The psychology of the afterlife and Islamic financing adoption Muhammad Iskandar Hamzah, Abdul Kadir Othman, Amily Fikry, Lennora Putit and Lailatul Faizah Abu Hassan Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – Drawing on the protection motivation theory (PMT) approach, this study aims to establish the relationships between afterlife fear and hope expectations and the intention to adopt Islamic financing products among Muslim consumers. It also examines the mediating roles of threats and coping mechanisms in these linkages. Design/methodology/approach – Via a questionnaire survey, we collected responses from 258 working-class Muslims who have some experience in both conventional and Islamic banking in Malaysia. The study’s hypotheses are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings – The results reveal that afterlife hope expectation positively influences consumers’ intention to adopt Islamic financing, both directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of response efficacy and self-efficacy. Conversely, from the perspective of threat appraisal, the pathway to intention is influenced by rule-breaking ability. Perceived severity, rather than perceived vulnerability, mediates the relationship between afterlife fear expectation and rule-breaking ability. Research limitations/implications – Driven by the psychological aspects of hope and fear, this research offers a comprehensive empirical model that predicts Muslims’ consumer behavior from the theoretical lens of PMT. As Islam forbids usury (riba), adherence to religious-based obligations and the Sharia law serve as the integral factors that influence their final consumption decision. Practical implications – Islamic banks may devise effective acquisition and retention strategies by distinguishing psychographic-based market segments characterized by utilitarian, economic and religious- based attitudes. By infusing subtle religious messaging into marketing campaigns, non-subscribing Muslim consumers can be spiritually encouraged to use Sharia-compliant financing products and existing customers can be motivated to continue utilizing them. Originality/value – Our study advances the stream of research on the afterlife fear and hope expectations – Islamic financing adoption linkage as well as identifying unique mediation pathways that haven’t been explored in consumer psychology and financial marketing studies. Keywords Religiosity, Islamic banking, Muslim consumer behavior, Afterlife expectation Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Malaysia leads the global USD 2 trillion Islamic finance industry, with Islamic banking assets (USD 168.4 billion) accounting for 25% of its total assets, positioning Malaysia as the world’s largest center of Islamic finance. Islamic banking has been an integral part of Malaysia’s dual banking system, coexisting alongside conventional banks for several decades. Despite the overall growth, the adoption rate of Islamic banking services among Malaysian Muslims has not reached the expected levels. Although the Quran and Sharia law strictly prohibit riba (usury) (Quran 2:275), a significant portion of Muslim consumers in Malaysia continues to engage with conventional banking credit facilities, highlighting a critical gap between religious doctrine and financial behavior (Fontaine, 2019). Consequently, Muslim consumers International Journal of Bank Marketing The authors would like to thank Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad for funding this research via the Private Research Grant [Approval letter: TNCPI/PRI 16/6/2 (013/2021)]. The authors are also grateful to the Department of Research and Innovation (JPI) at Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam for administering and disbursing the grant. Institutional review board statement: Ethical approval to carry out this study was granted by Universiti Teknologi MARA’s research ethics committee [Approval letter: REC/11/2021 (MR/853), Approval Date: 5 May 2021]. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0265-2323.htm Received 21 November 2024 Revised 27 February 2025 30 March 2025 7 April 2025 Accepted 7 April 2025 International Journal of Bank Marketing © Emerald Publishing Limited e-ISSN: 1758-5937 p-ISSN: 0265-2323 DOI 10.1108/IJBM-11-2024-0696