Perkly Card Index · August 2026 · Islamic
Best Islamic credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Eight Shariah-compliant cards, from free cashback cards to premium airline cards, ordered by the interest Perkly users showed in August.
By the Perkly research team · Published · Updated · Covers August 2026 · Card details checked 19 September 2026
Based on Perkly data for August 2026: more than 500 card searches, and the card pages, Apply clicks and applications that followed, on perkly.ae between 1 and 31 August 2026. Card fees, rates and offers on this page update live from Perkly’s card database.
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Shariah-compliant cards are not a niche in the UAE. Nearly every bank offers them, and in August an Islamic card was the single most applied-for card on Perkly. These are the 8 Islamic cards Perkly users applied for, clicked and read about most.
Islamic cards replace interest with structures such as Murabaha or Tawarruq, and several banks call them covered cards. For the cardholder the day-to-day is the same: you spend, earn rewards and pay your statement. What differs is how any balance you carry is charged, so read each bank's terms if you plan to revolve.
Apply for the top picks
- #2Emirates Islamic Skywards Black StandardAED 2,100 a year · salary from AED 35,000
- #4NBF Islamic Platinum Credit CardNo annual fee · salary from AED 9,000
- #5ADIB Emirates Skywards InfiniteAED 4,725 a year · salary from AED 25,000
How this list is made. The order comes from Perkly’s own data and nothing else. No bank pays to appear here, and no placement on this page can be bought. If you apply through Perkly and a bank issues your card, Perkly may earn a referral fee, which never changes the order or the figures you see.
Mawarid Finance Platinum Credit Card
Not available through Perkly at the moment. It earned this place in the month this article covers, so it stays on the list, but you cannot apply for it here at present.
Annual fee
AED 2,100
Min. salary
AED 35,000
Rewards in
Skywards Miles
Top rate
10.77% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to Emirates and flydubai spend in AED booked directly with the airline. Travel agent bookings and other travel spend earn a lower standard rate. Miles can only be used with Emirates Skywards.
3.5 Skywards Miles per USD on Emirates and flydubai booked directly with the airline, 2 per USD abroad and 1.5 locally, with complimentary Skywards Silver. AED 2,100 a year, minimum salary AED 35,000.
Best for: Frequent Emirates flyers who want an Islamic card.
- Earn 3.5 Skywards Miles per AED 3.67 on Emirates or flydubai, 2 per USD on foreign spend
- Complimentary Skywards Silver: priority check-in and boarding, 30% bonus Miles, 12kg extra baggage, Dubai Business lounge
- 1 free airport lounge visit a year (1,200+ lounges via Visa Airport Companion) plus 4 airport transfers a year
- Applications:
- Joint #3 of all cards
Mawarid Finance World Elite Credit Card
Not available through Perkly at the moment. It earned this place in the month this article covers, so it stays on the list, but you cannot apply for it here at present.
NBF Islamic Platinum Credit Card
Cashback · Islamic
Annual fee
Free
Min. salary
AED 9,000
Rewards in
Cashback
Top rate
10% dining & food
A Murabaha-based card whose headline reward is 10% cashback on dining paid directly to restaurants, cafes and fast-food outlets, on bills of AED 25 or more, capped at AED 150 a billing cycle. It also earns NBF Rewards points. Free for life.
Best for: People who eat out often and want a free Islamic card.
- 10% cashback on dining (capped at AED 150 per billing cycle, min AED 25 per transaction)
- NBF Rewards points redeemable for gift cards, Etihad Guest Miles or instant cashback
- Shariah-compliant Murabaha structure with 2 free supplementary cards included
- Apply clicks:
- #4 of all cards
ADIB Emirates Skywards Infinite
Travel · Islamic
Annual fee
AED 4,725
Min. salary
AED 25,000
Rewards in
Skywards Miles
Top rate
9.21% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to spend with Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays. Other travel spend earns a lower standard rate.
ADIB's top Skywards card: 3 Miles per USD on Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays, complimentary Silver with a fast track to Gold, lounge access for you and a guest and 4 airport transfers a year. AED 4,725 a year with the fast track to Skywards Gold, or AED 2,625 without it.
Best for: Premium Emirates flyers who bank with ADIB.
