Sukuk in plain English: how bonds work without interest

A conventional bond is a loan: you hand over money, you receive interest. A sukuk is ownership: you buy a certificate representing a slice of a real asset — an airport terminal, a fleet, a solar farm — and you earn a share of the income that asset genuinely produces.

The difference in one table-less list

• Bond: claim on a borrower. Sukuk: claim on an asset.

• Bond: fixed interest regardless of outcomes. Sukuk: income tied to the asset's actual performance.

• Bond: default is a broken promise to pay interest. Sukuk: risk is shared through ownership itself.

Same capital markets, different foundation: the return exists because the asset earned it.

Sovereigns and corporates across dozens of markets now issue sukuk routinely — it is one of the fastest-growing corners of global finance, and the structure behind many halal pension funds.