Wasiyyah Shoppe Berhad, The Game Changer
Pioneering the field of Islamic Estate Planning Industry
The first of five siblings, Ariffin Sabirin was an active student in his university days, being awarded Student of The Year Award in 1989 for outstanding academic and leadership achievement. He completed his tertiary education in Business Management at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1990 and even represented Malaysia in the SIF-ASEAN Fellowship Programme at the National University of Singapore.
With a background in finances, Ariffin started a career path in banking in Citibank Kuala Lumpur in 1994. He further advanced himself becoming a Senior Associate after joining the RHB Unit Trust Management Bhd, and became the top Million Dollar Achiever for three consecutive years, from 1995 to 1997. Ariffin then furthered his career path by joining a law firm as a Business Development Director, specialising in developing and marketing products for Islamic estate planning.
A fated chance
1998 was the year that changed it all. Listening to a lecture about faraid (Islamic wealth distribution) by the late Ustaz Ridhuan Awang, Ariffin was stunned to learn about the people who have a rightful claim to his assets upon his demise. “I was surprised to find out that apart from my wife and daughter, my brother also has a claim to my assets,” Ariffin highlights. The talk paved the path for him to go in-depth about Islamic estate financing, and in 2004, became the foundation for the inception of Wasiyyah Shoppe Berhad.
What started as a small office on the 42nd floor of Tower 2 KLCC, the company has now expanded to an office in Kota Damansara, with over 70,000 Muslims clienteles all across Malaysia. With a vision to be the number one Shariah compliance estate planning organisation in Malaysia, Ariffin and his team have built a reputation as a pioneer in this industry, providing 35 estate planning services, catering to each client’s requirements.
Becoming the Game Changer
Estimated over 70 billion worth of assets that are frozen, and those estates majority belongs to Muslims.
Recounting to the earlier days when Wasiyyah Shoppe first started, there were many challenges faced in educating the masses about the importance of estate planning, especially among the Muslim community. The topic of inheritance is quite a taboo topic among the Muslim communities in Malaysia, as it always relates to death. In Islam, the comprehensive faraid system is mentioned in the Quran and is the system Muslims abide by when disbursing inheritance upon the death of a family member. However, the lack of knowledge and understanding about faraid itself has caused many disputes among family members and assets to be frozen. The term Islamic estate planning was a new term. Those were among the many challenges faced by Ariffin when he started talking about asset and estate planning.
With a mission to not only provide a Shariah compliance estate planning service but also to educate the Muslim community about the importance of estate planning, Wasiyyah Shoppe has achieved great heights in becoming the game-changer in the industry. Currently, Wasiyyah Shoppe manages the most assets for Muslims, in terms of Shariah compliance estate planning industry.
A Tailor-Made Boutique Service
Understanding that every person has a different set of the asset portfolio and faraid structure, Wasiyyah Shoppe strive to accommodate each client’s needs and requirements. This means that each individual case are diagnosed and tailor-made according to each client’s specification and objectives.
Which such specific treatment, Wasiyyah Shoppe Berhad has settled over 350 cases regarding inheritance worth over RM600 million, since 2004. Throughout their 16 years operation, over 50,000 clients have engaged in their hibah services and plan to manage assets up to RM 80 billion by 2023.
Awards and Recognition
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Wasiyyah Shoppe has been recognised by various awards upon their achievements over their 16 years journey both in the local and international arena. Among the notable milestones include being recognised by the European Business Assembly in 2018, as the Best Regional Enterprise in Asia. In 2019, Wasiyyah Shoppe was awarded Inspirational Company 2019 by World Confederation of Businesses.
Locally, Wasiyyah Shoppe has been awarded as Most Promising Franchisee Award in 2008, and Syarikat Perancangan Harta dan Pengurusan Pusaka Terbaik 2020, by NiagaTimes.
Ariffin also received the Entrepreneur Perceptive Leadership Award by the SME & Entrepreneurship Business Award 2017/2018.
“Wasiyyah Shoppe Berhad is also recognised as one of the High-Performance Bumiputera Company, under the TERAJU Unit, Prime Minister Department,” Ariffin adds.
Future of Wasiyyah Shoppe
Passion is the key to keep going on in this business. Setbacks are always there, but with passion and perseverance in the industry, and the will to help people and to give back to the community.
Ariffin highlighted that the critical problem among the Muslim community about inheritance and estate planning is not just a local problem. He has found that the vague understanding of asset distribution upon one’s demise is a common problem among Muslims across the region, in Brunei and Singapore, as well as various other nations including Australia and the United Kingdom. He sees this as an opportunity to expand the knowledge throughout the global Muslim community, giving talks and lectures.
He hopes to spearhead and introduce Wasiyyah Shoppe services to these countries, as well as the Middle East, providing a safe and secure means for Muslims to plan their estate and assets wisely.
From that one small talk in the mosque about faraid, Ariffin is now going around the country and abroad, giving speeches and educating the Muslim public about the importance of estate planning, will and inheritance. Ariffin advises young couples with children to seriously start planning their assets as preparation, “Should anything happen to them, what would happen to their children.” He stresses on why the public should be more alert in terms of estate planning. “When we pass away, we would want our estate to be benefitted by the next generation.” Wasiyyah Shoppe hopes to become the game-changer and to change this attitude. With 16 years of experience, their track record is a testament to their mission and vision.