Buying shares of a company

Question

Question: Is it permissible to buy the shares of mining companies, tram, transport and railway companies, or not? A special need to investigate this arises because ninety per cent of our Muslims are involved in it and buy and sell the shares of such companies. But in “Kifayat al-Mufti”, vol. 8, p. 122, Hadrat Mawlana Mufti Kifayatullah ﵋ wrote in answer to a question that buying the shares of these companies is impermissible, while Hadrat Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Thanawi ﵋ wrote in “Fatawa Imdadiyya”, vol. 3, p.

Answer

Buying the shares of companies that exist to buy goods and sell them, or to manufacture goods, is valid; the transaction should be clear. Some companies are such that they neither buy goods nor manufacture them, but run money on loans; buying their shares is impermissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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