Assalamu alaikum. I would like to purchase Facebook stocks also other technology stocks such as Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, etc. Are they halal to buy and if not why. Also I am employed by Walgreens and I would like to join their profit sharing plan. Is it halal to join their profit sharing plan even though they sell alcoholic beverages and cigarettes? Thank you,

All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on His last prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

As for all of those companies mentioned, their dominant transactions are halal, which puts them in a separate tier in the middle between the all halal and the predominantly haram companies. When investment in the first tier is possible, then one must do so. When not, and one has a need to invest in tier 2, then the small percentage of non-halal transactions they conduct will hopefully be exempt due to the prevalence of halal as the primary product.

The reservations we have against young Muslims, particularly teenagers, joining facebook, doesn’t mean the product itself is haram; it is about the balance between potential harms and benefits.

Allah knows best.