Olá

This article is originally written in Bahasa Indonesia. OpenAI’s o1-mini is used to translate the article into English. Original article can be read here

The most beneficial investment is charity, because through charity Allah will increase our wealth, and it becomes a form of gratitude for the blessings of Allah. All of the Prophet’s companions, peace be upon him, who were wealthy were known for their charity, which perhaps cannot be measured by today’s standards.

The reward that Allah gives us through charity is far greater than the percentages promised by human investments.

This does not mean that investing is prohibited, but remember that there is something more virtuous.

This article is written to explore what investment options are generally available today and can be directly accessed by individuals. It is written by studying sources from:

• Konsultasi Syariah
• Rumaysho

If there are any mistakes, may Allah forgive me.

Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are investment instruments that pool funds from various investors to be managed by an Investment Manager. In their operation, there are four main parties: Investor, Investment Manager, Issuer, and Custodian Bank.

Sharia Issues

1. Lack of Direct Ownership: Investors do not obtain direct proof of ownership over the Issuer’s business, which can be detrimental if losses occur.

2. Compensation System: The compensation system of the Investment Manager and Custodian Bank is based on a percentage, which contradicts the principle of fixed wages in Islamic sharia.

An example of a compensation calculation that causes the Investor to incur significant losses:

1. Initial Investment: Investor deposits funds of Rp 100,000,000.
2. Year One:
   • Investment value increases to Rp 110,000,000.
3. Year Two:
   • Investment value decreases to Rp 90,000,000.
4. Year Three:
   • Investment value increases to Rp 120,000,000.

In this calculation, the Investment Manager and Custodian Bank will take a commission of 10% of the investment value each year. Regardless of the profit or loss of the Investor and Issuer, the Investment Manager and Custodian Bank will always receive a 10% commission.

Detailed Calculations:

1. Year 1:

   • Investment Value: Rp 110,000,000
   • Commission: 10% x Rp 110,000,000 = Rp 11,000,000
   • Investment Value after Commission: Rp 110,000,000 - Rp 11,000,000 = Rp 99,000,000

2. Year 2:

   • Investment Value: Rp 90,000,000
   • Commission: 10% x Rp 90,000,000 = Rp 9,000,000
   • Investment Value after Commission: Rp 90,000,000 - Rp 9,000,000 = Rp 81,000,000

3. Year 3:

   • Investment Value: Rp 120,000,000
   • Commission: 10% x Rp 120,000,000 = Rp 12,000,000
   • Investment Value after Commission: Rp 120,000,000 - Rp 12,000,000 = Rp 108,000,000

In this case, the one most disadvantaged is the Investor, while the Investment Manager and Custodian Bank always profit.

Because of this, there is an injustice occurring in this investment process. Does this injustice make mutual funds considered entirely haram, or is the investment contract itself halal but there is injustice on the part of the Investment Manager and Custodian Bank separately? I do not have sufficient knowledge to provide a more accurate conclusion.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 20/DSN-MUI/IV/2001 on Guidelines for Sharia Mutual Fund Investments

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Stocks

Stocks are proof of ownership of a company’s capital that can be traded in the capital market.

Sharia Issues

1. Short-Selling: Short-selling is considered haram because it involves elements of speculation.
2. Permissible Conditions: Purchasing stocks can be allowed with the following conditions:
   • The company operates in a halal (permissible) sector.
   • The company does not invest funds in interest-based instruments.
   • The company does not use interest-bearing debt.
   • Transactions are conducted directly.

Therefore, as long as the company is halal and there is no speculation through short-selling, investing in stocks is permissible, God willing.

“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden usury.”
(Al-Baqarah: 275)

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 40/DSN-MUI/X/2003 on Capital Markets and General Guidelines for the Application of Sharia Principles in the Capital Market

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Bonds

Bonds are debt securities stating that the issuer borrows a certain amount from the bondholder and has an obligation to pay interest periodically and repay the principal at a predetermined time.

Sharia Issues

Conventional bonds involve elements of riba (usury) due to the interest set at the beginning.

