Eqraz vs IjaraCDC (2026): Murabaha or Ijara for a Canadian Halal Mortgage?

Eqraz and IjaraCDC are the two national alternatives to Manzil, and they use opposite contracts. Eqraz finances you under a monthly Murabaha with 100% of the title in your name; its posted profit rates on October 2, 2026 ran from 6.90% for one year to 7.60% for five, on 25-year amortization, a maximum 80% finance-to-value, a $5,000 administration fee and a 2% commitment fee. IjaraCDC arranges an Ijara lease-to-own in which a trust created for you holds the property until it is paid off, with down payments from 5% and no published rate. Choose Eqraz for a fixed, fully disclosed price and IjaraCDC for a low down payment, a conversion of an existing mortgage, or a file that needs a broker.

The two contracts as each provider publishes them

Eqraz's FAQ is unusually explicit about its mechanics. The financing is a monthly Murabaha in which the financier uses halal assets it owns, sells them to the customer, and the customer sells them to the open market; the initial financing is a deferred Murabaha on a Shariah-compliant commodity rather than on the home itself. Eqraz's own FAQ video list acknowledges the structure resembles Tawarruq and explains why its scholars distinguish it from organized Tawarruq. Funding comes through a Wakala agreement with a Canadian Schedule One bank, under which the financier invests the bank's funds as agent rather than borrowing at interest. Your counterparty is a wholly owned Eqraz subsidiary, such as EFV001 Inc., created to satisfy provincial licensing; Eqraz itself says it cannot be the financier.

IjaraCDC's Canada page describes an Ijara, or rent-to-own, transaction in which an independent trust is created for each customer and holds the property until it is fully paid. The investor earns a return through monthly rent calculated on what IjaraCDC calls a reverse amortization, and the FAQ is candid that standard amortization formulas are used because there is no Shariah objection to the maths. IjaraCDC itself is an arranger: its FAQ says it can work with any type of lender in Canada, including banks, and that every transaction with its investors is set up as an Ijara. The home financing hub explains where each contract sits in the wider family, and our halal versus conventional comparison shows what each changes legally.

Who holds title, and what that does to land transfer tax

Eqraz's answer is unambiguous: you will own 100% of your property and hold title, and you will benefit from any rise in value and absorb any fall. Because the Murabaha is on a commodity rather than the home, the home changes hands once, from the seller to you, which keeps land transfer tax to the single event any buyer pays. The one wrinkle is that home insurance must name Computershare Trust Company Canada, which Eqraz describes as the custodian, as beneficiary, and that a second lawyer is mandated for private mortgages in Ontario and British Columbia, which Eqraz says is a provincial rule rather than its own.

IjaraCDC's published answers point in two directions, and the gap is worth resolving before you sign. One FAQ says the trust holds and takes care of the property until it is fully paid, and that nobody owns the trust because it is a legal person in its own right. Another FAQ answers the question "Is the property going to be in Ijara's name?" with no, the property title or deed will remain in the client's name. Both can be true if the trust is the registered owner and the client is the beneficiary, but that is a question for the closing lawyer, because the answer determines whether buying out the trust at the end of the term is a second registrable transfer in your province. IjaraCDC's FAQ lists the benefit of the trust as protection from individual liabilities such as bankruptcy and instant transfer to beneficiaries on death.

Down payment, insured availability and amortization

Eqraz's maximum financing calculator states that it can only fund up to 80% of the property value, so the minimum down payment is 20%; on its worked example that is $250,000 on a $1,250,000 home. The product is a fixed Murabaha with a renewable term of up to five years and 25-year amortization, available for ready-to-move-in owner-occupied homes only, with closing within 60 days; new construction is excluded. Eqraz's calculator also applies a stress test at 2% above the contract rate, mirroring federal practice.

