The Ihsan Standard — nonprofit track.
Ten standards — the public scoring rubric applied to US Muslim 501(c)(3) nonprofits and masjids. Public and under active scholar review during the pilot — refined as scholars weigh in. Cite us, replicate us, improve us — and use the standard to encourage your own org to meet the bar. Each standard is scored independently. The mosque-specific overlay (community-health framework, iqamah-times transparency, cash- collection oversight) layers on top for masjids. The business equivalent — six dimensions led by zakat & financial discipline — lives under the Businesses tab.
- Version
- v1.0
- Published
- May 26, 2026
- Last reviewed
- May 1, 2026
- Scholar council
- Being assembled · review ongoing during the pilot
The standard is the standard the Prophet ﷺ taught.
The name of this framework is not decorative. Iḥsān (إحسان) is the third tier of the religion the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ described when Jibrīl ʿalayhi as-salām came to teach the Companions — after islām (submission) and īmān (faith). The hadith records the answer:
“Iḥsān is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then [know that] He sees you.”
That is the standard we are trying to apply to our own institutions. Not a marketing badge, not a checklist for appearance — a working assumption that Allāh sees the ledger, the kitchen, the worker timesheet, the supplier contract, the decision the board made when no public would notice. A Muslim business or nonprofit run with iḥsān behaves as if it is under that gaze whether or not anyone audits it.
This framework is the institutional translation of that principle. We are not asking Muslim organizations to look good. We are asking them to be the kind of organizations Allah would be pleased with — so that when the world looks at us, they see role models worth studying. Allah says:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.”
The verse is operative, not honorific. You are the best nation produced for mankind — the audience is mankind, not Muslims alone. The way that excellence is realized is named in the same verse: you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. An audit framework that holds Muslim institutions to that bar — publicly, with citations, with a right of reply — is one concrete way to act on what the verse asks of us.
The standards in this rubric are therefore not modern KPIs dressed in Arabic. They are an attempt to put what iḥsān asks — care for the worker, honest dealing with the customer, transparency with the donor, integrity with the regulator, fidelity with the supplier, mercy with the neighbor — into rows a stranger can score with public data. We will fall short of this many times. We expect to. The point of publishing the rubric is to let anyone — Muslim or not, ally or critic — hold us to it.
The ten standards
- A
Zakat fidelity & transparency
Zakat allocated across the eight Qur'ānic categories, with public honesty about actual practice. The org states its tamlīk position (ownership must pass to an eligible recipient) and discloses whether it uses any ḥīla (legal stratagem) to satisfy tamlīk requirements while ultimately directing funds somewhere other than the needy recipient themselves — e.g. routing zakat toward a needy person's tuition or health-care bills rather than giving it to them directly to decide where they wish to spend. Each category carries its proper weight — fī sabīlillāh not emptied of meaning to justify general programming — with a clear distribution timeline (within the hawl, or the followed one stated). Documentation is scholar-vetted, any on-site nisab/calculator is pinned to current spot prices, and admin fees or building costs never sit quietly on the zakat ledger.
What the score reflects- Position on tamlīk stated — and whether any ḥīla is used to satisfy it while ultimately directing funds somewhere other than the needy recipient's own hands (disclosed and genuine, never a technicality to clear a distribution total)
- How each of the eight categories is defined and weighted — fī sabīlillāh not emptied of meaning; the ʿāmilīn admin-cost position declared
- Zakat funds segregated from operating funds and distributed within the hawl (or the followed timeline stated openly)
- Allocation disclosed in a public, scholar-vetted zakat report; any on-site nisab/calculator accurately pinned
Where the evidence comes from- The org's public zakat-policy page (scanned and read)
- Form 990 and any published zakat / distribution reports
- Scholar or board attestation on file
- B
Religious products integrity
Qurbani, fidya, kaffara, and zakat al-fitr — pricing, timing, and scholar sign-off. Zakat al-fitr cleanly closed before the eid prayer; qurbani timing publicly stamped so donors know when tied actions (hair, nails) can be performed; pricing rooted in actual cost, not anchored fundraising figures.
