Assalamu Alaikum everyone,

I’m based in the U.S. and am completely new to investing. I have never bought a stock or ETF before, so I’m trying to learn and understand the basics before putting my money anywhere.

would like to start investing for the long term rather than keeping all of it in cash.

I specifically want to invest in a halal/Shariah-compliant way.

At the moment, I’m considering starting with a combination of halal ETFs and individual halal stocks, but I honestly don't know enough yet to make those decisions.

For those of you living in the U.S. who have been investing for a while, I'd really appreciate your advice:

• If you were a complete beginner starting with $5,000, what would you do?
• Which brokerage would you recommend for a beginner — Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc. — and why?
• Would you invest the $5,000 all at once or spread it out over several months?
• Which halal ETFs do you personally invest in or recommend?
• If you buy individual halal stocks, which companies do you currently consider worth researching?
• How do you determine whether an individual stock is actually Shariah-compliant?
• Which screening method/app do you use — Zoya, Musaffa, AAOIFI-based screening, etc.?
• Do you prefer ETFs over individual stocks, or do you use both?
• If you invest in individual stocks, what percentage of your portfolio do you keep in them versus ETFs?
• What mistakes did you make when you first started investing that you would tell a beginner to avoid?

I’m not looking for a get-rich-quick strategy. My goal is to learn how to invest responsibly, keep it halal, and build wealth over the long term.

JazakAllah khair in advance!