Mana is an educational platform. We're not regulated by the FCA and nothing here is a personal recommendation. Everything you see (ETF illustrations, goal projections, quiz results, AI responses) is general information to help you learn. Before investing, please do your own research and consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser.
ETFs · Index funds · Workplace funds · Stocks · Mana Credit · Compare halal products ↗ · Terms · PrivacyResearch 101
ETFs do the screening for you. But if you want to invest in individual companies, you need to know how to check compliance, and whether the business is actually worth investing in.
The AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions) has established four criteria. A company must pass all of them.
Full walkthrough → “How to check if a company is Shariah compliant”Business activity
Does the company earn money from halal activities? Excludes: alcohol, tobacco, weapons, gambling, pork, conventional banking.
Financial ratios
Debt-to-market cap below 33%. Interest-bearing debt should not exceed 33% of total assets.
Interest income
Non-permissible income (interest, dividends from haram companies) below 5% of total revenue.
Accounts receivable
Accounts receivable and cash should not exceed 50% of total assets (to ensure the company trades in real goods/services).
Don’t do this manually
Use one of the tools below. They’ve already done the calculation.
The most popular app. Search any stock or ETF and get a Sharia compliance score instantly. Free tier available.
Detailed compliance reports for stocks and ETFs globally. Includes revenue breakdown by source.
Clean interface, good for beginners. Covers stocks across multiple markets.
Good for ETF-level screening with underlying holdings analysis.
Sharia compliance tells you if it’s permissible. These metrics tell you if it’s actually worth investing in.
P/E Ratio
Price-to-Earnings. How much you pay for £1 of profit.
Good sign
Lower than industry average. Below 20 is often reasonable.
Warning sign
Very high P/E (>50) means the market expects huge future growth, which is riskier.
Revenue growth
How fast the company's sales are growing year-on-year.
Good sign
Consistent 10–20% annual revenue growth.
Warning sign
Flat or declining revenue for 3+ years is a red flag.
Profit margin
What percentage of revenue becomes profit.
Good sign
Stable or growing margins over 3–5 years.
Warning sign
Sharply shrinking margins suggest the business is under pressure.
Debt level
Total debt relative to earnings or assets.
Good sign
Low debt relative to earnings. Debt/EBITDA below 3x.
Warning sign
High debt + rising interest rates = dangerous for the company.
Free cash flow
Cash the company generates after expenses. More reliable than 'profit'.
Good sign
Positive and growing free cash flow.
Warning sign
Consistently negative free cash flow means the company burns money.
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)
Invest a fixed amount every month regardless of whether the market is up or down. When the market is high, your £50 buys fewer shares. When it’s low, it buys more.
Over time, this averages out your purchase price and removes the need to “time the market.” It’s the strategy recommended for almost all beginners.
Double DCA
Same as DCA, but when the market drops by more than 10%, you double your regular investment that month. You’re buying more of the same asset at a discount.
This requires having extra cash available and the discipline not to panic when markets drop. Only use this once you’re comfortable with basic DCA.
Ready to put this into practice?
The investing flow will give you specific ETF picks with fees, returns, and platforms.
Start the investing flow →