- Earn 3 Skywards Miles per AED 3.68 on Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays, 2 on foreign spend, 1.5 on local
- Complimentary Skywards Silver, fast-track to Gold on USD 5,000 Emirates spend, valid 12 months
- Unlimited lounge access for cardholder and 1 guest (1,000+ lounges) plus 4 airport transfers a year
Current welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus Emirates Skywards Miles
- Page visits:
- Joint #2 of all cards
Emirates Islamic Barça Cashback Card
Cashback · Islamic
Annual fee
Free
Min. salary
AED 5,000
Rewards in
Cashback
Top rate
4% supermarket (partner only)
4% categories (Supermarket/Dining/Fuel/Sports) are each capped at AED 100/month; only UAE merchants qualify for the 4% Supermarket and Fuel rates, which EI tags as UAE. A minimum spend of AED 1,000 a month is required to earn any cashback.
4% on supermarkets, dining, fuel and sports (each capped at AED 100 a month), 2% abroad and 1% on general domestic spend, in months you spend AED 1,000. Free for life, with FC Barcelona prize draws.
Best for: A free Islamic cashback card for moderate spenders.
- 4% cashback on supermarkets, dining, fuel and sports (capped at AED 100/month each)
- Up to 2% cashback on international spend; up to 1% on other domestic spend
- FC Barcelona prize draws: match tickets, signed jerseys and club experiences
ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Infinite Covered Card
Travel · Islamic
Annual fee
AED 3,150
Min. salary
AED 5,000
Rewards in
Etihad Guest Miles
Top rate
10.28% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to Etihad Airways spend. Other travel spend earns a lower standard rate. Miles can only be used with Etihad Guest.
The most visited card page on Perkly in August: 3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 4 on Etihad and foreign spend, Silver tier with a fast track to Gold, lounge access for you and a guest and a companion ticket at AED 150,000 of annual spend. AED 3,150 a year.
Best for: Etihad flyers who want an Islamic card.
- Earn up to 3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 4 on Etihad and foreign spend, 2.5 on local spend
- Complimentary Etihad Guest Silver Tier, fast-track to Gold on AED 4,500 Etihad spend in 12 months
- Unlimited lounge access for you and a guest (1,000+ lounges) plus 2 free Abu Dhabi airport transfers a year
Current welcome offer: Earn up to 225,000 Etihad Guest Miles on new applications
Expected offer expiry: December 2026
- Page visits:
- #1 of all cards
Aafaq World Elite Credit Card
Rewards · Islamic
Aafaq Islamic Finance
World Elite Credit Card
Annual fee
AED 1,050
Min. salary
AED 20,000
Rewards in
AIF Rewards
Top rate
3.75% dining & food
AIF Rewards at 5 per AED 1 on dining and online shopping (on the first AED 2,000 a month of each) and 3 on non-AED spend, with cinema, valet, golf and padel benefits in months you spend AED 8,000. AED 1,050 a year, free in year 1.
Best for: Regular online and dining spenders who want an Islamic rewards card.
- Earn 5 AIF Rewards per AED 1 on dining and online shopping, 3 on non-AED spend, 1 on other retail (excluding petrol, supermarkets, utilities and many common categories)
- Complimentary airport lounge access for cardholder and one guest
- With AED 8,000 monthly spend: 6 BOGO cinema tickets, 6 valet visits, 2 golf and 2 padel games per month
Current welcome offer: Earn up to AED 600 cashback in your first 90 days
Side by side
Live figures from Perkly’s card database. Earn rates are the value you get back per AED spent, after converting miles or points to dirhams.
| Card | Annual fee | Min. salary | Top rate | Welcome offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2Emirates Islamic Skywards Black Standard | AED 2,100 | AED 35,000 | 10.77%* | None right now |
| #4NBF Islamic Platinum Credit Card | Free | AED 9,000 | 10% | None right now |
| #5ADIB Emirates Skywards Infinite | AED 4,725 | AED 25,000 | 9.21%* | Yes |
| #6Emirates Islamic Barça Cashback Card | Free | AED 5,000 | 4%* | None right now |
| #7ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Infinite Covered Card | AED 3,150 | AED 5,000 | 10.28%* | Yes |
| #8Aafaq World Elite Credit Card | AED 1,050 | AED 20,000 | 3.75% | Yes |
* Applies only at the card’s partner merchants or airline; other spend earns less. A number missing from the list is a card that cannot be applied for through Perkly at the moment.
