<![CDATA[Sharia digital gold has grown rapidly, yet customer trust in these platforms remains relatively low. Research on trust in digital finance has focused mostly on technological and rational factors, while religious identity has rarely been tested directly as a determinant of trust. This study examines whether Muslim identity influences customer trust in Sharia digital gold services. Questionnaire data from 117 customers were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4 and interpreted through the maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah framework. Muslim identity had a positive path coefficient (β = 0.282), but the effect was not significant (t = 1.359; p = 0.174). It explained only 7.9% of the variance in customer trust and had a small effect size (f² = 0.086). Given low measurement reliability, these results warrant caution. They nonetheless question the assumption that shared religious identity is enough to earn trust in Sharia financial products. In a digital setting, trust may depend more on security and transparency, suggesting that ḥifẓ al-māl (protection of wealth) weighs more heavily than ḥifẓ al-dīn (protection of religion). The novelty lies in testing religious identity as a direct determinant of trust in a technology-based Sharia product and in using maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah to explain a non-significant result. For providers, the Sharia label must be backed by visible security and transparency.]]>
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