“O you who have believed, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied.”
(Ali Imran: 130)

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Time Deposits

Time deposits are bank deposit products where withdrawals can only be made at specific times based on an agreement between the customer and the bank.

By depositing money in the bank, the bank will use that money to generate profits, and the customer will receive profits from the interest provided by the bank.

Sharia Issues

Banks typically offer customers the option to deposit funds for a specific period, promising interest based on the amount and duration of the deposit.

• Fixed-Term Deposits: Customers cannot withdraw funds before the agreed time.
• Flexible Deposits: Customers can withdraw funds at any time, usually receiving lower interest.

Both types involve riba because the bank guarantees the safety of the funds and provides interest to the customer.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 03/DSN-MUI/IV/2000 on Deposits

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Savings Plans

Savings Plans share similar characteristics with Time Deposits, so their sharia rulings align with those for Deposits in Islam, meaning they involve riba.

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Gold

Investing in gold is generally done by purchasing physical gold, storing it, and selling it when the price increases or when needed.

Sharia Provisions

Transactions involving gold must meet the following conditions:

1. Conducted in Cash: The exchange must be immediate.
2. Equal Weight: If exchanged with gold, the quantities must be equal.

“Gold for gold, silver for silver, … must be equal and hand to hand (immediate exchange).”
(Hadith narrated by Muslim)

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Property

Investing in property is generally considered halal in Islam. Property is purchased, held, and sold when its value appreciates.

“And Allah has permitted trade.”
(Al-Baqarah: 275)

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Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P)

P2P lending involves direct transactions between investors and borrowers, even if facilitated by a platform.

In Islam, lending is a social act and should not be used for profit-making purposes.

Therefore, P2P lending involves riba because it entails lending money with the condition that it will be returned with interest.

“Allah destroys interest and gives increase for charities.”
(Al-Baqarah: 276)

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Sukuk (Islamic Bonds)

Sukuk are bonds issued by the Indonesian government based on sharia principles. The government offers to sell an asset, such as land; the buyer then leases the land back to the government, and the government pays rent. There is an agreement that the government will repurchase the land at a predetermined price.

Sharia Issues

Such Sukuk arrangements resemble ‘Inah sales, where:

• The seller offers goods on credit and guarantees to buy them back, usually at a lower price.

Example:

1. Initial Asset: Seller owns a car worth Rp 100,000,000.
2. Credit Sale: Offered to the buyer for Rp 100,000,000 to be paid later.
3. Guaranteed Buyback: Seller guarantees to repurchase the car at Rp 50,000,000 after one year.

Calculation Flow:

1. Seller’s Starting Point: Has a car worth Rp 100,000,000.
2. Buyer Purchases on Credit: Buyer owns the car; seller has a receivable of Rp 100,000,000.
3. Seller Buys Back the Car: Pays Rp 50,000,000 to the buyer after one year.
4. Buyer’s Position: Has Rp 50,000,000 cash but owes Rp 100,000,000 to the seller.
5. Seller’s Gain:
   • Regains the car worth Rp 100,000,000.
   • Net receivable of Rp 150,000,000 (Rp 100,000,000 owed minus Rp 50,000,000 paid for buyback).

The seller effectively gains an additional Rp 50,000,000, which can be categorized as riba.

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Government Securities

Government Securities (Surat Berharga Negara or SBN) are securities issued by the Indonesian government. Similar to bonds, the owner of SBN receives a return plus interest.

Conventional SBN involves elements of riba.

Law No. 19 of 2008 on State Sharia Securities

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Cryptocurrency

The status of cryptocurrency in sharia is still debated. Some scholars permit it under certain conditions, while others prohibit it due to elements of gharar (uncertainty) and speculation.

It is safer to avoid cryptocurrency because it falls into a gray area (syubhat).

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Foreign Exchange (Forex)

Spot forex trading is permissible in Islam. However, forex trading with margin or leverage systems is generally considered haram because it involves riba and gharar. The high level of speculation tends to lead to its prohibition.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 28/DSN-MUI/III/2002 on Currency Trading (Al-Sharf)

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ORI (Obligasi Ritel Indonesia / Indonesian Retail Bonds)

ORI functions similarly to bonds, where the owner receives returns plus interest.

