Embedding Islamic Values into Agile Delivery

We're witnessing an exciting moment in Muslim tech and Islamic enterprise. Organisations articulate what Islamic values should mean for their work. The Muslim Tech Manifesto inspires developers. Islamic fintech startups multiply. There is energy, conviction, and vision.

But there's also a gap, what we call the implementation gap.

It's one thing to declare, "We build with Islamic values." It's another to live those values on a Tuesday afternoon when your sprint is behind schedule, the product owner is pushing hard, and the team is debating whether to skip accessibility testing to ship faster.

These everyday decisions carry profound ethical weight:

• A development team deciding whether to cut corners on testing to meet a deadline

• A product owner weighing feature priorities: do we optimise for conversion or for user wellbeing?

• A designer choosing between dark-pattern engagement tactics or transparent interactions that honor user agency

• A team debating whether to defer technical debt: who will bear the future cost?

None of these are "Shariah decisions" in the formal governance sense. Yet they touch on justice (ʿadl), trust and stewardship (amānah), transparency, and care for stakeholders.

The question is: Who ensures these everyday decisions actively express Islamic values rather than merely avoiding obvious prohibitions? Who helps Muslim organisations move from manifesto to mechanism, from principles to practice?

This is where Ihsan Agile provides a structural response to a structural problem.

The Implementation Gap

The Three Pillars of Ihsan Agile

Ihsan Agile is built on three foundational dimensions of ethical, God-conscious work:

Niyyah نِيَّةٌ (Intention)

Clarify the purpose and higher aim of every sprint, flow, or initiative.

Work begins with conscious intention directed towards Allah and service to His creation. Every planning cycle starts with: "Why are we building this? Who benefits? How does this serve maslahah?"

Strive for beauty, quality, and meaningful impact in all deliverables and interactions, as though Allah sees every detail.

Excellence infused with consciousness. Every line of code, every interaction, every decision is witnessed by Allah and has consequences for His creation.

Orient all work towards genuine benefit, not output for its own sake, but service that uplifts people and communities.

Maṣlaḥah becomes our qibla: Does this work create genuine benefit? Success is measured by uplift, not just velocity.

Ihsān إحسان (Excellence with God-consciousness)

Maslahah مَصْلَحَة (Public Good)

These pillars are operationalised through Five Core Principles and practical ceremonies embedded into your existing Agile workflows—whether you use Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or Scrumban.

Read the Complete Framework ↓

Five Core Responsibilities

1. Facilitate Niyyah Check-ins — 2-3 minutes at planning to clarify "why?" and "who benefits?"

2. Transform Retrospectives into Muhāsabah — 5-10 minutes of ethical reflection: "Where did we embody ihsan? Where did we fall short?"

3. Embed Justice in Definition of Done — Add criteria for transparency, stewardship, accessibility, dignity

4. Conduct Stakeholder Barakah Reviews — Ask: "Did this create uplift? Was it fair? What harms need addressing?"

5. Support Shūrā (Consultation) — Ensure affected voices are heard in decisions

The Ihsan Agile Facilitator:

From Principles to Practice

The Ihsan Agile Facilitator (IAF) is a companion-coach who embeds ethical consciousness into routine workflows. The IAF answers the question: "Who ensures everyday decisions actively express Islamic values?"

The IAF is:

• Complementary, not replacement — Works alongside Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and existing Agile roles

• Lightweight — Adds 2-10 minutes to existing ceremonies, not hours

• Framework-agnostic — Adapts to Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or Scrumban

• Operationally focused — Daily and weekly practice, not periodic governance

Learn more about the IAF Role ↓

• You're a Scrum Master or Agile Coach wanting to embed Islamic ethics into ceremonies you already facilitate

• You're a Product Owner or Team Lead in a Muslim-led organization seeking to operationalise values in backlog decisions

• You're a Muslim developer or designer wanting your daily work to reflect Islamic principles structurally, not just individually

• You're leading an Islamic charity or NGO using Agile methods for campaigns or service delivery

• You're founding or leading a Muslim tech company and need to bridge Shariah compliance with ethical product development

This framework is for you if...

Join the Pilot Program

Ihsan Agile is a developing framework. The Core Principles are grounded in Islamic sources. The practices are designed based on agile consultancy experience. But we have not yet piloted the IAF role comprehensively in live organizations.

This is where we need you.

We're seeking early adopter organisations willing to pilot the Ihsan Agile Facilitator role as partners in shaping this framework through real-world practice.

What's Included:

• Training and facilitation support

• Adaptation of the framework to your specific context

• Ongoing consultation and community connection

• Recognition as a founding Certified Ihsan Agile Facilitator (CIAF)

• Contribution to building a body of practice for Muslim tech and Islamic enterprise

What We're Asking:

• Minimum 2-3 sprint cycles (typically 4-6 weeks)

• Openness to making values explicit in your workflow

• Feedback to help refine the framework

• At least one person who can dedicate time to the IAF role

Express Your Interest in Piloting →

Download the Official Ihsan Agile Guide