The Ihsan Agile Guide

Download the Official Ihsan Agile Guide

The Ihsan Agile Guide provides a complete framework for embedding Islamic principles into Agile delivery practices. It includes:

1. The Essence of Ihsan Agile - Foundation, definition, and Three Pillars (Niyyah, Iḥsān, Maṣlaḥah)

2. Five Core Principles - Taqwā, Stewardship (Amānah & Khilāfah), Shūrā, Service & Justice (ʿIbādah & ʿAdl), and Tazkiyah, each with Agile applications rooted in the Qur'an and Sunnah

3. Roles in Ihsan Agile - Detailed description of the Ihsan Agile Facilitator (IAF) role and how it integrates with existing Agile roles

4. Core Practices - Ihsan Check-ins, Reflective Retrospectives (Muhāsabah), Stakeholder Barakah Reviews, and Continuous Niyyah Alignment

5. Scaling Ihsan Agile - Guidance for extending the framework across team, program, and portfolio levels

6. Getting Started - Practical steps for beginning your Ihsan Agile journey

7. Method-Specific Appendices - Framework maps for Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and Scrumban showing exactly where Ihsan Agile overlays integrate

8. Starter Checklists - Print-friendly checklists for Planning with Niyyah, Ethical Completeness, Muhāsabah Retrospectives, and Stakeholder Barakah Reviews

What's Inside the Guide

This guide is for:

• Muslim-led tech organisations and Islamic fintech startups seeking to operationalise Islamic values in software delivery

• Islamic charities and NGOs using Agile for campaigns, programs, or service delivery

• Agile practitioners in Muslim organisations who want to align their work with Islamic principles

• Shariah boards and governance leaders looking to extend ethical oversight into operational delivery

• Muslim software development teams wanting to embed ihsan into their daily practices

Who Should Read This Guide

Current Edition: 2025 - 1st Edition (Version 1.0)

Ihsan Agile follows a year-based edition model similar to the Scrum Guide™. Major updates will be released as new yearly editions, incorporating:

• Insights from pilot organisations

• Community feedback and contributions

• Refinements based on practical implementation

• Additional practices and guidance

This is a living framework. It will evolve through participatory development with Muslim-led organisations testing and refining the practices in real-world contexts.

Status: Pilot phase - seeking early adopter organisations to test the IAF role and provide feedback.

Framework Development & Versioning

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

You are free to:

• Share - Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

• Adapt - Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose

Under these terms:

• Attribution - You must give appropriate credit to "Ihsan Agile by Dr. David Wallace-Hare" with a link to ihsanagile.org

• ShareAlike - If you adapt or build upon this work, you must distribute your contributions under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license

• No additional restrictions - You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits

Proper attribution example:

"This work adapts content from the Ihsan Agile Guide by Dr. David Wallace-Hare (https://ihsanagile.org), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made."

Important note: While the Ihsan Agile framework is open and free, this Guide references other frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) that have their own trademarks and licenses. Please see Appendix A in the Guide for full attribution details.

License & Attribution

Ihsan Agile builds on widely adopted Agile practices, reinterpreted through Islamic values. The Guide references:

• The Scrum Guide™ (2020) by Ken Schwaber & Jeff Sutherland (CC BY-SA 4.0) - No endorsement implied

• The Kanban Guide™ by Orderly Disruption Limited & Daniel S. Vacanti, Inc. (CC BY-SA 4.0) - No endorsement implied

• SAFe® and Scaled Agile Framework® - Registered trademarks of Scaled Agile, Inc. - Not affiliated or endorsed

Collaboration with the Ihsan Agile framework is welcomed as a form of shirkah fī al-khayr (partnership in good). Teams and organisations are invited to adapt, translate, and share this guide for the benefit of the ummah.

Framework References & Acknowledgments & Attribution

Ihsan Agile is being developed with the community, not just for the community. Your feedback helps refine the framework and build a body of practice for Muslim tech.

Ways to contribute:

1. Pilot the framework - Join our pilot program to test the IAF role in your organisation (learn more)

2. Provide feedback - Share your thoughts on the Guide, suggest improvements, or report implementation challenges (getinvolved@ihsanagile.org)

3. Adapt and share - Under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, you can adapt this framework for your context and share your adaptations with proper attribution

4. Translate - Help make Ihsan Agile accessible to non-English speaking Muslim communities

Contribute & Provide Feedback

Download the Official Ihsan Agile Guide