Conventional ORI involves elements of riba. The sharia-compliant alternative is Retail Sukuk issued by the government based on Islamic principles.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 69/DSN-MUI/VI/2008 on State Sharia Securities

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Conclusion: Safest Investment Options from an Islamic Perspective

Based on the analysis of various investment options from an Islamic perspective, some choices that are generally considered safest and in accordance with sharia principles are:

1. Charity (Sedekah)
2. Sharia-Compliant Property
3. Sharia-Compliant Stocks
4. Gold and Silver
5. Ethical Business and Partnerships

When considering these options, it’s important to remember key principles:

• Avoiding Riba (Usury)
• Avoiding Gharar (Excessive Uncertainty) and Maysir (Gambling)
• Investing in Halal Activities
• Sharing Risk

It’s crucial to conduct thorough research, seek advice from Islamic finance experts, and stay updated with the latest fatwas and decisions from trusted Islamic scholars or institutions like the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI).

This article is intended to help understand the commonly available investment options today and their positions based on sharia principles.

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Wallahu a’lam bish-shawab — May Allah enlighten us about what is not yet known.

Investasi yang paling bermanfaat adalah sedekah, karena dengan sedekah Allah akan menambahkan kekayaan kita, dan menjadi bentuk rasa syukur kita terhadap nikmat Allah. Semua sahabat nabi shallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam yang kaya raya, mereka terkenal dengan sedekahnya yang mungkin tidak bisa kita timbang dengan kacamata di masa ini.

Balasan yang Allah berikan kepada kita hanya dengan kita bersedekah jauh lebih besar daripada persentase yang dijanjikan oleh investasi pada manusia.

Bukan berarti tidak boleh berinvestasi, hanya saja ingat bahwa ada sesuatu yang lebih afdhal.

Tulisan ini ditulis untuk mempelajari apa saja opsi investasi yang secara umum tersedia saat ini dan bisa dijangkau oleh individu secara langsung. Ditulis dengan mempelajari sumber-sumber dari:

• Konsultasi Syariah
• Rumaysho

Jika ada kesalahan, semoga Allah memaafkan saya.

Reksadana (Mutual Funds)

Reksadana adalah instrumen investasi yang menghimpun dana dari berbagai investor untuk dikelola oleh Manajer Investasi. Dalam operasinya, terdapat empat pihak utama: Pemodal, Manajer Investasi, Emiten, dan Bank Kustodian.

Permasalahan Syariah

1. Pemodal tidak memperoleh bukti kepemilikan langsung atas usaha Emiten, yang dapat merugikan jika terjadi kerugian.

2. Sistem kompensasi Manajer Investasi dan Bank Kustodian yang berbasis persentase bertentangan dengan prinsip upah tetap dalam syariah Islam.

Contoh perhitungan kompensasi yang membuat Pemodal memiliki banyak kerugian:

1. Pemodal menyetor dana Rp 100.000.000
2. Nilai investasi menjadi Rp 110.000.000 setelah satu tahun
3. Nilai investasi menjadi Rp 90.000.000 setelah dua tahun
4. Nilai investasi menjadi Rp 120.000.000 setelah tiga tahun

Dalam perhitungan ini, Manajer Investasi dan Bank Kustodian akan mengambil komisi sebesar 10% dari nilai investasi setiap tahun. Terlepas dari untung-rugi Pemodal dan Emiten, Manajer Investasi dan Bank Kustodian akan selalu mendapatkan komisi sebesar 10%.

1. Tahun 1:

   • Nilai investasi: Rp 110.000.000
   • Komisi: 10% x Rp 110.000.000 = Rp 11.000.000
   • Nilai investasi setelah komisi: Rp 110.000.000 - Rp 11.000.000 = Rp 99.000.000

2. Tahun 2:

   • Nilai investasi: Rp 90.000.000
   • Komisi: 10% x Rp 90.000.000 = Rp 9.000.000
   • Nilai investasi setelah komisi: Rp 90.000.000 - Rp 9.000.000 = Rp 81.000.000

3. Tahun 3:

   • Nilai investasi: Rp 120.000.000
   • Komisi: 10% x Rp 120.000.000 = Rp 12.000.000
   • Nilai investasi setelah komisi: Rp 120.000.000 - Rp 12.000.000 = Rp 108.000.000

Dalam hal ini, yang paling dirugikan adalah Pemodal, sedangkan Manajer Investasi dan Bank Kustodian selalu untung.

Karena itu, ada kedzhaliman yang terjadi di proses investasi ini. Apakah kedzhaliman ini menjadikan reksadana dianggap haram secara mutlak atau secara akad investasinya halal, hanya saja terjadi kedzhaliman di pihak manajer investasi dan bank kustodian secara terpisah - saya tidak memiliki pengetahuan yang cukup untuk memberikan kesimpulan yang lebih akurat.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 20/DSN-MUI/IV/2001 tentang Pedoman Pelaksanaan Investasi untuk Reksa Dana Syariah

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Saham (Stocks)

Saham merupakan bukti kepemilikan atas modal perusahaan yang dapat diperdagangkan di pasar modal.

Permasalahan Syariah

1. Short-selling dianggap haram karena mengandung unsur spekulasi.
2. Pembelian saham dapat diperbolehkan dengan syarat:
   • Perusahaan beroperasi dalam bidang yang halal
   • Perusahaan tidak menginvestasikan dana pada instrumen berbasis bunga
   • Perusahaan tidak menggunakan utang berbunga
   • Transaksi dilakukan secara langsung

Jadi, insya Allah selama perusahaannya halal, dan tidak ada spekulasi short-selling, maka investasi pada saham diperbolehkan.

“Allah telah menghalalkan jual beli dan mengharamkan riba.” (Al-Baqarah: 275)

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 40/DSN-MUI/X/2003 tentang Pasar Modal dan Pedoman Umum Penerapan Prinsip Syariah di Bidang Pasar Modal

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Obligasi (Bonds)

Obligasi adalah surat utang yang menyatakan bahwa penerbit obligasi meminjam sejumlah dana kepada pemegang obligasi dan memiliki kewajiban untuk membayar bunga secara berkala serta pokok utang pada waktu yang telah ditentukan.

Permasalahan Syariah

Obligasi konvensional mengandung unsur riba karena adanya bunga yang ditetapkan di awal.

“Hai orang-orang yang beriman, janganlah kamu memakan riba dengan berlipat ganda.” (Ali Imran: 130)

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Deposito (Time Deposits)

Deposito adalah produk simpanan bank yang penarikannya hanya dapat dilakukan pada waktu tertentu berdasarkan perjanjian nasabah dengan bank.

Dengan mengendapkan uang di bank, bank akan memutar uang tersebut dan menghasilkan keuntungan, dan nasabah akan mendapatkan keuntungan dari bunga yang diberikan oleh bank.

Permasalahan Syariah

Bank biasanya menawarkan nasabah untuk menyimpan dana di bank dalam waktu tertentu, dan nasabah akan mendapatkan bunga dari bank sesuai jumlah dana yang disimpan dan jangka waktu penyimpanan.

Biasanya, ada deposito yang secara formal ditentukan batas waktunya, dan nasabah tidak bisa menarik dana sebelum waktu yang telah ditentukan.

Dan ada deposito yang tidak ditentukan batas waktunya, dan nasabah bisa menarik dana kapanpun. Biasanya dengan bunga yang lebih rendah.

Keduanya mengandung riba, karena bank menjamin bahwa dana akan selalu ada dan tetap aman. Ditambah nasabah akan mendapatkan bunga

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 03/DSN-MUI/IV/2000 tentang Deposito

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Tabungan Berjangka (Savings Plans)

Tabungan Berjangka memiliki karakteristik yang mirip dengan Deposito, sehingga ketentuan syariahnya mengikuti aturan Deposito dalam Islam, yaitu mengandung riba.

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Emas (Gold)

Investasi emas umumnya dilakukan dengan membeli emas fisik, menyimpannya, dan menjualnya saat harga naik atau saat dibutuhkan.

Ketentuan Syariah

Jual beli emas harus memenuhi syarat:

1. Dilakukan secara tunai
2. Jika ditukar dengan emas, harus sama ukurannya

“Emas dengan emas, perak dengan perak, … harus sama dan secara tunai.” (HR. Muslim)

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Properti (Real Estate)

Investasi properti umumnya dianggap halal dalam Islam. Properti dibeli, disimpan, dan dijual ketika harganya meningkat.

“Dan Allah menghalalkan jual beli.” (Al-Baqarah: 275)

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Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P)

P2P lending adalah proses investasi di mana tidak ada perantara. Pemodal dan Peminjam langsung berhubungan satu sama lain, meskipun mungkin ada platform yang menjadi perantara.

Secara umum, lending/utang-piutang adalah aksi sosial di dalam Islam dan tidak bisa dijadikan tempat untuk mencari keuntungan.

Sehingga, P2P mengandung riba karena meminjamkan uang dengan syarat akan dikembalikan dengan bunga.

“Allah memusnahkan riba dan menyuburkan sedekah.” (Al-Baqarah: 276)

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Sukuk (Obligasi Syariah)

Sukuk adalah obligasi yang diterbitkan oleh pemerintah Indonesia berdasarkan prinsip syariah. Pemerintah menawarkan untuk menjual sesuatu, misal tanah; lalu pembeli akan menyewakan tanah tersebut, dan pemerintah akan membayar biaya sewa; diiringi dengan perjanjian bahwa pemerintah akan membeli kembali tanah tersebut pada harga tertentu.

Permasalahan Syariah

Sukuk seperti contoh di atas, mendekati jual-beli ‘Inah.

Di mana penjual menawarkan barang secara terutang dan menjamin akan membelinya kembali, biasanya dengan harga yang lebih rendah.

Contoh:

1. Penjual memiliki mobil seharga Rp100.000.000
2. Ditawarkan kepada pembeli dengan harga Rp100.000.000 dibayarkan secara terutang.
3. Penjual menjamin akan membeli kembali mobil tersebut pada harga tertentu, misal Rp50.000.000 setelah satu tahun.

Jika kita runtut hitungannya, maka akan menjadi:

1. Penjual mulai dengan asset mobil seharga Rp100.000.000
2. Pembeli membeli secara terhutang, dia punya Rp100.000.000 dalam bentuk asset mobil. Penjual memiliki Rp100.000.000 dalam bentuk utang.
3. Setelah satu tahun, penjual membeli kembali mobil dengan harga Rp50.000.000.
4. Pembeli memiliki uang Rp50.000.000, tapi masih memiliki hutang Rp100.000.000 ke Penjual.
5. Penjual mendapatkan kembali mobil yang aslinya Rp100.000.000, dan masih memiliki Rp100.000.000 dalam bentuk hutang dari pembeli, dikurangi Rp50.000.000 untuk buyback, maka dia mendapatkan Rp150.000.000.

Bisa dilihat bahwa penjual mendapatkan keuntungan sebesar Rp50.000.000 - yang bisa dikategorikan sebagai riba.

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Surat Berharga Negara (Government Securities)

SBN adalah surat berharga yang diterbitkan oleh pemerintah Indonesia. Dia mirip dengan obligasi, di mana pemilik SBN akan mendapatkan pengembalian dana ditambah bunga.

SBN konvensional mengandung unsur riba.

UU No. 19 Tahun 2008 tentang Surat Berharga Syariah Negara

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Cryptocurrency

Status cryptocurrency dalam syariah masih diperdebatkan. Beberapa ulama membolehkan dengan syarat tertentu, sementara yang lain melarangnya karena unsur gharar dan spekulasi.

Lebih amannya adalah menghindarinya karena berada di zona abu-abu (syubhat)

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Valas (Foreign Exchange)

Perdagangan valas spot diperbolehkan dalam Islam, tetapi forex trading dengan sistem margin atau leverage umumnya dianggap haram karena mengandung unsur riba dan gharar. Unsur spekulasi yang tinggi cenderung mengarahkannya kepada keharaman.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 28/DSN-MUI/III/2002 tentang Jual Beli Mata Uang (Al-Sharf)

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ORI (Obligasi Ritel Indonesia / Indonesia Retail Bonds)

ORI mirip dengan obligasi yang sudah dijelaskan di atas, di mana pemilik ORI akan mendapatkan pengembalian dana ditambah bunga.

ORI konvensional mengandung unsur riba. Alternatif syariahnya adalah Sukuk Ritel yang diterbitkan pemerintah berdasarkan prinsip syariah.

Fatwa DSN-MUI No. 69/DSN-MUI/VI/2008 tentang Surat Berharga Syariah Negara

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Kesimpulan: Opsi Investasi Paling Aman dalam Perspektif Islam

Berdasarkan analisis berbagai opsi investasi dari perspektif Islam, beberapa pilihan yang umumnya dianggap paling aman dan sesuai dengan prinsip syariah adalah:

1. Sedekah
2. Properti Syariah
3. Saham Syariah
4. Emas dan Perak
5. Bisnis dan Kemitraan Etis

Dalam mempertimbangkan opsi-opsi ini, penting untuk mengingat beberapa prinsip kunci:

• Menghindari Riba (bunga)
• Menghindari Gharar (ketidakpastian berlebihan) dan Maysir (perjudian)
• Berinvestasi dalam Aktivitas Halal
• Berbagi Risiko

Sangat penting untuk melakukan penelitian menyeluruh, mencari nasihat dari ahli keuangan Islam, dan tetap mengikuti fatwa dan keputusan terkini dari ulama atau lembaga Islam terpercaya seperti Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI).

Tulisan ini dibuat untuk membantu memahami opsi investasi yang umum ada di masa sekarang, dan bagaimana posisi investasi tersebut berdasarkan prinsip syariah.

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Wallahu a’lam bish-showab - semoga Allah menjelaskan kepada kita apa yang belum diketahui.

I am not a Java/Kotlin expert, so there might be some mistakes on my understanding. This was just my understanding of the problem and solution.

I’ve been working on a JetBrains IDE plugin recently, and I ran into a problem with conflicting dependencies. The documentation for developing a JetBrains plugin is there, but its lacking examples of common pitfalls and how to avoid them. This dependency conflict is one of them. I discovered the solution after spending hours trying to figure out why my plugin won’t work, and I found a solution on the Slack channel of JetBrains Platform (which probably gonna be removed soon as the Slack is on free tier and it has limits on how many messages it will retain).

I really like JetBrains IDEs, and I really wish that the documentation for plugin development could be better.

In my case, I need to add ktor client to do HTTP requests, and kotlinx serialization to serialize and deserialize JSON. These libraries requires kotlinx-coroutines-core, but it conflicts with the one that JetBrains IDE bundles. So when there’s a code from JetBrains that requires you to provide a class from kotlinx-coroutines-core, it’s gonna break because now you are passing a class from your own version of kotlinx-coroutines-core instead of the one the IDE bundles.

dependencies {
    val ktor_version = "2.3.12"
    implementation("org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm:1.7.2")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-client-content-negotiation:$ktor_version")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-serialization-kotlinx-json-jvm:$ktor_version")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-client-cio:$ktor_version")
}

Above, I have a few dependencies that are pulling in conflicting versions of the kotlinx-coroutines-core library.

At first, you won’t notice any issue. But the moment you need to use a class from kotlinx-coroutines-core to be called from JetBrains SDK, i.e. Service, you will start to feel the pain.

@Service(Service.Level.PROJECT)
class MyProjectService(project: Project, cs: CoroutineScope) {

    init {
        thisLogger().info(MyBundle.message("projectService", project.name))
        thisLogger().warn("Don't forget to remove all non-needed sample code files with their corresponding registration entries in `plugin.xml`.")
    }

    fun getRandomNumber() = (1..100).random()
}

The cs: CoroutineScope parameter above is from kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope. Now, in compile time, it will use the external library version of kotlinx-coroutines-core pulled by the ktor library, not the one that JetBrains IDE bundles. However, at runtime, JetBrains will complains that it doesn’t understand the CoroutineScope class.

