Choosing an Islamic bank in Qatar is a four-way decision, full stop. Since the central bank banned Islamic windows in 2011, QIB, AlRayan Bank, Dukhan Bank and QIIB are the whole retail sector. That should make comparison easy. It does not, because each bank publishes a different half of the picture: one shows you contracts but not rates, another shows rates but not contracts. We crawled all four banks' product pages, tariff booklets and rate sheets on 2026-08-04. Here is what the documents actually say.
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Size and stability
QIB dominates: QAR 221.1 billion in total assets and QAR 4,835 million net profit in fiscal 2025, roughly 36.5% of Qatar's Islamic banking assets per LSEG's 2025 report. AlRayan holds about 31.1%. Dukhan reported QAR 129.2 billion in assets and QAR 812.8 million net profit for H1 2026. QIIB is the boutique at QAR 62.6 billion in assets, QAR 1.35 billion fiscal 2025 net profit and roughly 16 branches. All four are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and supervised by the Qatar Central Bank. For a depositor, all four are systemically significant institutions in a state with deep pockets; size alone should not decide this.
Savings accounts: the transparency test
| Bank | Base savings rate | Rate published? | Minimum (expat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| QIB | Not published | No | QAR 20,000 |
| AlRayan | 1.15% expected | Yes, in undertaking PDF | QAR 50,000 plus QAR 20,000 salary |
| Dukhan | 0.60% paid (2025 actual) | Yes, with history to 2019 | Not published |
| QIIB | 0.50% | Yes, on page | Not published |
The rate gap between banks is smaller than the rate gap within each bank. Every bank's conditional accounts pay multiples of its base savings: Dukhan's Faseel pays 3.00% against its own 0.60% base, AlRayan's Al Thahabi pays 3.00% on the QAR 100,001 to 2,000,000 tier against 1.15% standard. The real differentiator is proof. Dukhan publishes actual paid rates monthly back to 2019, the only payout ledger in Qatari banking. QIIB prints its rate on the product page. QIB publishes nothing for this product while disclosing full Mudaraba mechanics on its deposit products, an odd asymmetry.
Term deposits: QIIB sets the benchmark
QIIB publishes the clearest ladder in the market: 2.25% at one month rising to 4.00% at three years in QAR. QIB's plain fixed deposit pays a startling 0.90% to 1.45%, but its Flexi CD (2.75% to 3.50%, QAR 100,000 minimum) and Growing Deposit (3.50% to 4.15%, from QAR 2,000 monthly) are far stronger. Dukhan's time deposits paid 1.45% to 1.55% through 2025, roughly half its own conditional savings accounts, an inversion visible only because Dukhan publishes everything. AlRayan's expected rates are locked in image-based PDFs that cannot be read online, though its Mudarib share table (90% at 1 to 3 months falling to 60% at 5 years) is genuinely useful disclosure. Full analysis in our term deposit comparison.
Current accounts and the salary gates
| Bank | Opening route | Salary requirement | Notable fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| QIB | Instant in-app | Salary transfer mandatory | FX markup 2% to 3% |
| AlRayan | Branch or app | QAR 4,000 Qatari / QAR 10,000 expat | Returned cheque QAR 400 |
| Dukhan | Branch visit | Letter required, threshold unpublished | Local transfer QAR 4 |
| QIIB | Branch only | Cheque book needs salary certificate | Dormancy QAR 10/month under QAR 500 |
QIB wins convenience decisively: QID scan, selfie, done. But it is also the strictest gatekeeper, refusing current accounts without salary transfer and requiring QIB-approved employers for financing. AlRayan publishes the most complete threshold table, including the punchy no-salary routes: QAR 100,000 initial deposit for Qataris, QAR 350,000 locked in a fixed deposit for non-Qataris. QIIB's tiers (Platinum at QAR 5,000 plus, Deyafa at QAR 35,000 plus, Wajaha at QAR 50,000 plus) matter beyond the account because they set the financing rate the bank publishes for each segment.
Prize accounts: four flavours of the same idea
QIB's Misk runs Qatar's largest pool: QAR 26 million a year, 1,124 winners, twelve millionaires, with Ministry of Commerce and Industry supervision. AlRayan's Al Tijori pays QAR 7.6 million to 256 winners with the best published entry math (one entry per QAR 10,000 average balance, salary transfer bonus entries). Dukhan's Thara'a makes four millionaires a year and forgives up to three withdrawals in the qualifying quarter. QIIB's Joud concentrates on fourteen fat prizes and is the only one that publishes its profit rate (0.15%). None of them is a yield product; all of them are defensible Shariah-wise because prizes are bank gifts and principal is never staked.
Digital experience
QIB's app opens accounts instantly, books and redeems deposits, approves personal finance in minutes and generates vehicle purchase orders digitally. Dukhan Mobile opens accounts instantly for existing customers, including the Exceptional account, and the bank runs smart kiosks plus the Dpay wearables family (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet, Garmin, Fitbit). AlRayan Go opens Al Thahabi in seconds. QIIB's app requires an existing debit or credit card to even register, which tells you where the bank's priorities sit; account opening remains a branch affair. All four support FAWRAN, Qatar's instant payment system. Details in our app comparison.
Shariah governance: same scholars, different receipts
Here is the quiet fact of Qatari Islamic banking: Sheikh Dr. Walid bin Hadi chairs the Shariah boards of all four banks (his name is transliterated slightly differently across their sites), with a small circle of senior jurists filling the remaining seats. Governance quality is therefore not a differentiator; documentation is. Dukhan publishes downloadable Shariah and Zakat reports and states its board's decisions are binding. QIB publishes an annual attestation signed by all three scholars. AlRayan evidences practice through its fee schedule, routing late-payment charges to charity. QIIB names its committee but publishes no product fatwas, in line with the sector-wide gap.
The verdict by use case
- Primary salary account with the least friction: QIB, if your employer is approved and you accept unpublished financing rates.
- Six-figure savings: Dukhan (Faseel 3.00%, Exceptional 3.25%) or AlRayan Al Thahabi (3.00% tier with daily accrual).
- Term money with published pricing: QIIB's ladder to 4.00%, or QIB's Growing Deposit to 4.15% if you can commit monthly for years.
- Reading contracts before signing: AlRayan, the only bank posting its actual agreements.
- Prize hunting on idle cash: Misk for winner count, Al Tijori for entry transparency.
Most Qatari households will end up with two banks: one holding the salary and daily spending, another holding the savings at a published rate. That is not indecision; it is the rational response to a market where every bank hides a different number. Compare current products on the bank accounts page.
Frequently asked questions
Which Islamic bank in Qatar is the largest?
QIB, by a wide margin: QAR 221.1 billion in total assets in fiscal 2025, against roughly QAR 129.2 billion at Dukhan (H1 2026) and QAR 62.6 billion at QIIB. AlRayan is second by share of Islamic banking assets at about 31.1% per LSEG's 2025 report.
Is there any difference in Shariah compliance between the four?
The same senior scholars oversee all four boards, so rulings are consistent. Differences are in documentation: Dukhan and QIB publish annual Shariah reports and attestations, AlRayan publishes contracts, and none of the four publishes product-level fatwas on its retail pages as of 2026-08-04.
Compare providers in your state
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Can I bank with more than one of them?
Yes, and many customers should. Your salary can only be transferred to one bank, which anchors your current account and financing pricing, but savings and deposit accounts at a second bank face lower barriers, particularly at Dukhan and QIIB where published rates reward the move.