What is the ruling on taking riba (usury or interest) from foreign banks?

Question : Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: Some banks abroad give riba (usury or interest) to the owner of the money, even if he does not agree to it. Does he take this money or leave it, knowing that he takes it and gives it to Islamic centers? What is the ruling?

Answer : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: . Stay with us on this verse. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: in the largest gathering that assembled with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: "Indeed, ." By the noble verse and the noble hadith, it becomes clear that it is not permissible for a person to take riba (usury or interest), and there is no distinction or situation in which taking riba is permissible. Therefore, if you place your money in banks and they give you riba on this money, it is not lawful for you to take it; it is not lawful to take it, because the verse and the hadith are general and have not specified one situation over another, nor one time over another. So your duty is to say: "My money has not earned a profit. I gave you the money and you disposed of it, and I do not know if you will make a profit from it or not." For example, I might place two hundred thousand in this bank, and the bank trades with it, then loses and only obtains one hundred thousand, and yet they give you riba.
The reality of the matter is that this riba (usury or interest) is not a profit for the owner, such that you would say it is financial growth and you want to take it and give it in charity. