Is the trading of binary options – which relies on predicting the rise or fall of currency pairs, commodities, or indices, with the possibility of investing a sum and obtaining a specific return if the prediction is correct, or losing it if it is wrong, and with the availability of Islamic accounts free of usury – considered permissible, given that the prediction is based on study and understanding of the market and not random guessing?

It is not permissible to trade in binary options because the object of the contract is not money, nor a usufruct, nor a financial right that can be compensated for. Rather, it is merely the right to buy or sell at a specific price, and this cannot be bought or sold. In addition to this, these contracts contain elements of ambiguity (gharar (definition)) and gambling. The resolution of the Islamic Fiqh Academy No. 63 (1/7) states: "Indeed, options contracts... are newly invented contracts that do not fall under any of the named legitimate contracts... And since the object of the contract is not money, nor a usufruct, nor a financial right that can be compensated for: it is therefore not permissible in Sharia (definition)." Furthermore, market analysis does not change the ruling, because it is not permissible to compensate for a mere intention or the right to choose.