Is it permissible to take out a riba (usury or interest) loan to prevent the harm of going to prison and the loss of one's children?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. I read in a book on the principles of jurisprudence, and there was a statement by the muhaqqiq (scholar) regarding the rule of repelling the greater of two harms by committing the lesser. What this means is that if a person is in debt, if a person is in debt, either he goes to prison, and as a result his children are lost and they mix with the foolish people who affect their religion.
The Shaykh:
An example given by the author.
The questioner:
From the muhaqqiq.
The Shaykh:
From the muhaqqiq, meaning he gave an example that the debtor.
The questioner:
He says: The debtor either goes to prison, and as a result his children are lost and they mix with the foolish people who affect their religion.
The Shaykh:
Does he go to prison by his own choice, or is he forced in? It is he who goes to prison. Yes.
The questioner:
Or he takes out a riba loan, and in that case, he is allowed to do so to repel the greater of two harms by committing.
The Shaykh:
I seek refuge in Allah from this fatwa. Riba is not permissible under any circumstances. And it is not permissible for him to borrow with riba.
If that is the case, Allah the Exalted is the One who judged. He said:[Al-Baqarah 2:280]. And it is not permissible to imprison him, nor is it permissible to demand payment from him while he is in financial difficulty.
Allah the Exalted[Al-Baqarah 2:280]. Only the one who delays payment while being able to pay is imprisoned, but he delays. This is the one who is imprisoned. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who has the means to pay but delays is wronged." "The one who has the means" means the one who delays. It is a wrong that makes his honor and punishment lawful. This is if he has the means, meaning he is rich. But if he is in financial difficulty, it is not permissible to imprison him, nor is it permissible to demand payment from him until Allah brings relief. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. I read in a book on the principles of jurisprudence, and there was a statement by the muhaqqiq (scholar) regarding the rule of repelling the greater of two harms by committing the lesser. What this means is that if a person is in debt, if a person is in debt, either he goes to prison, and as a result his children are lost and they mix with the foolish people who affect their religion.
The Shaykh:
An example given by the author.
The questioner:
From the muhaqqiq.
The Shaykh:
From the muhaqqiq, meaning he gave an example that the debtor.
The questioner:
He says: The debtor either goes to prison, and as a result his children are lost and they mix with the foolish people who affect their religion.
The Shaykh:
Does he go to prison by his own choice, or is he forced in? It is he who goes to prison. Yes.
The questioner:
Or he takes out a riba loan, and in that case, he is allowed to do so to repel the greater of two harms by committing.
The Shaykh:
I seek refuge in Allah from this fatwa. Riba is not permissible under any circumstances. And it is not permissible for him to borrow with riba.
If that is the case, Allah the Exalted is the One who judged. He said:
And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease.
وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍAllah the Exalted
And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease.
وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [439 -1024] هل يجوز اقتراض قرضا ربويا دفعا لمفسدة دخول السجن وضياع الأولاد؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.