"SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)" tracks the S&P 500 index and is one of the most popular ETFs in the world with $570B in assets. But is it halal? We screened every single holding — all 503 stocks — against Shariah standards to give you a definitive, data-backed answer.
NOT Shariah-compliant. Use SPUS for a halal S&P 500 alternative.
Screening Results at a Glance
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Holdings | 503 |
| Compliant Holdings | 337 |
| Non-Compliant Holdings | 166 |
| Compliance Rate | 67.0% |
| Weighted Compliance | 62.8% |
| Purification Rate | 4.5% |
| Expense Ratio | 0.09% |
| AUM | $570B |
Why SPY Fails Shariah Screening
SPY fails Shariah screening primarily because the S&P 500 includes major financial institutions (JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs), insurance companies (Berkshire Hathaway), alcohol producers (Constellation Brands), and gambling/entertainment companies. These sectors are fundamentally non-compliant regardless of financial ratios. Even with 67% of holdings being individually compliant, the presence of explicitly prohibited businesses makes SPY unsuitable as a Shariah-compliant investment.
Top Compliant Holdings
These SPY holdings pass Shariah screening:
- AAPL
- MSFT
- NVDA
- AMZN
- META
- GOOGL
- TSLA
- UNH
- AVGO
- LLY
Non-Compliant Holdings
These holdings fail Shariah screening and are the reason SPY is not compliant:
- JPM (banking)
- BAC (banking)
- WFC (banking)
- GS (banking)
- BRK.B (insurance/finance)
- V (financial services)
- MA (financial services)
Halal Alternatives to SPY
If you want similar market exposure with full Shariah compliance, consider these alternatives:
- SPUS (SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia ETF) — Shariah-screened version of the S&P 500
- HLAL (Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF)
- UMMA (Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF)
For a detailed comparison of halal ETFs, see our Best Halal ETFs for 2026 guide.
Screen SPY Yourself via API
Get the full per-holding compliance breakdown for SPY using the Halal Terminal API:
curl https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/SPY/screening \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"The response includes compliance status for every holding, the overall compliance rate, weighted compliance by portfolio weight, and the aggregate purification rate.
import requests
resp = requests.get(
"https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/SPY/screening",
headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY"}
)
data = resp.json()
print(f"Compliance Rate: {data['compliance_rate']}%")
print(f"Compliant: {data['compliant_holdings']}/{data['total_holdings']}")
print(f"Purification: {data['purification_rate']:.1%}")
# Show non-compliant holdings
for h in data["holdings"]:
if h["compliance_status"] != "compliant":
print(f" FAIL: {h['symbol']} ({h['weight']:.1%} weight)")Two ways to screen
Halal Terminal
Screen stocks and ETFs interactively with real-time data, multi-methodology verdicts, and transparent financial ratios.
Key Takeaways
- SPY is NOT Shariah-compliant — 67.0% of holdings pass screening
- Weighted compliance: 62.8% — non-compliant holdings have significant weight
- Purification rate: 4.5% — moderate purification needed on dividends
- Halal alternatives exist — SPUS and HLAL offer similar exposure with full compliance
- Screen any ETF holding-by-holding using the Halal Terminal API