If a man borrows from a riba (usury or interest) bank and then repents and wants to pay it off, do we give it to him?

The questioner : If a man borrows from a riba bank, thinking he will be able to repay, but he is unable to, and he comes and says, "I have now repented and regret it, and I know the evil of banks, that they are cursed, and so on, and I want to settle this debt,"

The Shaykh : Banks are cursed? There is no power or might except with Allah. No, no, the one who consumes riba is cursed. What do you mean, the banks are cursed?

The questioner : And he wants to have that removed from him.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : So is his statement accepted?

The Shaykh : Here, there is no doubt that if we know the man has repented, because many people do not know that banks are haram (forbidden), especially in countries where means of da'wah (calling others to Islam) are not widespread, if we know that the repentance is genuine, there is no doubt in the permissibility of paying off the debt, which is the principal.

The questioner : How do we know these actions?

The Shaykh : For example, ten thousand was made twelve thousand by the bank. There is no doubt that we pay off the ten thousand for him, because that is his right, but do we pay off the excess for him? Yes, this is a problem because the bank owner will demand it from him against his will. So do we give it to him, or do we say, "By Allah, we will give you the permissible thing and the haram thing"? You may tell the bank owner that he has no right to anything from you except your principal. Yes. No, he will not be imprisoned. May Allah bless you. This happened to us, and no imprisonment occurred. No imprisonment occurred, praise be to Allah, meaning approximately eight million. Yes, indeed.