Our halal content standard
Last updated: [Publish date]
Shoku Social exists so Muslim businesses can market themselves without compromising their principles. This page sets out exactly what that means in practice: what we never make, what you can choose, and how we check.
Our approach
On some questions scholars agree. On others there's a genuine, respected difference of opinion. We handle these in three ways:
- Where there's broad agreement, the rule is fixed. It applies to every plan and can't be switched off.
- Where scholars genuinely differ, we start with the cautious position. You can choose a stricter setting, within the range of recognised opinion.
- We don't issue religious rulings. If you're unsure what's right for you, ask a scholar you trust.
Never generated, whatever your settings
- Music and musical instruments. There's no music library. Videos use voiceover, subtitles and natural sounds such as wind, water or birds, and never natural sounds underneath Qur'an recitation. We also block vocal effects that imitate instruments, such as beatboxing.
- Realistic human faces. People in your ads are stylised and have no facial features, or their faces are covered.
- Immodest imagery. Figures are always modestly dressed.
- Prohibited products and services: alcohol, pork, gambling and betting, tobacco and vaping, adult content and dating services, astrology and fortune-telling, and interest-based finance such as payday loans or interest-bearing credit.
- Deception. No fake reviews, invented testimonials, made-up statistics, false scarcity or unprovable claims. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever deceives is not one of us" (Muslim). This also matches UK advertising law.
Your choices
| Setting | Default (cautious) | Stricter options |
|---|---|---|
| People in your ads | Stylised figures with no facial features | Face covered; or no people at all, just products, hands, scenery and calligraphy |
| Women shown in ads | Modestly dressed, no facial features | Not shown at all |
| Voiceover | Any voice you choose, delivered plainly | Male voices only |
| Audio | Voiceover and natural sounds | Voiceover only |
Settings are saved for each brand, so an agency can match each client's preference.
Charity and zakat campaigns
For charity campaigns we:
- ask for your registered charity number;
- use dignity-first templates, with no distressing images of people in need;
- avoid promising specific spiritual rewards;
- encourage you to say clearly whether a fund is zakat-eligible.
How we check
- Before generating: every request is checked against this standard. If it breaks a fixed rule, it's stopped before any credit is spent.
- After generating: every image is checked for faces, modesty and prohibited items, and every script and caption is checked for misleading claims. Anything that fails is regenerated or blocked, and your credits are refunded.
- By design: some things can't be produced at all, because the tools to make them aren't in Shoku Social. For example, there's no music anywhere in the product.
- By people: you can report anything that slips through (see Report a problem). We review reports within 24 hours on working days.
Automated checks are very good but not perfect. That's why every ad goes to you for approval before it's published, and why we act quickly on reports.
AI labelling
Everything Shoku Social makes is created with AI. We're open about that:
- Labels on platforms: when we publish for you, we apply TikTok's, Meta's and YouTube's AI-content labels where they're required.
- Invisible markers: exported files carry a machine-readable marker showing they were AI-generated, as EU law requires.
- Disclosed voiceovers: AI voiceovers are disclosed as AI where the voice provider or the platform requires it.
Changes to this standard
We may make this standard stricter at any time. We'll never quietly loosen it. If we change a fixed rule, we'll explain why on this page and email our customers first.
Questions or suggestions: hello@shokusocial.com.