What the score reflects- Time-bound products priced at true cost, not an anchored fundraising figure
- Zakat al-fitr closed before eid salah; qurbani window publicly stamped
- Scholar sign-off on timing and fulfillment; proof of fulfillment to the donor
Where the evidence comes from- Product / campaign pages and fulfillment proof
- Scholar attestation
- Donor-facing timing disclosures
- C
Financial discipline
No interest-bearing operating accounts. Donation-processing fees driven to a minimum so the maximum dollar reaches the project — not bleeding 3–5% on expensive donate buttons. Honest gift-in-kind reporting, reclassified program ratio, transparent reserves.
What the score reflects- No ribā-bearing operating, savings, or treasury accounts
- Donation-processing fee leakage measured against benchmarks
- Program-vs-overhead ratio, reserve discipline, and honest gift-in-kind valuation
Where the evidence comes from- Form 990 (Part IX program ratio, reserves, in-kind)
- Automated donate-page processor scan
- 990 risk signals
- D
Investment ethics & sustainable infrastructure
Reserves and endowment invested only in shariah-compliant instruments and screened against community-harm exposure — divested from companies complicit in atrocities or building surveillance tech against vulnerable populations. Sustainable donation pipeline established: waqf or a credible plan toward one, DAF acceptance, stock-receipt capability so the maximum dollar reaches the project.
What the score reflects- Reserves/endowment held only in shariah-compliant instruments
- Screened against atrocity- and surveillance-complicit holdings; divestment policy in place
- Durable pipeline — waqf (or a credible plan), DAF acceptance, stock receipts
Where the evidence comes from- Investment / reserves policy
- Form 990 investment schedules
- Org attestation
- E
Vendor ethics & community sourcing
Tech stack on a documented transition plan off boycotted vendors (e.g. Wix, Gusto). Deliberate preference for Muslim-owned and community vendors at equal or higher standard to commercial alternatives — and donor money not wasted on expensive tools or services when an equal-quality, more affordable alternative exists. No Qur'ānic verses or the name of Allah on mailers with high assumed trash-rate.
What the score reflects- Tech stack on a documented transition plan off boycotted vendors
- Preference for Muslim-owned / community vendors at equal or higher quality
- No Qur'ānic verses or the name of Allah on high-trash-rate mailers
Where the evidence comes from- Automated website vendor / supplier-stack scan
- Spend or supplier disclosures
- Org attestation
- F
Donor stewardship & protection
Restricted-fund honor rate, designation accuracy, refund and grievance policy. For mosques and cash-heavy collections: a documented oversight framework so jumu'ah cash is counted, witnessed, and bucketed against donor intent. Donor data architected to protect against big-tech surveillance.
What the score reflects- Restricted-fund honor rate and designation accuracy
- Refund / grievance policy; cash-collection oversight for mosques
- Donor data architected against big-tech surveillance capture
Where the evidence comes from- Donate flow + privacy / tracker scan
- Public policies and reporting
- Member or mosque-admin attestation
- G
Scholar consultation
Clear public identification of the religious scholars the org consults on zakat eligibility, fidya/kaffara pricing, qurbani timing, and other fiqh questions. Not necessarily a permanent standing board — but an honest, public answer to "who do you ask?"
What the score reflects- The scholars consulted on fiqh questions are named and citable
- Coverage of the rulings the org actually administers (zakat eligibility, product timing)
Where the evidence comes from- Public "who we ask" disclosure
- Scholar attestation / ijazas where they exist
- H
Programmatic clarity & impact
Defined program boundaries, sub-grantee disclosure, measurement of outcomes — tying each dollar a donor gave for a thing to the thing actually happening. Beneficiary counts and downstream chain depth disclosed where the program operates.
What the score reflects- Defined program boundaries and sub-grantee disclosure
- Outcomes measured; each restricted dollar tied to the thing funded
- Beneficiary counts and downstream chain depth disclosed
Where the evidence comes from- Form 990 Schedule F / I (grants, foreign activity)
- Program / impact reports
- Org attestation
- I
Governance & regulatory record
Board independence, term limits, conflict-of-interest policy, succession plan. Plus filings on time, registration status across states, and any sanctions or enforcement history on the public record. Audit trail on every administrative action.
