Halal Investments: What Can and Cannot Be Invested in According to Islamic Norms

A halal investment is an investment in a business that, by its nature and method of earning, does not contradict Sharia norms: without interest-bearing debt, without excessive uncertainty in the transaction, and without prohibited areas of activity.

What makes an investment halal

Three conditions simultaneously:

• Without riba (interest). The company should not primarily earn from interest-based loans or itself be overburdened with interest debt.
• Without gharar (excessive uncertainty). The transaction must be transparent — without excessive speculation like some derivatives.
• Halal type of business activity. The company's business itself should not belong to prohibited areas.

Which business areas are prohibited

Classically, the following are considered haram: alcohol, gambling, pork, traditional interest-based banks and insurance, as well as weapons and tobacco according to the majority of Sharia councils — although on some matters opinions of Sharia experts differ, and one should refer to the conclusion of a specific Sharia council rather than a general rule.

How companies are checked for Sharia compliance

Screening usually goes in two stages: first, they look at the company’s area of activity, then at its financial indicators (for example, the share of interest income and the level of debt to capitalization) according to the standards of specialized organizations like AAOIFI. The "Stock Broker" team has a certified Sharia expert from AAOIFI, and the list of approved securities is reviewed quarterly according to the standards of AAOIFI and DFM (Dubai Financial Market Sharia Board).

Sukuk instead of regular bonds

A regular bond is essentially interest-based debt, which makes it haram. Sukuk is a halal alternative: instead of interest, the investor receives a share in a real asset or the profit of a specific project underlying the issuance.

How to know if a specific stock is halal

The easiest way is to look at an already verified list instead of conducting screening independently. This eliminates the risk of accidentally buying a share of a company that is formally in another industry but in fact earns from interest instruments.

Important to note

At the time of publication, the "halal brokerage account" service is marked as temporarily suspended on the website. This does not prevent you from understanding the topic now and looking at marked halal securities in the general catalog — and return to opening an account when the service resumes.

The material is for informational purposes only and is not an individual investment recommendation.