden. It also states several important restrictions regarding financial services. For instance, a Muslim has to respect that receiving or paying interest rates, as it is common practice in the western world, is forbidden according to the Quran. Shar’iah requires that all contracts and transactions need to be free of "Riba". Literally translated, "Riba" means usury and is condemned by Allah. The Quran forbids a Muslim to practice "Riba".

[Surah Al-Baqarah, 276]

"Those who swallow usury cannot arise except as he arises whom the devil prostrates by (his) touch. That is because they say, trading is only like usury. And Allah has allowed trading and forbidden usury. To whomsoever then the admonition has come from his Lord, and he desists, he shall have what has already passed. And his affair is in the hands of Allah. And whoever returns (to it) – these are the companions of the Fire: therein they will abide. “

[Surah Al Rum (30), 39]:
“That which you lay out for increase through the property of other people, will have no increase with Allah: but that which you lay out           for charity, seeking the face of Allah, will increase: it is these who will get a reward multiplied.”

The understanding of the prohibition of Riba is of utmost importance for the construction of Islamic financial products and the implementation of Islamic banking services. A classical savings account where you get interest or a common credit for which you pay a monthly or yearly interest rate is not permissable in Islamic banking. Islamic banks face the challenge to create financial products for faithful Muslims that acknowledge the absence of interest rates but are attractive enough at the same time to compete with western banking products.