IjaraCDC's Canada FAQ lists the minimum down payment as 5% for the first $500,000 of price and 10% on the amount above it, which is the insured-mortgage tier structure, and its Canada programs page lists the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, a Family Plan with 5% down, a second-home program at 5%, a small-rental program at 20% and an alternative B-lending stream at 20% down with a 1% lender fee. It also lists refinancing up to 80% of appraised value and a conversion program that turns an existing conventional mortgage into an Ijara in 10 to 14 business days without a refinance. Whether any specific file is insured depends on the investor it is placed with; IjaraCDC does not publish an insurer relationship on the pages we fetched.

What each publishes on price, and what a $480,000 financing costs

Eqraz updates its rate page monthly and, on October 2, 2026, posted 6.90% for a 1-year term, 7.25% for 2 years, 7.35% for 3, 7.50% for 4 and 7.60% for 5. Its FAQ explains that the effective APR it must disclose is higher than the posted rate because it includes the 2% commitment fee, solicitor fees and other closing costs, and that the schedule is expressed as semi-annual compounding because Canadian regulation requires it, not because the Murabaha compounds. Using that convention on $480,000 over 25 years, the 1-year rate gives about $3,332 a month and the 5-year rate about $3,542. Over a 5-year term at 7.60% the profit portion totals roughly $172,700 and the balance at renewal is about $440,200.

IjaraCDC publishes nothing comparable. Its FAQ says that for the same scenario its investors' rates should be more or less similar to a bank's, and that a low credit score or employment issue pushes the rate up in step with the file's complexity. There is no published administration fee for Canadian residential files. What is published is the early termination treatment: usually 10% to 20% in extra payments per year without penalty, varying by investor, and an early termination fee of around three months' rent for a full payout. Our break and prepayment costs article compares those terms with Manzil's.

Refinancing, selling early and moving

Eqraz treats the Murabaha like a Canadian mortgage for life events. You can prepay partially or in full at any time with prepayment charges, sell at any price in a negative-equity situation provided you settle the balance out of pocket before title transfers, and refinance an existing conventional or halal mortgage into the product. Its FAQ frames the cancellation penalty with the standard Canadian formula, the higher of three months' profit and the rate differential, and points to a calculator for it. Portability is not addressed on the pages we fetched, so assume a sale and a new application. Our refinancing hub explains when a switch makes sense.

IjaraCDC is built around transitions. Its Canada programs page lists refinancing up to 80% of appraised value, a mortgage switch program for buyers who want a lower profit rate without changing other terms, bridge financing for a purchase that closes before the sale, a spousal buyout program and the conversion of an existing mortgage into an Ijara. The FAQ adds that you can put extra money directly toward ownership at the end of a term before re-signing. For a buyer who expects to move within five years, that menu matters more than a published rate, because the cost of leaving is where the money goes.

Provinces served and Shariah oversight as each site states it

Eqraz's FAQ says it is available across all Canadian provinces, and its calculator lists property locations in all ten. Its home page, however, now carries a notice that EQRAZ Inc. is not licensed as a mortgage brokerage in Ontario and is not offering, arranging or soliciting mortgages in Ontario, while services remain available where it is authorized. On oversight, the FAQ says Eqraz has appointed a Shariah Board and holds fatwas from Mufti Mirza Zain Baig of CCIRI in Montreal and Mufti Faisal Al Mahmoudi of Dar-al-Mahmoudiyya in Edmonton, that compliance is audited annually and ad hoc, and that its funding providers follow AAOIFI standards; the Shariah certificate for the Wakala and Murabaha is linked from its mortgage information page.

IjaraCDC states that it serves Canada from its Ann Arbor, Michigan office and can work with any Canadian lender; it publishes no provincial exclusions. Its site carries a fatwa page and a Sharia compliance section, and our provider profile records a Sharia Advisory Board chaired by Mufti Muneer Akhoon with Shaykh Mufti Mohammed-Umer Esmail as advisor. For a reader who wants a Canadian-regulated counterparty, the difference is that Eqraz names a Canadian funding subsidiary, a Schedule One bank funder, Computershare as custodian and CMLS Financial as backup administrator, while IjaraCDC names the investor only once your file is placed.

