Is AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L) halal?
AstraZeneca PLC is considered halal under 3 of 5 standards — the scholars disagree. Below is the verdict under each of the five mainstream scholarly standards, with the deciding numbers and the source behind every threshold.
- HalalAAOIFI Standard
All ratio checks pass.
- BorderlineMufti Taqi Usmani (stricter Hanafi)
Illiquid (tangible) assets / total assets 19.0% (limit 20%)
- HalalDow Jones Islamic Market
All ratio checks pass.
- HalalJa'fari (Sistani-aligned)
All ratio checks pass.
- Not halalStrict / zero-tolerance
Impermissible income / revenue 0.6% (limit 0%); Interest-bearing debt / market cap 13.8% (limit 0%); Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap 2.7% (limit 0%)
The numbers behind the verdict
- Interest-bearing debt / market cap
- 13.8%
- Cash + securities / market cap
- 2.7%
- Receivables / market cap
- 7.6%
- Impermissible income / revenue
- 0.6%
- Illiquid (tangible) assets / total
- 19.0%
Thresholds and methodology differ by scholar — e.g. AAOIFI caps interest-bearing debt at 30% of market cap, DJIM at 33%, and Mufti Taqi additionally requires tangible assets to be at least 20% of total assets. That's why two screeners can disagree on the same stock.
AZN.L appears in these halal indexes
It passes the AAOIFI screen and is large enough to be a current constituent.
- AAOIFI: AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 (Financial Papers — Shares and Bonds)
- Mufti Taqi: Mufti Taqi Usmani — published equity-screening rulings (illiquid-asset rule)
- DJIM: S&P Dow Jones Islamic Market Indices — Index Methodology (Shariah Screening)
- Ja'fari: Ayatollah Sistani — Code of Practice (sistani.org)
- Strict: Minority scholars holding zero-tolerance on riba exposure
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HalalGauge surfaces published scholarly methodologies with full sourcing; it does not issue fatwa or certify any security as halal. Verify with a qualified scholar before investing.