Assalamu Alaikum,
I know Apple and Microsoft are listed on Dow Jones Islamic indices. However, I am pretty sure that more than 5% of Microsoft’s revenue comes from their gaming division (XBOX) and Apple also has significant revenue from Apple Music, Apple TV, etc. Are they still halal? Or do we have flexibility with the 5% ratio as long as the majority of the business is lawful?
JazakAllah khair
Wa alaykum salaam,
The scholars who oversee the Dow Jones Islamic Indices will have taken this into consideration within their screening criteria.
I would recommend contacting them for further information on the specifics of any stock.
Allah knows best
Salam Mufti Faraz,
Thanks a lot for guiding us with your insights. I just checked MSFT’s 2019 annual statement.
https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar19/index.html
The gaming revenue is 9% of the total revenue. The same report also states that ‘Gaming, including Xbox hardware and Xbox software and services, comprising Xbox Live transactions, subscriptions, cloud services, and advertising (“Xbox Live”), video games, and third-party video game royalties.’
Could you please enlighten us if the stock is shariah compliant or not? Also, are companies involved in gaming completely non-compliant in general?
Jazakallah khair.
In all likelihood, the scholars have reviewed this element of these companies and have considered them to be permissible, which is reasonable as games can be played for multiple reasons and with multiple intentions.
Allah knows best
Jazakallah khair for the reply.
Also, Microsoft operates XBOX as a network/platform more than anything to my understanding. So they would get paid royalties etc for games produced for it. So there is actually an argument that this payment is best viewed as “rent” regardless of the content of that game.