Lulu lemon and Coca Cola uses music, Christmas themes and almost naked woman respectively to market their products… What is the Islamic ruling to invest in such stocks?
Thank you
Anything promoting nudity, pornography or any haram thing is prohibited.
Passing shariah compliance simply means a company’s core business and revenue sources are permissible. But you can and should evaluate other aspects of the company as well to determine if they align with your personal ethics and values.
Traditional shariah compliance standards were designed to establish a “good enough” minimum baseline to allow participation in stocks while avoiding clear prohibitions. But they don’t pass judgement on every aspect of a company’s operations.
The reason for this is twofold:
- Quantitative screens are easier to standardize and apply consistently. Subjective measures of ethics and values are harder to quantify for the purposes of stock screening.
- Scholars may have differing tolerance levels for issues that fall into gray areas or where the prohibition is not definitive based on Islamic texts.
The key is understanding what shariah compliance does and doesn’t tell you about a company. Use it as a starting point, not the only factor.
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