If you are a Muslim investor in North America, you may have found yourself asking: Can I invest? And if so, how do I do it without compromising my faith?
The answer to the first question is yes. Islamic scholars broadly agree that building and growing wealth through ethical, productive investment is not only permissible — it is encouraged. The key is how you invest.
What Makes an Investment Halal?
Halal investing involves placing capital into businesses and operations that align with Islamic law while steering clear of prohibited ones. Every Muslim investor should be guided by four foundational rules: shunning riba (usury or interest), steering clear of gharar (extreme ambiguity or gambling-like risk), completely avoiding prohibited (haram) sectors, and backing tangible economic assets instead of engaging in mere financial speculation.
In practice, this means screening out companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, conventional banking, weapons manufacturing, and other prohibited sectors. It also means reviewing a company’s financial ratios, ensuring it is not overly reliant on interest-bearing debt or earning significant income from impermissible sources.
What to Avoid
Conventional bonds are haram because they involve lending money to an issuer in exchange for regular interest payments — a direct form of riba. Similarly, standard savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and margin accounts that charge interest on borrowed funds are not Shariah-compliant.
What Is Available to You
The good news is that options are growing. Shariah-compliant equities, halal ETFs, and Islamic investment platforms have expanded significantly in recent years, making values-aligned investing more accessible than ever before in North America.
The Manzil Russell Halal USA Broad Market ETF (MNZL) was built specifically for this moment. Listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker $MNZL, it offers diversified exposure to rigorously screened U.S. large- and mid-cap equities, combining AAOIFI Shariah compliance with an AFSC human rights overlay, all in a single, transparent, exchange-traded fund.
You no longer have to choose between growing your wealth and staying true to your values.
To learn more about the objectives and risks of MNZL and to obtain a prospectus, scroll to the Important Information section at the bottom of this page. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. ETFAC-5548998-07/26Read the prospectus at manzilfunds.com.