Salam,
I’m reaching out with a specific question I’ve been struggling to answer. In the West, it’s common financial advice to invest in index funds — like the S&P 500 — for retirement accounts such as Roth IRAs and 401(k)s, as well as for personal investing. Unfortunately, many of these funds include companies involved in impermissible industries like alcohol, gambling, and weapons manufacturing.
Recently, alternatives like SPUS have emerged, which filter out these companies to create a “sharia-compliant” basket of stocks. This has been a game-changer for Muslims seeking to generate generational wealth in a halal, diversified, and reliable way.
However, I’ve learned that even these funds still hold very small percentages of companies that provide support to Israel in the way that you described — companies like PepsiCo, Home Depot, and Tesla, for example. Given the importance of avoiding such businesses, would it still be permissible to invest in these funds, considering they are otherwise halal and structured for long-term financial stability?
I sincerely appreciate your time and guidance on this matter.
JazakAllah khair.