--- title: "Is Morgan Stanley Stock Halal?" canonical: https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/morgan-stanley-stock publisher: HalalWallet license: CC BY 4.0 verdict: not_halal verdict_label: Not Halal entity_type: stock ticker: MS exchange: NYSE last_reviewed: 2026-06-14 data_as_of: 2026-03-31 authorities_with_position: 3 authority_agreement: unanimous --- # Is Morgan Stanley Stock Halal? **Authority consensus:** All 3 halal screening authorities with a published position rate Morgan Stanley not halal. **Verdict: Not Halal** (Not permissible) Morgan Stanley (MS) does not pass Shariah screening: its core business fails the activity screen (Morgan Stanley fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional banking and capital-markets intermediatio), and interest-bearing debt / market cap is 116.8% against the < 30% limit (data as of 2026-03-31), and cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap is 195.4% against the < 30% limit (data as of 2026-03-31), and impermissible income / total revenue is 51.4% 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 Morgan Stanley is a conventional investment bank, and like every conventional bank it is not permissible to own. The verdict does not hinge on a borderline ratio — it fails at the first step. Its core business is interest-based: lending, margin financing, fixed-income trading, and underwriting are riba-driven activities, and that alone excludes it under the AAOIFI business-activity screen. The financial ratios then confirm the exclusion emphatically — interest-bearing debt and interest-bearing assets each exceed 100% of market capitalization, and impermissible income is roughly half of total revenue, many times the 5% limit. Because the impermissible activity is the business itself, there is no purification remedy: you cannot 'clean' a conventional bank by donating a slice of the dividend. Both Zoya and Musaffa rate Morgan Stanley non-compliant, and it is excluded from Shariah-screened funds like SPUS and HLAL by design. Muslims who want financial-sector exposure should look to Shariah-compliant alternatives such as takaful operators or fully Islamic financial institutions rather than conventional banks and broker-dealers. ## Business activity screen Result: Fail Morgan Stanley is a conventional, full-service investment bank and wealth manager. Its segments are Institutional Securities (trading, underwriting, M&A advisory, lending), Wealth Management, and Investment Management. Core revenue derives from interest-based lending and margin, securities trading, and conventional financial intermediation. Morgan Stanley fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional banking and capital-markets intermediation is its core business — built on riba (interest) in lending, margin financing, and fixed-income activities. It also fails every financial-ratio screen: interest-bearing debt and interest-bearing assets each exceed 100% of market cap and impermissible income is roughly half of revenue, far beyond the AAOIFI 30%/30%/5% limits. As with all conventional banks, the stock is excluded outright — no purification can cure a core-impermissible business. ## Financial ratio screen (AAOIFI) Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Screen | Value | Limit | Result | |---|---|---|---| | Interest-bearing debt / market cap | 116.8% | < 30% | Fail | | Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap | 195.4% | < 30% | Fail | | Impermissible income / total revenue | 51.4% | < 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 2026-06-14. 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 2026-06-14. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://stockanalysis.com/etf/hlal/holdings/)) - **Zoya**: Classifies MS as NOT Shariah-compliant — conventional investment banking fails the business-activity screen; dividends are impermissible income to be donated. ([source](https://zoya.finance/stocks/ms)) - **Musaffa**: Classified NOT HALAL — conventional banking and capital-markets business fails AAOIFI business-activity and financial-ratio screens. ([source](https://musaffa.com/stock/MS/)) ## Sources - MS latest quarterly filing (balance sheet 2026-03-31) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=Morgan%20Stanley&type=10-Q) - AAOIFI Shariah Standards (https://aaoifi.com) - Morgan Stanley 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=MS&type=10-K) - Zoya — MS not Shariah-compliant (https://zoya.finance/stocks/ms) - Musaffa — MS NOT HALAL (https://musaffa.com/stock/MS/) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Morgan Stanley (MS) stock halal? No. Morgan Stanley fails Shariah screening — see the screen table and analysis on this page for the specific business-activity or ratio reasons. ### Does Morgan Stanley pass the AAOIFI financial ratio screen? As of 2026-03-31: interest-bearing debt is 116.8% of market cap (limit < 30%); cash plus interest-bearing securities is 195.4% (limit < 30%). The impermissible-income line is verified against the annual filing where noted on this page. ### Is Morgan Stanley held in halal ETFs like SPUS or HLAL? No — as of our last check, Morgan Stanley is not held by SPUS or HLAL. 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