Short answer
Trading XAUUSD on a forex or CFD platform is not halal in the mainstream Hanafi view. You never own any gold, the gold and the money are not exchanged on the spot, and positions are usually funded with leverage and charged overnight interest (swap). Buying and selling real, delivered gold is different and is allowed.
When gold is sold for money, the gold must change hands at the time of the deal. A contract for difference on gold transfers no gold, defers settlement and is usually tied to an interest-bearing margin loan, so it is impermissible. A swap-free account removes the interest charge but not the other problems.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
XAUUSD is the price of one ounce of gold in US dollars. On most retail trading apps you do not buy gold at all. You open a contract for difference (CFD) with the broker: if the price moves your way, the broker pays you the difference, and if not, you pay it.
Why scholars do not allow this:
- No real exchange. Gold for money must be hand to hand. The Prophet ﷺ said not to sell gold that is absent for money that is present, and in a CFD the gold never changes hands.
- Selling what you do not own. Short positions sell gold you never had.
- Leverage and swap. Trading 1:100 means the broker lends you the money, and holding overnight costs interest.
- Close to gambling. With no asset, the trade is a bet on price direction where one side's gain is the other's loss.
"Islamic" or swap-free accounts remove the overnight interest charge, but the contract is still a CFD with no ownership and no spot exchange. Closing the trade the same day does not fix that either.
What is allowed is buying physical or allocated gold with your own money, paid and delivered at once, and selling it later at a profit. See Is investing in gold halal? The same reasoning applies to currency pairs: see Is forex trading halal? Products differ, so check a specific platform with a mufti.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:275
ٱلَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ ٱلَّذِى يَتَخَبَّطُهُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ مِنَ ٱلْمَسِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا ٱلْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ ۗ وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ ۚ فَمَن جَآءَهُۥ مَوْعِظَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ فَٱنتَهَىٰ فَلَهُۥ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ ﴿٢٧٥﴾
Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
Leveraged positions with swap charges involve interest.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2177
Sahih... ولا تبيعوا منها غائبا بناجز ...
"And do not sell any of it that is absent for what is present."
Gold must be exchanged on the spot, which a CFD never does.
Sahih Muslim 1587
Sahih... فإذا اختلفت هذه الأصناف فبيعوا كيف شئتم إذا كان يدا بيد ...
"If the kinds differ, sell as you wish, as long as it is hand to hand."
Gold may be sold for money at any price, but only hand to hand.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3503
Graded sahih... لا تبع ما ليس عندك ...
"Do not sell what you do not have."
Short positions sell gold the trader does not own.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sarf. Exchanges of gold require possession of both sides in the session.
- AAOIFI Shariah Standards, Standard No. 57, Gold and Its Trading Controls. Rules out gold trading without delivery or with margin financing.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.