The Short Answer
Progress Software's business activity is qualitatively halal, but its current quantitative asset-based screen fails. The May 31, 2026 filing shows debt/assets of 55.09%; liquidity/assets is 4.39% and receivables plus cash/assets is 13.80%.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-05-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
1,292.147 / 2,345.623
102.978 / 2,345.623
323.623 / 2,345.623
0.233 / 253.465
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt/assets is 55.09%, above the examined debt limit; liquidity/assets is 4.39%, receivables-plus-cash/assets is 13.80% and the income upper bound is 0.09%.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt/assets is 55.09%, above the examined MSCI total-assets debt limit; this is not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt/assets is 55.09%, above the examined Malaysia 33% limit; this is not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Fails
A licensed historical market-cap series is not stored; the debt screen fails independently.
Business-activity disclosure
Progress provides application-development, infrastructure, monitoring and data-connectivity software. The software activity is generally permissible, while customer sectors and downstream use are not reduced to a universal prohibited-revenue numerator.
Limitation: The filing does not classify customer and product use by a universal Sharia category; activity remains qualitative.
Purification
Interest income and other, net is used as a conservative upper bound; ZakatInvest does not prescribe a scholar-approved purification percentage.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Progress Software's May 31, 2026 Form 10-Q.
- Long-term debt of $850.000 million plus convertible senior notes of $442.147 million are included; operating lease liabilities are excluded.
- Cash and cash equivalents are $102.978 million; no separately identified interest-bearing securities balance is added.
- Accounts receivable of $125.209 million plus current and non-current unbilled receivables of $95.436 million are used; second-quarter revenue is $253.465 million.
- Interest income and other, net is $0.233 million and is used as a conservative upper bound rather than a fixed purification percentage.
- Application, infrastructure and developer software are generally permissible, but no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is disclosed.
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.
Developing and licensing enterprise and developer software is generally permissible at the activity level. Progress uses acquisition-related debt and convertible notes; debt/assets exceeds the examined limits, while interest income and other, net is a conservative upper bound of 0.09% of revenue and no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is disclosed.
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)
Progress's Business Activity
Progress's software portfolio spans:
- Application development: Low-code and developer platforms and components
- Infrastructure and monitoring: Network monitoring and secure file transfer
- Data connectivity: Data integration and connectivity products
Developing and licensing this software is permissible at the activity level — Progress sells software to businesses and developers.
Concerns to Be Aware Of
1. Acquisition-Related Leverage
Progress reports $1,292.147 million of debt and convertible notes against $2,345.623 million of assets (55.09%), above the examined asset-based debt limits. Acquisition-related term debt and convertible notes are interest-bearing instruments; a market-cap denominator is not calculated here.
2. Interest Income on Cash
Interest income and other, net of $0.233 million is a conservative upper bound of 0.09% of quarterly revenue. ZakatInvest does not prescribe a fixed purification percentage.
3. Frequent Acquisitions
Progress is a frequent acquirer of software businesses. Acquisition activity can raise leverage and goodwill, so the financial screen should be re-verified following material transactions.
Filing-Based Ratios (May 31, 2026)
These calculations use Progress's fiscal second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q and total-assets denominators:
- Debt / assets: 55.09% — fails the examined debt limits
- Cash / assets: 4.39% — passes the examined liquidity limits
- Receivables + cash / assets: 13.80% — passes the examined limit
- Interest income and other upper bound / revenue: 0.09%; no fixed purification percentage asserted
Methodology Interpretation
On the stored total-assets calculations, FTSE Yasaar, MSCI Islamic and Malaysia SAC financial screens fail on debt. These are comparisons with published methodologies, not claims of index membership or an external agency verdict.
Bottom Line
Progress Software (PRGS) has a generally permissible software business, but the current filing-based quantitative screen fails because debt/assets is 55.09%. This is not a universal halal certification; investors should consult a qualified scholar and review updated filings.
For Muslim investors seeking software exposure, PRGS sits alongside other halal-screened names like ServiceNow (NOW) and Datadog (DDOG).
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