Transparency
Methodology
Every screening result is traceable to a published standard. Here is exactly what criteria we apply, where they come from, and where our data falls short.
What All Standards Share
Despite their differences, all four standards we apply follow the same fundamental logic:
Business activity screen first. If the company's core business is prohibited, it fails immediately. Financial ratios are not checked.
5% impure revenue tolerance. A company may earn up to 5% of its total revenue from non-permissible sources before it fails. Income below this threshold is tolerated but must be purified.
Interest-bearing balance sheet limits. The company cannot carry excessive debt, cash in interest-bearing instruments, or receivables relative to its size.
Purification obligation. When a passing company has tolerated impure income, the investor is expected to donate the equivalent proportion of dividends or income to charity.
Prohibited Business Activities
If a company derives more than 5% of its revenue from any of the following, it fails the business activity screen under all standards we apply:
Alcohol
Gambling & Casinos
Pork & non-halal food production
Conventional banking & interest-based finance
Islamic banks exempt
Conventional insurance
Takaful (Islamic insurance) exempt
Adult content & pornography
Tobacco & vaping
Additionally excluded under select standards:
Weapons & defense manufacturing
FTSE Yasaar, S&P Shariah
Hotels & entertainment
FTSE Yasaar
Financial Ratio Criteria by Standard
This is where the standards diverge. The key differences are the threshold percentage and the denominator — market cap vs. total assets produces meaningfully different results.
AAOIFI
Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions
The most widely cited standard in Islamic finance. Uses current market capitalization as the denominator for all financial ratios. The older liquidity/tangibility filter (requiring a majority of tangible assets) has been removed in the updated interpretation most platforms now follow.
The official AAOIFI standard text is not freely publicly accessible. Our implementation is based on the AAOIFI-based methodology summaries published by Zoya and Musaffa, which are the most widely used public references.
Source: AAOIFI SS-21 (public adopter summaries)
AAOIFI Standard
Updated AAOIFI interpretation
Reflects the most current AAOIFI-aligned interpretation used by major screening platforms. Identical to AAOIFI in threshold values, but explicitly does not apply the older liquidity screen that required a majority of company assets to be tangible.
Source: Zoya, Musaffa public methodology documentation
S&P Shariah (Market-Cap Variant)
S&P Dow Jones Shariah indices methodology — market cap denominator
S&P-style thresholds (33% rather than 30%) applied using market capitalization as the denominator. The standard S&P Shariah methodology uses total assets; this variant approximates the 36-month average market cap used by S&P and Islamicly.
The 36-month average market cap is approximated using current market cap in our implementation.
Source: S&P Shariah Indices methodology, Islamicly screening documentation
FTSE Yasaar
FTSE Russell / Yasaar Ltd — used by Wahed HLAL ETF
Used by FTSE Russell's Global Equity Shariah Index Series and the Wahed HLAL ETF. Uses total assets as the denominator rather than market cap — this makes the thresholds numerically more permissive on the ratios, but the standard is stricter on sector exclusions, explicitly naming weapons/defense and hotels/entertainment.
Results show N/A when Yahoo Finance does not report total assets for a company. FTSE Yasaar uses a two-quarter monitoring buffer around the thresholds in the official index methodology; we apply the thresholds directly without this buffer.
Source: FTSE Yasaar Global Equity Shariah Index Series Ground Rules (public document)
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criterion | AAOIFI | AAOIFI Std | S&P MC | FTSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt threshold | < 30% | < 30% | < 33% | < 33.3% |
| Cash threshold | < 30% | < 30% | < 33% | < 33.3% |
| Receivables test | No | No | < 49% | Combined < 50% |
| Denominator | MC | MC | MC (approx) | TA |
| Impure revenue | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Weapons excluded | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Hotels excluded | — | — | — | Yes |
MC = market cap denominator. TA = total assets denominator.
Data Sources & Known Limitations
Impure revenue is estimated, not segment-level
We calculate impure revenue as interest income ÷ total revenue, sourced from Yahoo Finance. This is a simplified proxy. A rigorous halal screen would perform a full segment revenue analysis across every business line. Our figure may undercount non-permissible revenue for diversified companies. Use it as a starting point.
FTSE Yasaar total assets data gaps
Yahoo Finance does not report total assets for all companies. When this data is missing, FTSE Yasaar ratios show N/A. This is intentional — we do not estimate or extrapolate missing data.
Data is updated weekly
Screening results are cached and refreshed weekly using the latest available Yahoo Finance data. Results reflect the most recent quarterly or annual filing Yahoo Finance has on record, not necessarily the most recently published filing.
Market cap denominator is current, not a 36-month average
The S&P Shariah (Market-Cap Variant) standard specifies a 36-month average market cap as the denominator. We use current market cap as a practical approximation. For large, stable companies this difference is minor. For recently-listed companies or those with significant share price volatility, the result may differ from a strict S&P Shariah application.
AAOIFI official text is not publicly available
The complete text of AAOIFI's SS-21 standard is gated behind AAOIFI membership. Our AAOIFI implementation is based on the public methodology summaries published by Zoya, Musaffa, and other AAOIFI-adopting platforms — which are widely cross-referenced and consistent. We note this in the interest of full transparency.
Methodology Disclaimer
This App is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated under the supervision of AAOIFI, S&P Global, FTSE Russell, or any Shariah supervisory board. All screening criteria are derived from publicly available methodology documents and applied algorithmically. Screening results are not a fatwa, religious ruling, or scholarly opinion. Always consult a qualified Islamic finance scholar for definitive guidance.