The Ruling on Giving Riba (Usury or Interest) in Charity with the Intention of Getting Rid of It or Drawing Near to Allah

The questioner : Shaykh, if a person who consumes riba (usury or interest) wants to, if he gives out the riba or donates it as I said, O Shaykh, does he give it with the intention of charity or with the intention of getting rid of it?

The Shaykh : Yes, not with the intention of getting rid of it. Anything that is forbidden to earn, if a person repents from it and wants to give it out, let him do so with the intention of getting rid of it, not with the intention of drawing near to Allah. Because if he intends to draw near to Allah, it will not be accepted from him, for Allah is Pure and does not accept except what is pure. And he has not gotten rid of it because he did not intend to remove it from his ownership.
Okay, but if he donates it to a person, is it permissible for the person to accept it? For example, a man has one million riyals. He earned it through riba (usury or interest) and repented, so he gives it out to get rid of it and distributes it to the poor. Is it permissible for the poor to take it?
Yes, it is permissible for them to take it. It is permissible to build a mosque with it. It is permissible to build a mosque with it. And is it permissible to pray in the mosque? Yes, it is permissible to pray in it. It is permissible to pray. Okay, does he have the reward of the one who built the mosque?
No, he has the reward of the one who repented from the forbidden act. Likewise, if he donates it to get rid of it, we say you do not have the reward of charity, but you have the reward of repenting from it. Is that clear, everyone?
Okay, some people now ask, saying so-and-so deals in riba (usury or interest) and that he built a mosque. Is the prayer in it valid? They ask about this. We say yes, the prayer in it is valid.
Whether he intended by building it to draw near to Allah, or to draw near to Allah by repenting from riba (usury or interest), because it does not depend on his intention. I found a built mosque, so I have the right to pray in it. Yes. It does not please, meaning if he is getting rid of it, that is good. Hmm? Yes. We do not know if it is for drawing near or not, it is not accepted from him. It is not upon me, originally I am not drawing near to Allah by it, nor did I earn anything forbidden.