CSE exam preparation: study modules
Exam-focused notes, worked cases and tough scenario exams on Shari'ah advice, product structuring and governance for the CSE
Advanced · 40 hours · 40 lessons · Language: English and Arabic · ID: IFS-COU-0057
Access for 180 days
This course is ifSPACE's dedicated preparation for the Certified Shari'ah Expert (CSE). The Certified Shari'ah Expert (CSE) is an AAOIFI fellowship that builds the knowledge and professional skills needed to advise whether contracts, products and profit-and-loss mechanisms comply with the AAOIFI Shari'ah standards. Beyond Shari'ah, it covers product development, accounting, risk management and governance, with a practical experience requirement in Shari'ah board, compliance and product development work. AAOIFI's materials have presented the CSE both as a fellowship and as a component of its Shari'ah adviser and auditor pathway.
Its ten modules cover the Shari'ah expert's role, methodology and the fatwa process in finance; islamic product development: from concept to Shari'ah approval; structuring retail financing: murabahah, tawarruq, ijarah and diminishing musharakah; structuring corporate, project and trade finance; deposits, investment accounts and profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms; sukuk and capital-market products; treasury, liquidity management and hedging; takaful, zakah, waqf and social finance products; accounting, risk management and income purification for Shari'ah experts; shari'ah governance, board resolutions, fintech products and ethics. Each module has exam notes that set out the key rules, conditions, distinctions and the points most often misapplied; three worked scenarios analysed step by step; a slide deck; and a scenario quiz of ten questions with full explanations in English and Arabic.
The course ends with a final mock exam of 100 questions in 150 minutes, drawn from a bank of 200. Every exam on this program follows the same demanding pattern: 70% scenario questions, each a realistic case that asks for the ruling or treatment and the reason for it; 20% knowledge checks on precise rules, conditions and distinctions; and 10% rapid true/false or permissible/impermissible judgements.
This program is independent preparation material written by ifSPACE. ifSPACE is not AAOIFI and is not an AAOIFI-authorised training provider, and the program is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by AAOIFI. Completing it does not confer any AAOIFI qualification. All questions are written by ifSPACE; they are not official AAOIFI exam questions and do not reproduce them. AAOIFI may change a qualification's structure, modules and exam format, so check AAOIFI's current requirements before you register. Candidates register for and sit the CSE exam directly with AAOIFI.
What you will learn
- Apply a sound Shari'ah methodology to new financial questions and to the fatwa and resolution process of a Shari'ah supervisory board.
- Guide a product from concept to Shari'ah approval, and structure retail, corporate, trade, deposit, investment and capital-market products that comply with the AAOIFI Shari'ah standards.
- Evaluate treasury, hedging, takaful, zakah, waqf and social finance arrangements and propose compliant alternatives.
- Advise on the accounting, risk-management and income-purification consequences of Shari'ah decisions.
- Apply governance and ethical standards to board resolutions and fintech products, and answer exam-style scenario questions under time pressure.
Syllabus
1.The Shari'ah expert's role, methodology and the fatwa process in finance
- Exam notes: The Shari'ah expert's role, methodology and the fatwa process in finance40 min
- Worked scenarios: The Shari'ah expert's role, methodology and the fatwa process in finance30 min
- Module 1 presentation15 min
- Module 1 scenario quiz25 min
2.Islamic product development: from concept to Shari'ah approval
- Exam notes: Islamic product development: from concept to Shari'ah approval40 min
- Worked scenarios: Islamic product development: from concept to Shari'ah approval30 min
- Module 2 presentation15 min
- Module 2 scenario quiz25 min
3.Structuring retail financing: murabahah, tawarruq, ijarah and diminishing musharakah
- Exam notes: Structuring retail financing: murabahah, tawarruq, ijarah and diminishing musharakah40 min
- Worked scenarios: Structuring retail financing: murabahah, tawarruq, ijarah and diminishing musharakah30 min
- Module 3 presentation15 min
- Module 3 scenario quiz25 min
4.Structuring corporate, project and trade finance
- Exam notes: Structuring corporate, project and trade finance40 min
- Worked scenarios: Structuring corporate, project and trade finance30 min
- Module 4 presentation15 min
- Module 4 scenario quiz25 min
5.Deposits, investment accounts and profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms
- Exam notes: Deposits, investment accounts and profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms40 min
- Worked scenarios: Deposits, investment accounts and profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms30 min
- Module 5 presentation15 min
- Module 5 scenario quiz25 min
6.Sukuk and capital-market products
- Exam notes: Sukuk and capital-market products40 min
- Worked scenarios: Sukuk and capital-market products30 min
- Module 6 presentation15 min
- Module 6 scenario quiz25 min
7.Treasury, liquidity management and hedging
- Exam notes: Treasury, liquidity management and hedging40 min
- Worked scenarios: Treasury, liquidity management and hedging30 min
- Module 7 presentation15 min
- Module 7 scenario quiz25 min
8.Takaful, zakah, waqf and social finance products
- Exam notes: Takaful, zakah, waqf and social finance products40 min
- Worked scenarios: Takaful, zakah, waqf and social finance products30 min
- Module 8 presentation15 min
- Module 8 scenario quiz25 min
9.Accounting, risk management and income purification for Shari'ah experts
- Exam notes: Accounting, risk management and income purification for Shari'ah experts40 min
- Worked scenarios: Accounting, risk management and income purification for Shari'ah experts30 min
- Module 9 presentation15 min
- Module 9 scenario quiz25 min
10.Shari'ah governance, board resolutions, fintech products and ethics
- Exam notes: Shari'ah governance, board resolutions, fintech products and ethics40 min
- Worked scenarios: Shari'ah governance, board resolutions, fintech products and ethics30 min
- Module 10 presentation15 min
- Module 10 scenario quiz25 min