Islamic or conventional: does it change the rewards?
Not in any systematic way. The best Islamic cashback cards pay as much as conventional ones. Emirates Islamic and ADIB between them issue a full range of Emirates Skywards and Etihad Guest cards, and FAB offers Islamic Etihad Guest cards too. Choose on the rewards and fees first; the Islamic structure matters most if you expect to carry a balance.
The Perkly wizard can show Islamic cards alongside conventional ones for your own spending.
How we built this list
This list is built from what people did on Perkly between 1 and 31 August 2026, not from what banks advertise and not from payments: no bank can pay to appear here or to move up. We count four things per card, and each visit counts once, at the furthest point it reached: an application submitted through Perkly, an application started, a click on Apply now, and a visit to the card's page. Each is weighted by how far it went: an application counts 10, a started application 5, a click on Apply now 3 and a page visit 1, and the list is ordered by the total. So a card many people explored closely can sit above one with a single application, and the signal shown beside each card is its strongest one, not the whole picture.
The data covers more than 500 card searches in August. Our own testing is excluded, and visitors who opted out of analytics are not counted. At this scale a single application can move a card several places, so read the order as "what people gravitated to", not as a precise league table. We publish ranks rather than raw counts for the same reason.
Card details in the text were checked on 19 September 2026 against Perkly's card data, which was reviewed against each bank's own documents between 15 and 19 September 2026. The fees, earn rates and welcome offers shown in each card panel are live from Perkly's card database, so they stay current after this article was written. Always confirm the final terms with the bank before you apply.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Islamic credit card in the UAE?
In August 2026 the most chosen Islamic card on Perkly was Mawarid Finance's Platinum card, a free covered card paying 10% on groceries, dining and fuel (capped). For Emirates flyers, Emirates Islamic's Skywards Black Standard was the most chosen. Mawarid's cards are not available through Perkly at the moment.
What is a covered card?
It is the name several UAE Islamic banks and finance companies use for a Shariah-compliant credit card. You use it exactly like a credit card; the difference is the Islamic finance structure behind any balance you carry.
How often is this list updated?
Every month. Each edition of the Perkly Card Index covers one calendar month of activity on Perkly and is published early the following month. Card details on every page update automatically from Perkly's card database.
Is one of these your best card?
Popular is not the same as right for you. Tell Perkly your salary and how you spend and it ranks every card in the UAE for you, or talk your options through with Perkly Chat.
The August 2026 series
16 articles, each on August 2026 data.
- 1Best cashback credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 2Best travel credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 3Best Emirates Skywards credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 4Best Etihad Guest credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 5The 10 most popular credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 6Best rewards credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 7Best no annual fee credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 8Best Islamic credit cards in the UAE: August 2026You are reading thisYou are reading this
- 9How the UAE chose credit cards in August 202621 September 202621 September 2026
- 10The best credit cards for an AED 5,000 salary in the UAE, August 202622 September 202622 September 2026
- 11The best credit cards for an AED 10,000 salary in the UAE, August 202623 September 202623 September 2026
- 12The best credit cards for an AED 15,000 salary in the UAE, August 202624 September 202624 September 2026
- 13The best credit cards for an AED 20,000 salary in the UAE, August 202625 September 202625 September 2026
- 14The best credit cards for an AED 25,000 salary in the UAE, August 202626 September 202626 September 2026
- 15The best credit cards for an AED 30,000 salary in the UAE, August 202627 September 202627 September 2026
- 16The best credit cards for an AED 50,000+ salary in the UAE, August 202628 September 202628 September 2026
More from August 2026
Best cashback credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
The 8 cashback cards Perkly users applied for, clicked and read about most in August, and the conditions that decide what each one really pays.
Read the list →
Best travel credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Airline cards, travel cashback and flexible points: the 8 travel cards Perkly users were most interested in during August.
Read the list →
Best Emirates Skywards credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Seven Skywards co-brand cards from three banks, ordered by the interest Perkly users showed in August, with what each one earns and costs.
Read the list →
Best Etihad Guest credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Five Etihad Guest cards from three banks, ordered by the interest Perkly users showed in August, with what each earns and costs.
Read the list →
- August 2026
- Islamic
- Shariah-compliant
- Cashback
- Travel