The Short Answer
Coursera stock (COUR) is considered halal under standard Sharia screening. Operating an online learning platform that offers courses, certificates, and degrees is a clearly permissible activity with no haram revenue line, and Coursera carries essentially no debt while holding a large net-cash position, so it comfortably passes the debt screen.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-03-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
0 / 1,000.5
789.8 / 1,000.5
849.8 / 1,000.5
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt/assets is 0.00%, but liquidity/assets is 78.94% and receivables-plus-cash/assets is 84.94%, above the examined asset limits.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Known debt is zero, but liquidity and receivables-plus-cash exceed the examined total-assets limits; gross interest income and business allocation remain incomplete.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Liquidity/assets is 78.94% and receivables-plus-cash/assets is 84.94%; this is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Fails
A licensed historical market-cap series is not stored; the filing-based liquidity failure remains documented.
Business-activity disclosure
Coursera operates an online education and professional-learning platform offering courses, certificates and degree programs. Education is generally permissible, but the filing does not classify every course, partner or customer use by a universal Sharia category.
Limitation: No universal prohibited-activity revenue numerator or scholar-specific purification percentage is disclosed, and gross interest income is unavailable.
Purification
Gross interest income is not separately disclosed and no scholar-approved purification percentage is asserted.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Coursera's March 31, 2026 Form 10-Q.
- No conventional interest-bearing debt or separately identified interest-bearing securities are reported; operating lease liabilities are excluded.
- Cash and cash equivalents are $789.8 million and net accounts receivable are $60.0 million.
- First-quarter revenue is $195.7 million; the filing does not separately disclose a gross interest-income numerator usable for purification.
- Online education, courses and professional learning are generally permissible, while individual course content and customer use remain qualitative.
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.
The only routine caveat is interest income on its cash balance, which should be confirmed against the 5% threshold and the corresponding small portion of returns purified.
Sharia Screening Methodology
Islamic scholars use several criteria to screen stocks:
- Business activity screen: Is the company's primary business halal?
- Debt ratio: Total debt / market cap must be under 33%
- Interest income: Interest income / total revenue must be under 5%
- Haram revenue: Revenue from haram sources must be under 5%
- Receivables ratio: Total receivables / total assets must be under 49–70% (varies by board)
Coursera's Business Activity
Coursera, Inc. operates an online learning platform. Its activity is:
- Consumer learning: Subscriptions and individual courses and certificates
- Enterprise: Workforce training for businesses and governments
- Degrees: Online degree programs delivered with universities
Education is a clearly permissible activity with no haram revenue line.
Why COUR Is Halal
1. Permissible Core Business
Providing education and professional learning is a halal activity that benefits learners. There is no gambling, alcohol, conventional banking, or other prohibited line at the heart of the business.
2. Net-Cash Balance Sheet
Coursera carries essentially no interest-bearing debt and holds a large net-cash position, so the debt-to-market-cap ratio comfortably passes the 33% Sharia threshold.
3. Interest on Cash to Purify
The main caveat is interest income on its cash balance, which should be confirmed against the 5% threshold and the corresponding small portion of returns purified. As a younger, pre-consistent-profit company, re-screen the ratios periodically.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Coursera's Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2026 (figures in USD millions) reports:
- Debt / total assets: 0.00% (no conventional debt reported / USD 1,000.5m).
- Cash + interest-bearing securities / total assets: 78.94% (USD 789.8m / USD 1,000.5m) — above examined asset limits.
- Receivables + cash / total assets: 84.94% (USD 849.8m / USD 1,000.5m).
- Interest income: Not separately disclosed in the filing; no percentage or purification amount is invented.
Methodology interpretation
Online education is qualitatively permissible and the company reports no conventional debt, but the current asset-based screen fails because cash plus securities and receivables plus cash are unusually high relative to total assets. Gross interest income is unavailable, so this is an analytical result rather than an official certification.
Bottom Line
Coursera (COUR) is qualitatively halal but quantitatively incomplete for Muslim investors. The online-education business is permissible and reported debt is zero, but the March 2026 filing fails the examined asset-liquidity ratios and does not separately disclose gross interest income. Investors should re-screen the next filing rather than treat the debt pass alone as a complete certification.
For Muslim investors seeking education and software exposure, compare COUR with peers like Duolingo (DUOL) and Adobe (ADBE).
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