Is it permissible for a group of people to agree that each of them pays a monthly amount, which is received by one of them each month?

Question : Then, here is a matter that many people ask about. It is that a group of employees, for example, agree to deduct from each person's salary—say, one thousand riyals from each person, or ten percent of his salary, meaning either by percentage or by a fixed amount—and give it to one of us. In the second month, they give it to the second person, in the third month to the third, and in the fourth month to the fourth, until it goes around to all of them and then returns to the first person again. Some people ask about this.

Answer : The answer to this is that we say it is valid, there is nothing wrong with it, and there is no blame on them. Whoever suspects that it falls under the category of a loan that yields benefit is mistaken. Because if I lend to these brothers with me, if I lend them something, I do not take back more than what I gave. And the fact that they say it is because a large amount of money will return to him—we say, yes, but nothing returned to him that is more than what he gave. The most that is in it is that he lent on the condition that it be repaid, and there is nothing wrong with that. So this is a misconception from some of the brothers, from some of the students of knowledge, who think that this is from the category of riba (usury or interest). There is absolutely no riba in this; rather, it is from the category of mutual assistance and cooperation. Often, some colleagues need ready cash to get them out of their problems, to be saved from having to go to someone to borrow from them and pay interest on it, or to go to a bank to take from them with riba or the like. So this is a benefit, and there is no harm in it in any way.