The Short Answer
Cognizant (CTSH) is generally halal on the examined activity and current asset-based financial screens. Its consulting, application development, cloud, cybersecurity, software, infrastructure and business-process services are generally permissible at the activity level. The filing does not provide a universal prohibited-revenue numerator by customer or end use, so this is methodology-dependent rather than a claim of universal certification.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-03-31; calculated 2026-07-13.
568 / 20,500
1,517 / 20,500
6,113 / 20,500
22 / 5,413
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt is 2.77%, liquidity is 7.40%, receivables plus cash are 29.82% and disclosed interest income is 0.41%; the examined financial ratios pass, while business revenue remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt, liquidity, receivables plus cash and disclosed interest income pass the examined total-assets limits; no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is disclosed. This is a calculation against the named method, not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt is 2.77% and identifiable liquidity is 7.40% of total assets; the IT-services activity is generally permissible, but screened business revenue remains undisclosed. This is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification of a U.S.-listed security.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Not calculated
A properly licensed and reproducible historical market-cap series is not stored, so these methods are not estimated from a current spot price.
Business-activity disclosure
Cognizant provides consulting, application development, systems integration, quality engineering, software, infrastructure, security, business-process and other IT services. These general-purpose technology and professional services are generally permissible at the activity level.
Limitation: The filing reports customer verticals and service lines but does not provide a reproducible prohibited-revenue numerator by customer, content, financing use or end use, so no unsupported haram-revenue percentage is estimated.
Purification
Disclosed interest income is 0.41% of quarterly revenue and passes the examined income threshold, but no fixed scholar-approved purification rate is asserted and business-revenue allocation remains incomplete.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Assets use Cognizant's consolidated total assets of $20,500 million at March 31, 2026.
- Interest-bearing debt uses $33 million of short-term debt plus $535 million of long-term debt, both reported carrying amounts. Operating lease liabilities are not silently added as conventional debt.
- Liquidity uses $1,504 million of cash and cash equivalents plus $13 million of short-term investments. Long-term investments are not silently included.
- Accounts receivable uses the reported $4,609 million net trade-accounts-receivable balance; contract assets and other current assets are not silently treated as trade receivables.
- Quarterly revenue is $5,413 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026. The filing separately reports $22 million of interest income, or 0.41% of revenue.
- Revenue is disaggregated by Health Sciences, Financial Services, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology, but the filing does not allocate a universal prohibited-revenue numerator by customer or end use.
This is a reproducible financial screen, not a fatwa. A failed total-assets screen can coexist with a pass under a market-cap methodology. ZakatInvest keeps the qualitative assessment separate so numerical thresholds do not erase material context.
This is a reproducible ZakatInvest calculation from Cognizant's March 31, 2026 Form 10-Q. It is not an index-membership claim or a fatwa. Market-cap denominator methods are not estimated without a licensed historical market-cap series, and the qualitative analysis remains separate from the numerical result.
Sharia Screening Methodology
Islamic equity screens commonly examine:
- Business activity: whether core activity and material revenue streams are permissible
- Debt and liquidity: interest-bearing liabilities and cash or interest-bearing securities relative to assets or market value
- Receivables: receivables plus cash relative to assets, with thresholds varying by methodology
- Non-compliant income: separately disclosed interest or other prohibited income, where the filing permits a reproducible numerator
Cognizant's Business Activity
Cognizant reports four end-market verticals: Health Sciences, Financial Services, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology. It provides consulting and technology services such as application development, systems integration, quality engineering, cloud and data work, as well as outsourcing services including infrastructure, security, application maintenance and business-process services.
These are general-purpose professional and technology services and are generally permissible at the activity level. The Q1 filing reports $5,413 million of revenue, but does not allocate a universal prohibited-revenue numerator by customer, media content, financing use or end use. No unsupported haram-revenue percentage is therefore estimated.
Qualitative Concerns
1. Financial Services customer mix
Financial Services is a major vertical covering banking, capital markets and insurance customers. Cognizant's role is general-purpose IT delivery rather than directly providing lending or insurance, but stricter look-through approaches may evaluate customer use and materiality.
2. Media and entertainment exposure
Communications, Media and Technology includes media-and-entertainment customers. Cognizant provides technology and operations services rather than directly producing content, yet content and end-use exposure remains a qualitative diligence topic.
3. Cloud, data and AI services
Cloud, data, AI, cybersecurity and business-process services can be used across permissible and impermissible industries. Public reporting does not isolate every customer end use, so the quantitative screen should not be read as a substitute for that qualitative review.
4. Acquisitions and operating structure
The 3Cloud acquisition and future acquisitions can change the consolidated service mix, assets and debt. Cognizant's global delivery workforce, intercompany arrangements and tax structure are operational considerations rather than automatic Sharia violations, but material changes should trigger a fresh review.
Current Financial Ratios (March 31, 2026)
- Interest-bearing debt / assets: 2.77% — below the examined 33% limits ✅
- Cash + interest-bearing securities / assets: 7.40% — below the examined liquidity limits ✅
- Receivables + cash / assets: 29.82% — below the examined 50% limit ✅
- Disclosed interest income / revenue: 0.41% — below the examined 5% threshold ✅
- Prohibited-revenue numerator: Not disclosed; business-activity screen remains incomplete
How to Read the Result
CTSH is methodology-dependent but financially passing in this review. The examined asset-based financial ratios and disclosed interest-income ratio pass, and the core IT-services activity is generally permissible. The missing universal business-revenue allocation prevents a stronger claim.
- FTSE Yasaar asset-based financial screen — Passes at 2.77% debt/assets ✅
- MSCI Islamic total-assets financial screen — Passes at 2.77% debt/assets ✅
- Malaysia SAC asset-based financial screen — Passes at 2.77% debt/assets ✅
Bottom Line
Cognizant (CTSH) is currently generally halal with an incomplete business-activity allocation. The latest asset-based financial ratios pass, while customer verticals, media exposure, end use, acquisitions and the interest-income purification question remain appropriate qualitative review topics. Investors should consult their preferred Sharia adviser for their own standard.
CTSH's current asset-based ratios and disclosed interest-income ratio pass, while customer and end-use allocation remains qualitative.
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