Pick from 15 well-known stocks or enter your own ratios. See an instant pass/fail verdict against the AAOIFI 30/30/5 rule — debt, cash, impermissible income, and business activity — all explained visually.
< 30%
Debt ratio limit
< 30%
Cash & securities limit
< 5%
Impermissible income limit
Choose from 15 preset well-known stocks with realistic ratios, or switch to manual entry to check any company yourself.
Identify whether the core business is permissible, mixed/doubtful, or involves a prohibited activity like conventional banking.
Debt ratio, cash & securities ratio, and impermissible income ratio are each measured against their AAOIFI threshold visually.
Get an instant compliant, caution, doubtful, or non-compliant result — plus a purification percentage if applicable.
Core business does not involve prohibited activities.
Shariah-compliant equity investing relies on two independent screens, both of which a company must pass. The qualitative screen comes first and is straightforward: if a company's core business is in a prohibited industry, it fails immediately — no financial ratio can save it.
The quantitative screen applies only to companies that pass the qualitative test. This is where the AAOIFI 30/30/5 thresholds come in — measuring how reliant a company is on interest-based financing and how much of its income comes from impermissible sources, even if its core business is permissible.
Checked first, applied strictly. A company automatically fails if its core business is:
Applied only if the business activity screen passes. Three thresholds, all measured against market capitalization:
Almost every publicly traded company uses some debt financing — pure debt-free companies are rare. AAOIFI scholars determined that a minority exposure to interest-based debt (less than a third of market value) is a tolerated necessity given the realities of modern capital markets, rather than a deliberate reliance on riba as a core financing strategy. Companies in capital-intensive sectors like utilities, telecom, and real estate often struggle with this threshold.
This mirrors the debt threshold but addresses the asset side: a company holding large interest-bearing cash reserves or bonds is itself generating riba income. The 30% limit ensures a company is not effectively functioning as an interest-earning treasury operation disguised as an operating business.
Even compliant companies often earn small, incidental amounts of interest — for example, on a corporate checking account. The 5% threshold acknowledges this reality while keeping the impermissible portion minimal. Crucially, this 5% is not 'forgiven' — investors must still purify (donate) that percentage of their returns to charity.
*Anheuser-Busch InBev fails the business activity screen (alcohol production) regardless of financial ratios. JPMorgan fails the business activity screen (conventional banking) — its ratios are shown only for illustration of how dramatically they exceed AAOIFI thresholds. Figures are illustrative estimates; always verify with a live screener before investing.
Passing the financial ratio screen does not mean a stock's returns are 100% pure. If a company's impermissible income ratio is, say, 1.9%, then approximately 1.9% of any dividend you receive — and many scholars also say 1.9% of capital gains — should be calculated and donated to charity. This is called purification (tazkiyah).
Worked example: You receive $500 in dividends from a stock with a 1.9% impermissible income ratio. Purification amount = $500 × 1.9% = $9.50. This $9.50 should be donated to a general charitable cause — it is separate from your annual Zakat obligation and does not count toward it.
Note: purification is calculated annually based on the company's published financials for that fiscal year, which can change. Many halal screening apps (Zoya Premium, for example) calculate and track this automatically per holding.
Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. Founded in 1991, headquartered in Bahrain. Sets the most widely recognized global Shariah standards for Islamic finance, including equity screening (Standard No. 21).
A qualitative check on what a company actually does. If the core business is interest-based banking, alcohol, gambling, or other prohibited activities, the stock fails immediately regardless of its financial ratios.
Total interest-bearing debt divided by market capitalization. Must stay below 30% under AAOIFI standards. Measures how reliant a company is on conventional, interest-based financing.
Income from non-halal sources (mainly interest income) divided by total revenue. Must stay below 5%. Even compliant companies often have a small amount, which must be purified through charitable donation.
Donating the impermissible-income percentage of your investment returns to charity. Calculated as the company's impermissible income ratio multiplied by your dividends/gains. Separate from Zakat.
Companies with diversified revenue across both halal and haram activities (e.g. a hotel chain with an attached bar). Requires individual scholarly review rather than a simple pass/fail verdict.
The 30/30/5 rule refers to three financial ratio thresholds set by AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21: (1) interest-bearing debt must not exceed 30% of market capitalization, (2) cash and interest-bearing securities must not exceed 30% of market capitalization, and (3) income from impermissible sources (mainly interest) must not exceed 5% of total revenue. A stock must pass all three ratios, plus a separate business activity screen, to be considered Shariah-compliant.
A stock is halal if it passes two independent screens. First, the business activity screen: the company's core business must not be in a prohibited industry (conventional banking, alcohol, gambling, pork, adult entertainment, weapons, tobacco). Second, the financial ratio screen: debt-to-market-cap below 30%, cash and interest-bearing securities below 30%, and impermissible income below 5% of revenue. Use this screener to check both criteria for any stock by selecting a preset or entering your own data.
Purification (tazkiyah) is the practice of donating the impermissible portion of your investment returns to charity. Even Shariah-compliant companies sometimes earn a small amount of interest income (e.g. from holding cash in interest-bearing accounts). If a stock's impermissible income ratio is, for example, 1.9%, you should calculate 1.9% of your dividends or capital gains from that stock and donate that amount to charity, rather than to your local Zakat fund (purification and Zakat are separate religious obligations).
Multiple Shariah screening methodologies exist beyond AAOIFI — including Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM), S&P Shariah, and MSCI Islamic indices. Each uses slightly different ratio definitions and thresholds (some use total assets instead of market cap as the denominator, for example). Different Shariah boards also classify 'mixed business' companies differently. This is why a stock can be 'compliant' on one app and 'doubtful' on another. AAOIFI is the most widely recognized global standard and is what this screener is based on.
Yes, under AAOIFI screening, conventional banks fail the business activity screen because their core business is interest-based lending and borrowing — this is riba, which is explicitly prohibited regardless of how strong the company's financial ratios otherwise are. This is different from companies that simply use debt financing (which is allowed up to the 30% threshold) — the distinction is whether earning or paying interest is the company's primary business model versus incidental financing.
Companies are flagged as questionable when they have diversified revenue streams that include both halal and haram elements — for example, a restaurant chain that also sells alcohol, or an entertainment company with a mix of family content and adult content. Different scholars take different positions on acceptable thresholds for mixed business (some allow up to 5% haram revenue from incidental sources, others are stricter). These require individual scholarly review rather than a simple pass/fail — consult a qualified Islamic finance advisor for guidance on specific companies.
The same AAOIFI principles apply to funds, but in practice you need to screen at the underlying holdings level — an ETF or mutual fund passes only if a sufficient percentage of its holdings (typically defined by the fund's own Shariah board methodology) are individually compliant. This screener is designed for checking individual company ratios. For full fund-level screening, use a dedicated halal fund screener or check the fund's published Shariah compliance methodology.
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Read the guideThis screener applies AAOIFI Standard 21 (the 30/30/5 rule) for educational purposes. Preset stock figures are illustrative estimates and may not reflect current quarterly financials — always verify live ratios with a dedicated screening service (Zoya, Musaffa, Islamicly) before investing. Different Shariah boards and methodologies (DJIM, S&P Shariah, MSCI Islamic) may apply different thresholds and reach different conclusions. This tool does not constitute a fatwa or investment advice. Consult a qualified Islamic scholar and licensed financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.