DSN MUI Fatwa Strengthens Islamic Bullion Business
Jakarta – PT Pegadaian attended the launch of Fatwa Number 166 concerning Islamic gold bullion business activities, issued by the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulama Council at Pegadaian Tower’s ballroom on Friday 13 February. This milestone represents an important marker in strengthening financial literacy, inclusion, and legal certainty for the development of Indonesia’s Islamic financial industry, particularly in the gold trading and investment sector.
The fatwa was issued in response to the dynamics of modern gold markets, which require more detailed Sharia guidelines for both regulators and business operators. The legal basis references Financial Services Authority regulations and the mandate of Law Number 4 of 2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector, as well as Financial Services Authority Regulation Number 17 of 2024, which provides space for Islamic-principle-based bullion business activities. The fatwa’s presence reinforces the position of companies operating in the bullion sector, including Pegadaian, which has already obtained bullion business licensing from the Financial Services Authority in developing its Gold Bank services.
Indonesia’s gold potential is considered very substantial as a hedging instrument for the public. Industry data estimates Indonesian households’ gold ownership at approximately 1,800 tonnes. If monetised through Islamic bullion schemes, this amount is believed capable of becoming a significant source of domestic capital. During the fatwa’s formulation process, the DSN-MUI team even conducted direct inspections of gold factories to ensure aspects of physical asset existence and delivery mechanisms comply with Sharia principles, particularly for digital gold products.
Chairman of DSN-MUI’s Board of Directors and simultaneously Chairman of Pegadaian’s Sharia Supervisory Board, KH M Cholil Nafis, emphasised that this fatwa was prepared to open pathways for more productive gold utilisation. “We possess extraordinary gold potential. DSN-MUI provides a Sharia ‘framework’ so this potential can accelerate into a new engine of economic growth. We want the public not merely to accumulate gold, but to make it a productive investment that brings blessing to the national economy,” he stated.
Support was also conveyed by Pegadaian’s Regional Leader for Medan, Yohanis Wulang. He assessed that the fatwa provides clear legal foundation whilst increasing public confidence in Sharia-based bullion products. “With this fatwa serving as clear foundation for implementing Islamic bullion business whilst boosting public confidence in its security and compliance with Sharia principles,” said Yohanis.
According to him, Pegadaian is prepared to implement the fatwa consistently and sustainably. He affirmed that Pegadaian’s gold business has heretofore been grounded in Sharia principles with backing from physical gold stored according to international standards. “Every gram of gold transacted, whether through Gold Instalments or Gold Savings, possesses genuine physical gold stored in internationally-standard storage facilities at a one-to-one ratio. This means the digital balance is not merely a record, but is backed by genuine physical gold,” he explained. Customers also have the option to withdraw physical gold through Pegadaian’s Gold ATMs or across all Pegadaian outlets according to applicable procedures.
In Fatwa Number 166, DSN-MUI established several main provisions concerning Islamic bullion business practices, encompassing gold savings schemes, financing, trading, and custody using contracts in accordance with Sharia principles such as qardh, mudharabah, musyarakah, wakalah bi al-istitsmar, bai’ al murabahah, bai’ al musya’, ijarah, and wadi’ah. One important aspect regulated is the concept of emas musya’ or collective gold ownership, which serves as a solution in digital gold investment to avoid elements of uncertainty.
Yohanis provided an example: if 100 customers each save 10 grammes of gold, then 1 kilogramme of gold is available as physical guarantee, stored in a vault as collective ownership. Through such scheme, each customer possesses rights over their portion of stored physical gold even if not yet cast in small denominations, and retains the right to receive gold according to their transaction amount after production and distribution processes are completed.
The presence of Fatwa Number 166 is expected to strengthen not only Pegadaian, but also serve as reference for all financial service institutions operating bullion businesses. This fatwa serves as both normative and operational guidance so that business practices proceed transparently, accountably, and in accordance with Sharia principles, whilst encouraging the formation of a stronger, more inclusive, and sustainable Islamic financial ecosystem in Indonesia.