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Fatwa CenterMaking investment in Gold ETF
Question
Assalamalaikum wa rahmatullah
I would like to know whether making investment in GOLD ETF is permissible it function like this it’s a mutual fund where the fund manager buys gold in units 1 unit=1gram of gold and keeps that gold with their custodian bank now a person can invest how much he wishes to the value will increase or decrease according to the daily rates of gold like shares and the investor pays a fee on entering that fund buying gold n’ keeping at homes is risky as we are not living in a country like Saudi Arabia .
Jazakallah khairun.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
What applies to the shares of this company is exactly what applies to other shares of other companies as clarified in Fataawa 90770 and 85042.
Therefore, if the shares of this company are free from Sharee’ah prohibitions, then it is permissible to buy it and invest in it, and pay the registration fees when participating in it. But if its activity includes a forbidden matter, like if its money (gold) is deposited in banks that deal with Riba (interest and/or usury) and then it takes the interest on the deposited money and invests it or distributes it among the shareholders, then it is not permissible to invest in it in order to avoid what is forbidden and all means that leads to it.
However, some scholars 
are of the view that it is permissible to participate in this company if the percentage of what is forbidden is a small percentage provided that the shareholder abides by purifying his profit from that forbidden percentage. Nonetheless, it is better to look for a permissible way of investing money and to avoid what includes a prohibition or what is suspected to be prohibited.
Also, in selling gold and silver at the stock exchange or anywhere else, it is a condition that there is a real hand to hand exchange or what serves as the hand to hand exchange; the buyer takes the gold and the seller takes the money at the time of carrying out the transaction, and this is what is called taking possession in the session of sale contract. So, if the gold is sold for a currency, then it is enough to exchange hand in hand, but if it is sold in return for gold [gold for gold], then it is a condition to exchange it hand to hand and it is also a condition to be of the same amount. However, a bank account [transferring the money from one bank account to another] or a bank cheque can serve as the real hand to hand exchange.
Allaah Knows best.
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