Verdict by buyer type

• Fixed-cost seeker with 20% down: Eqraz, because the rate, the $5,000 fee, the 2% commitment fee and the break formula are all published before you apply.
• Buyer with 5% to 19% down: IjaraCDC, because Eqraz cannot fund above 80% of value and IjaraCDC's Canada FAQ starts at 5%.
• Likely mover within five years: IjaraCDC on paper, for its switch, bridge and buyout programs, but get Eqraz's prepayment schedule in writing first because a three-month-profit penalty on a 1-year term can be smaller than three months' rent.
• Refinancer with an existing conventional mortgage: either; Eqraz refinances into a Murabaha, IjaraCDC converts in 10 to 14 business days without a new application, so compare the total cost of each route.
• Investor buying a rental: IjaraCDC's small-rental program at 20% down is published; Eqraz's product is owner-occupied only.
• Ontario buyer: read Eqraz's Ontario licensing notice first and ask which entity would finance you; IjaraCDC and Manzil carry no such notice.

Our view is that these two providers are not substitutes so much as answers to different questions. Eqraz is the better product for a buyer who wants to know the all-in price today and is prepared to pay a published premium over Manzil's rate sheet for a Murabaha with title in their own name. IjaraCDC is the better route for a buyer the lenders with published rates will not take: under 20% down, self-employed with bank-statement income, a B-lending file, or an existing mortgage that needs converting rather than replacing. If you qualify for both, get the Eqraz commitment letter, hand it to IjaraCDC and ask the investor to beat it. Facts checked against eqraz.com and ijaracdc.com on September 18, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Eqraz a Murabaha or a Tawarruq?

Eqraz describes its product as a monthly Murabaha in which the financier sells a Shariah-compliant commodity it owns to the customer, who sells it on to the market, with the initial financing provided through a deferred Murabaha on a commodity rather than on the home. Its own FAQ video series addresses the observation that this resembles Tawarruq and explains how its scholars distinguish it from organized Tawarruq. The Shariah certificate is linked from eqraz.com.

Who holds the title in an IjaraCDC mortgage in Canada?

IjaraCDC's Canada FAQ says an independent trust created for each customer holds and takes care of the property until it is fully paid, and separately says the property title or deed will remain in the client's name. Ask the closing lawyer which party is registered on title and whether the end-of-term buyout is a second transfer, because that affects land transfer tax in some provinces.

What are Eqraz's current rates and fees?

On October 2, 2026, Eqraz posted fixed profit rates of 6.90% for a 1-year term, 7.25% for 2 years, 7.35% for 3, 7.50% for 4 and 7.60% for 5, with 25-year amortization and a maximum 80% finance-to-value. Its calculator lists a $5,000 one-time administration fee, its FAQ a 2% commitment fee, and a $5,000 charge applies only if you insist on a lawyer outside its panel.

Does IjaraCDC publish its profit rate?

No. IjaraCDC's Canada FAQ says its investors' rates are generally at par with the market for the same scenario and rise with the complexity of the file, such as a low credit score or an employment issue. The only published figures are the prepayment allowance of about 10% to 20% a year, an early termination fee of around three months' rent, and the $349 plus $10 a month auto conversion fee.

Can I use Eqraz in Ontario?

Eqraz's home page carries a notice that EQRAZ Inc. is not licensed as a mortgage brokerage in Ontario and is not offering, arranging or soliciting mortgages in Ontario, while its FAQ still says the product is available in all provinces through its funding subsidiaries. Ask Eqraz directly which licensed entity would act for an Ontario file before you plan around it, and compare Manzil, AYA and Tjara, which publish Ontario coverage.

Which is cheaper to pay off early, Eqraz or IjaraCDC?

It depends on the term and the rate environment. Eqraz applies the standard Canadian formula, the higher of three months' profit or the profit rate differential, so on a 1-year term in a falling-rate market the differential can be large. IjaraCDC's FAQ puts a full payout at around three months' rent, varying by investor. Both allow partial prepayments, Eqraz per its term sheet and IjaraCDC at roughly 10% to 20% a year.