Is MELI halal? AAOIFI verdict for MercadoLibre, Inc.

Under AAOIFI Standard 21 as applied by invest-like.com, MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) is currently classified as Shariah-compliant. The verdict is computed mechanically from public fundamentals (industry classification + interest-bearing debt ratio + non-permissible income where data is available) and refreshes quarterly. The reasoning behind the current verdict: the company passed both the AAOIFI activity screen and the 30 percent interest-bearing debt threshold. Specific scholars or madhhabs may differ; the screen is a starting point, not a fatwa.

MELI's trailing interest-bearing debt to market capitalisation ratio is 5.4%. AAOIFI Standard 21 requires this to be below 30 percent for full Shariah compliance. Above 30 percent puts the stock in the borderline zone; above 40 percent is non-compliant on the financial-ratio test alone.

invest-like.com runs every indexed stock through a programmatic AAOIFI Standard 21 implementation at each quarterly refresh. The procedure: (1) classify the company's primary business via its FMP industry string and check against the AAOIFI exclusion list, (2) compute the trailing interest-bearing debt ratio against market cap, (3) where segment data is available, compute the non-permissible income ratio. The verdict for MELI reflects this mechanical run; full methodology is published at /methodology/halal/.

No. invest-like.com is not staffed by Islamic scholars and the AAOIFI Standard 21 implementation is a structured filter, not a religious ruling. For MELI, use this verdict as a starting point - if you have a specific scholar or madhhab ruling that differs from AAOIFI, follow their guidance.

Borderline MELI status means the interest-bearing debt ratio is between 30 and 40 percent (the AAOIFI compliant threshold and the non-compliant threshold). Some scholars allow holding borderline stocks with purification of the corresponding share of dividends; others reject borderline stocks entirely. The conservative interpretation is to avoid borderline stocks until the underlying ratio drops below 30 percent. The looser interpretation is to hold with purification. Consult your scholar.