--- title: "Is The Goldman Sachs Stock Halal?" canonical: https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/goldman-sachs-stock publisher: HalalWallet license: CC BY 4.0 verdict: not_halal verdict_label: Not Halal entity_type: stock ticker: GS exchange: NYSE last_reviewed: 2026-06-14 data_as_of: 2026-03-31 authorities_with_position: 2 authority_agreement: unanimous --- # Is The Goldman Sachs Stock Halal? **Authority consensus:** All 2 halal screening authorities with a published position rate The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. not halal. **Verdict: Not Halal** (Not permissible) The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) does not pass Shariah screening: its core business fails the activity screen (Goldman Sachs fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional banking and capital-markets intermediation), and interest-bearing debt / market cap is 238.5% against the < 30% limit (data as of 2026-03-31), and impermissible income / total revenue is 64.2% against the < 5% limit (data as of 2026-03-31). It is not held by Shariah-screened ETFs SPUS or HLAL. Screened alternatives exist in the same sector — see the halal stock screeners and ETF guides below. > HalalWallet is not a Shariah authority and does not issue religious rulings. We compile the most complete public record of what Shariah scholars, screening authorities, and mainstream standards say — reproduced from primary sources with dates and citations — and let you decide. ## How we read the evidence Goldman Sachs is a clear-cut non-compliant stock, and the reason is the business-activity screen rather than any borderline financial ratio. Goldman is a conventional investment bank: its revenue comes from financing and lending, market-making and trading in interest-bearing instruments and derivatives, advisory and underwriting of conventional debt, and wealth management invested in interest-bearing securities. Every major revenue stream is tied to riba in some form, so the qualitative screen fails at the most fundamental level. The financial ratios fail as well — like any bank, Goldman's balance sheet carries enormous interest-bearing liabilities relative to its market capitalization, and its impermissible (interest) income is the bulk of its revenue. But this is the case where ratios do not even matter: when the core business activity is itself prohibited, a company cannot be rescued by its balance sheet. This is why Musaffa, HalalScreener, and every mainstream Shariah screen classify Goldman Sachs as not halal, and why it is excluded from Shariah-screened funds such as SPUS and HLAL by design. Muslim investors who want financial-sector exposure should look beyond conventional banks — for example to payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard that earn transaction fees rather than interest, permissible fintech, or Shariah-compliant Islamic banks. ## Business activity screen Result: Fail The Goldman Sachs Group is a conventional investment bank and financial-services firm. Its core business is interest-based and conventional financial intermediation across Global Banking & Markets (financing, advisory, market-making, and trading in fixed income, equities, currencies, and commodities), Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions (consumer platforms, credit cards, and transaction banking). Goldman Sachs fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional banking and capital-markets intermediation — built on riba (interest) through lending, fixed-income trading, derivatives, and the structuring of interest-bearing products — is its core business. The financial ratios also fail by wide margins: interest-bearing debt is well over the 30% AAOIFI limit relative to market cap, and impermissible income is far above the 5% revenue limit. When the primary business activity is itself prohibited, the quantitative ratios are moot. ## Financial ratio screen (AAOIFI) Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Screen | Value | Limit | Result | |---|---|---|---| | Interest-bearing debt / market cap | 238.5% | < 30% | Fail | | Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap | 2.2% | < 30% | Pass | | Impermissible income / total revenue | 64.2% | < 5% | Fail | Screening basis: AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 — the most widely used and most conservative mainstream standard (interest-bearing debt and securities each < 30% of market cap; impermissible income < 5%). Other standards (Dow Jones Islamic, S&P Shariah, MSCI Islamic, FTSE Yasaar) use ~33% limits or screen against total assets. Full methodology: https://www.halalwallet.ca/halal-stock-screening-methodology ## Scholars' and screeners' positions - **SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia ETF (SPUS)**: Not held in SPUS as of 2026-06-13. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://www.sp-funds.com/spus/)) - **Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL)**: Not held in HLAL as of 2026-06-13. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://stockanalysis.com/etf/hlal/holdings/)) - **Musaffa**: Classified NOT HALAL as of March 2026 — conventional banking/financial-services business fails the AAOIFI activity screen. ([source](https://musaffa.com/stock/GS/)) - **HalalScreener**: Rates GS Not Halal (Grade F) under AAOIFI Standard 21 — primary involvement in conventional banking, a prohibited sector. ([source](https://halalscreener.app/en/blog/is-goldman-sachs-stock-halal)) ## Sources - GS latest quarterly filing (balance sheet 2026-03-31) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=The%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Group%2C%20Inc.&type=10-Q) - AAOIFI Shariah Standards (https://aaoifi.com) - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=GS&type=10-K) - Musaffa — GS Shariah status (NOT HALAL, Mar 2026) (https://musaffa.com/stock/GS/) - HalalScreener — GS Not Halal (Grade F, conventional banking) (https://halalscreener.app/en/blog/is-goldman-sachs-stock-halal) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) stock halal? No. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. fails Shariah screening — see the screen table and analysis on this page for the specific business-activity or ratio reasons. ### Does The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. pass the AAOIFI financial ratio screen? As of 2026-03-31: interest-bearing debt is 238.5% of market cap (limit < 30%); cash plus interest-bearing securities is 2.2% (limit < 30%). The impermissible-income line is verified against the annual filing where noted on this page. ### Is The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. held in halal ETFs like SPUS or HLAL? No — as of our last check, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is not held by SPUS or HLAL. 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