Not a lot, really. In fact, nothing at all.
It turns out that in the 7th century, the stock markets weren't a thing. So there won't be any direct mentions of the FTSE or the NYSE or any other stock market for that matter. Sorry.
But how can that be when Islam is meant to be a religion for all times and all places?
Although there aren't direct mentions of the stock market in the Quran or the books of hadith, there is still plenty of guidance for Muslims. What makes the Quran such a timeless book is that the guidance is often delivered as principles to live by, rather than an individual rule relevant only for a specific time, place and action. This allowed the jurists of old to derive rulings from the Quran for hundreds of years, and allows jurists to still derive rulings today.
There are many issues in Islam that attract a host of different opinions. The issue of trading is no different. There are scholars who say investing in the stock market is not permissible. Meanwhile, other scholars say investing in the stock market is permissible...as long as you adhere to certain rules.
Which opinion you follow is something you need to decide. The MuslimShareTrader website does not give fatwas; it merely presents what some scholars have said on certain matters.
Without getting into the nitty-gritty (other articles will delve deeper into the nitty-gritty), let's take a glance at the principles that Muslims must abide by (according to some scholars):
1. One can only invest in a company selling halal products/ services:
The first one is quite obvious. This is what many Muslims go by when they say their investments are halal.
As a general rule, scholars say Muslims cannot invest in the following:
A. Gambling
B. Pork/ other non zabiha meat-based businesses
C. Pornography
D. Banking/ haram finance
E. Insurance
F. Alcohol/ tobacco/ impermissible drugs
G. Arms
2. Debt must be less than 30% of total assets
Some companies may have debts. A house-building firm, for example, may have borrowed money from the bank to buy land. If the value of the loan from the bank is greater than 33% of the assets of the housebuilder, it will not be permissible to invest in that housebuilder.
3. Impermissible income must not be more than 5% of revenues
Even when a company does not intend to earn haram income, in some instances, some of its income may still come from haram sources. Suppose a company deposits its money into a bank, the bank may pay interest on the deposited amount. This would count as haram income. Of course, companies owned by non-Muslims would not be bothered by receiving interest income from the bank. But it's the Muslim investor's job to try to find out how much of its income is from impermissible sources. Suppose you bought shares in company X, which happened to derive 3% of its income from interest. You'd still be allowed to invest in that company (assuming the other criteria were met), but you'd have to give away 3% of the income you make from that stock - without expecting any reward. In other words, whatever proportion of the income is derived from interest, you have to give away that same proportion. This is similar to how Muslims should handle their personal finance: any interest from the bank needs to be given away in charity without expecting reward.
Understandably, this may be a somewhat controversial opinion to accept. I’ve dedicated a separate article to this issue specifically, which may help to contextualise this issue. ,
Mufti Taqi Usmani also makes the point that investors should voice their objection against haram means of income, possibly at the AGM.
4. A company must have some illiquid assets
This condition is no longer required according to a new AAOIFI directive. However, what the AAOIFI recommend are the minimum standards. So, to be on the safe side, one could still seek stocks that have tangible assets.
Some scholars, such as Mufi Taqi Usmani, say a company must have some tangible assets. This is based on the idea that if a company possesses no physical assets, but has plenty of money in the bank, then the shares an investor acquires represents the cash in the bank only (after all, the company has nothing else). So, the investor is buying cash, basically. Buying money is allowed, but at par value only.
These are some of the principles to be aware of. As alluded to before, this is what some scholars have put forward, but others have rejected. There is much ikhtilaf on this matter.
As with all dealings in life, you are best advised to seek scholarly advice on investing from a scholar that understands both the shariah and the (very complex) world of investing.
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