Quick Verdict
Meta (META) is classified as DOUBTFUL by most Islamic screening agencies. It passes the financial ratio screens comfortably, but the business activity screens create genuine debate — particularly around advertising alcohol, gambling, and adult content on its platforms.
Meta's Business Model
Meta earns approximately 97% of its revenue from digital advertising across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Meta Audience Network. The remaining ~3% comes from Reality Labs (VR hardware) and other sources.
The core question for Islamic screening is: does facilitating advertising that includes haram products (alcohol, gambling, adult services) make the company itself impermissible?
Financial Screening
- Total Debt / Market Cap: Under 5% ✅
- Interest Income / Total Revenue: Under 1% ✅
- Cash and Receivables / Total Assets: Within limits ✅
- Haram Revenue Percentage: Disputed — depends on how you classify ad revenue ⚠️
The Advertising Question
The debate among scholars comes down to this: when Meta runs an alcohol advertisement, is Meta earning haram income? Or is it providing a neutral platform that happens to be used by some haram advertisers?
The majority view in contemporary Islamic finance treats advertising platforms similarly to broadcast television — the platform itself is neutral technology, and the haram content is a fraction of total ad revenue. By this reasoning, Meta passes the 5% threshold for haram-sourced income.
A minority of scholars disagree, arguing that knowingly facilitating advertising for impermissible products makes the facilitator complicit. Under this view, Meta would be impermissible.
Content Concerns Beyond Advertising
Facebook and Instagram host adult content, gambling promotion, and content that encourages activities contrary to Islamic ethics. Meta's AI tools for content recommendation also raise concerns about algorithmic promotion of such material.
Screening Agencies' Verdict
- Zoya App — Questionable ⚠️
- MSCI Islamic Index — Excluded ❌
- SPUS ETF — Not held ❌
- Some Islamic funds — Held with purification ✅ (minority)
Bottom Line
Meta is a genuinely contested stock in Islamic finance circles. The mainstream consensus leans toward excluding it due to advertising revenue from haram products exceeding tolerable thresholds and the platform's role in facilitating impermissible content. Conservative Muslim investors should avoid it; those with a broader interpretation may hold it with intention to purify a portion of gains.
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