The important thing is that all products and services are 'Sharia compliant' which means they follow Islamic principles. At its most basic, this can mean that interest - or usury - is against Islamic law and therefore forbidden in retail banking services or more sophisticated products.

But it also means there's a vetting process involved in investments of any sort. Anything linked to the sale of alcohol, pork, tobacco, pornography or gambling are obviously unacceptable investments as they are not 'Sharia compliant' products. However, short selling, derivatives and the use of leverage are also frowned upon.

Two of the most common Islamic finance terms you'll hear are 'sukuk' and 'takaful'.

The former is the Arabic name for financial certificates, but usually refers to Islamic bonds. Sukuks are unlike conventional bonds as they are not viewed as a loan, but rather the issuer is seen to be offering investors the chance to partially own a debt. These can be based around assets, projects, businesses or investments. Sukuks can be listed on exchanges and are often tradable once issued.

Making money through Islamic finance is, of course, possible. It is important to understand though, that the fundamental rule is that an investment is based on a tangible asset or commodity - there are buyers and sellers, rather than borrowers and lenders.

Takaful is the Islamic insurance industry and differs to commercial insurance as the uncertainty and interest is removed. This is done by taking a communal approach - members contribute money to a pooling system that guarantees a pay out in the event of loss or damage.

Most Islamic institutions need the services of specialist Sharia scholars to ensure compliance. Sharia scholars are in relatively short supply, so they tend to be used in a consultancy capacity, rather than employed full-time.

Careers in Islamic finance generally mirror those of the conventional financial sector. Islamic finance institutions will recruit investment bankers, retail bankers, investment specialists, corporate bankers, product managers and relationship managers depending on their specialisation. The key is to fashion products in a Sharia-compliant way.

Due to a rise in Islamic finance recruitment, a number of finance professionals with experience in conventional products have educated themselves in Sharia law, and there's an increasing proliferation of university courses that combine technical skills with Islamic principles.

Big Four consultancy firms also offer advisory services to Islamic financial institutions or those firms offering Islamic products. Increasingly, large law firms have Islamic finance practices and many banks recruit specialist solicitors in-house.

On a final note, the asset management industry offers Sharia-compliant funds in order to ease the headache for investors, and there's an increasing proliferation of indexes, such as the FTSE Sharia Global Equity Index and the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index.