I invest my money through a friend of mine in the American Exchange Market, though my friend and I reside in Egypt. Yet, we buy and sell stocks of American companies via software that works online, which enables us to buy and sell tens of times a day, as well as allowing us to withhold the money in the form of bank notes and not stocks. This software is not of legal use in the Arabic Exchange Market, whereas the American Exchange Market allows it. My friend told me from the beginning that he anticipated the matter and he only indulges in lawful matters, and I have known him for 15 years and have never heard him say even one lie. However, after 7 months he surprised me with the fact that all of the companies whose stocks we buy and sell trade in lawful matters, but just like all other companies, they deposit their cash money with banks. He received a fatwa from an Islamic website that I feel no need to mention - with all my due respect and appreciation for the efforts of the specialists who work there - that tells him to take out the interest from our profit, which he has done from day one. Please note that the Riba interest is less than 5% of the net profit of these companies, so what should we do in such case, should we continue trading or stop it, especially that there are many views that forbid and permit it? The software is a great opportunity and the invested money is in millions, and we fear - may Allaah forbid - that part of our money is unlawful and because of that, all of it goes in vain. May Allaah benefit the Ummah with you, and Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

In the name of Allaah, the Benevolent, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allaah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah, his family, companions, and those loyal to him. If it is facilitated for you to invest your money in corporations that anticipate the Halal in their activities and are located in the lands of Islam, that is better for you, your wealth be purer and more pleasing to your Lord, so do not accept anything less as a replacement. Now, as you invest your money outside of the lands of Islam, then two fatawa are given to such cases; one of them states that investing in companies that comprise lawful and unlawful activities and depositing the money with banks in order to gain Riba on it is prohibited, even if the main activities of such companies are lawful. This is the adopted view of the Islamic Fiqh Council that is a part of the Islamic Conference Organization, as well as of all of the current Fiqh Councils in the Islamic World. The other fatwa states that so long the percentage of income resulting from these interests does not exceed 5%, as you have mentioned in your question, one is only required to take out this percentage from his profit and spend it on the general interests of Muslims, and this is the actual fatwa that we advocate in order to lessen the burden of the Ummah and the investors, until an Islamic alternative that can host their investments is available. And Allaah, the Most High, knows best.