These issues are scattered all over the places, when you need to dispatch a new coroutine, JetBrains will complains that it doesn’t understand how to dispatch it because it was compiled against a different version of kotlinx-coroutines-core than what it bundles.

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Special thanks to Riv, Ilan Shamir, and Philip Wedemann, Jaakko Nakaza - their conversation on Slack helped me to figure out the solution.

The solution is to exclude the conflicting library in configurations.runtimeClasspath.

configurations.runtimeClasspath {
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlin", "kotlin-stdlib")
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlin", "kotlin-stdlib-common")
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlin", "kotlin-stdlib-jdk8")
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlinx", "kotlinx-coroutines")
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlinx", "kotlinx-coroutines-core")
    exclude("org.jetbrains.kotlinx", "kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8")
}

This will ensure that the JetBrains IDE will use its own bundled library for kotlinx-coroutines-core instead of the one pulled by ktor.

So far, this solution works for me. If you have a better solution, please let me know.

I originally wrote my website using raw HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I was expecting a lot of interactive content at that time, but then realized I don’t really have that much time to write and it actually put a burden on me when trying to write.

Then I moved into Nuxt, it was a bigger experiment with focus on visuals and animation. But again, instead of focusing my time on writing, I got distracted by the idea of having a fully featured blog with all the glitters and golds.

Now, I decided to just make it plain white, simple, raw, and decided to use Astro to reduce the amount of JavaScript I use.

Will there be a fourth time? Who knows.

Some of my coworker might remember that few years ago I was strongly against Tailwind CSS in one of our project. The reason was that our design system wasn’t rigid enough for us to be able to use Tailwind, and that we ended writing new css class for each of our deviations. The choice between,

<div class="my-element flex items-center bg-white"/>
.my-element {
    margin-left: 34px;
}
// or
.my-element {
    margin-left: 34px;
    @apply flex items-center bg-white;
}

and

<div class="my-element"/>
.my-element {
    margin-left: 34px;
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    background: white;
}

was obvious that if we ended up with a lot of deviations by creating our own class, let’s just stick with raw CSS.

We were using scoped CSS at that time, so we don’t really care about name colission. If the choice was between the robust name of BEM and Tailwind, we’d probably go with Tailwind and just bear the pain of deviations.

---

Tailwind was still on its early days that time, it was slow to use, and there was no support for arbitrary values using square brackets. I kept pushing my team to stop using Tailwind, let’s stick with CSS as we don’t have a consistent design system.

But fast-forward, Tailwind improved a lot. There were improvements going on with Tailwind. JIT is a thing, compile speed was better, extending the configuration has become easier, and the support for arbitrary values allowed us to have an escape hatch without maintaining another CSS file.

So I decided to embrace Tailwind and start advocating to use it for new projects. Even when the designer decided to nudge that margin into 171px, we’d have no problem as we can just m-[171px]

---

Where Tailwind Shine Tailwind shines when we have a consistent design system and that the designer properly plan their design tokens and enforcing discipline. This way, a developer can model their Tailwind configuration to match the design principles. When thing goes south, deviating is just two keystrokes away (or 14 if you use m-[1234567890px]).

---

When there’s an improvement, we should embrace it. A lot of developers got too fixated by certain technologies that they missed good things happening at the other side of the fence.

However, it does not mean that we got the green pass to just use everything in our project. I experienced it first hand in an open source project where they implement all the possible tooling without considering how it’d impact the performance and development flow. I stopped contributing when the package.json dependencies reached 60 or something—for a website that just shows data from a database without any user inputs.

---

Remember, it’s always about the product, the team, and the workflow. It’s the technology that should adapt with those, not the other way around.

Building a one-page landing page using React, Tailwind, Gatsby, SCSS, React Router, Redux, SQL in JS, and Web Assembly? Enjoy the 1-minute build time, I guess?