What the score reflects- Board independence, term limits, conflict-of-interest policy, succession
- Filings on time; registration status across states
- Sanctions / enforcement history on the public record; admin audit trail
Where the evidence comes from- Form 990 governance section
- State charity registries + IRS records
- Public enforcement data
- J
Environmental stewardship
Khulafāʾ al-arḍ applied to operations. Energy, waste, packaging, supply-chain footprint. Substance over marketing. The Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ Stewardship Audit, run in collaboration with the Art and Wilderness Institute, deepens this dimension.
What the score reflects- Energy, waste, packaging, and supply-chain footprint
- Substance over green marketing
Where the evidence comes from- Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ stewardship audit (opt-in, with the Art and Wilderness Institute)
- Operational disclosures
The mosque overlay — on top of the ten standards.
A masjid is more than a 501(c)(3) — it’s a lived community space and the religious infrastructure of a neighborhood. The ten standards apply to every nonprofit; the items below layer on top for masjids and are surfaced separately on every mosque page.
- M1
Community-health framework
Audited against the community-health standards published openly in our catalog — all five fard salat in jamaa'ah, sisters' prayer space with respect and dignity, ghusl facility, named imam with publicly disclosed training, weekend school, hifz program, food pantry, zakat collection and distribution, counseling, marriage and conflict mediation, sister programming, senior programming, mental-health support, reentry support, and the rest. Each standard is shown on the mosque's page with the evidence source and confirmation tier (scraped, vouched by member, imam-attested, mosque-admin-confirmed, or audited).
View the full community-health catalog → - M2
Iqamah times — transparent and maintainable
Iqamah times that congregants can find easily on the masjid's own website, are accurate to actual practice, and stay current. Ihsan Standard provides a free, customizable iqamah-times tool — fixed times, offset-from-prayer rules, day-of-week overrides — that the masjid admin can embed on the masjid website with one line. Those same iqamah times can be posted to NoorMap, the largest public directory of masjids, so travelers and visitors can find accurate prayer times for any masjid near them. No more outdated jumu'ah times pinned to the wall and forgotten online. Mosque admins manage their schedule through a simple dashboard; the embedded widget updates automatically.
- M3
Financial transparency
Mosques don't file public 990s, so the community usually has little visibility into where its donations go. Beyond counting jumu'ah and Ramadan cash with multiple signers, witnessing, and restricted-fund honor (fitra, qurbani, building, general, and specific projects), the standard here is openness to an independent third-party review — by Ihsan Standard, under an NDA where needed, or another qualified party — of both incoming donations and how they are spent. The point is simple: donors should be able to trust that their giving funds the masjid's upkeep and services and is never diverted — for instance, to cover a board member's personal expenses.
- M4
Civic engagement
Does the masjid support the local Muslim ecosystem — Muslim-owned local businesses, the local civic infrastructure, the community around it? Community door-knocking and get-out-the-vote programs where appropriate. The masjid as anchor of the neighborhood, not just a Friday-only building.
- M5
Imam attestation + scholar consultation
A named imam, with an identifiable line of training (ijazas where they exist), publicly disclosed. For fiqh questions the masjid administers — zakat eligibility, fidya/kaffara pricing, qurbani timing, marriage rulings — a clear public answer to which scholars are consulted. Connects to the Scholar Consultation standard (G) with the names and the citations.
Disclosed, never hidden.
Ihsan Standard was built by Muslims who first wanted to apply these standards to their own small nonprofit. A handful of orgs connected to an Ihsan Standard director or affiliate are likely to appear in this directory over time. Where they do, three things hold:
- The conflict is disclosed on the org’s directory tile and on its detail page, in plain text, with the relationship named.
- The same rubric is applied — no softer scoring, no skipped domains, no private grading-on-a-curve.
- The same right-of-reply governs published findings. Public-record data is treated as public-record data regardless of who runs the org.
We do not score our own work in private and publish only when it flatters us. If a director or affiliate’s org scores below the bar, that shows on the page in the same way it would for anyone else.
Ihsan Standard Council (2026). The Ihsan Standard, v1.0. https://ihsanstandard.org/methodology.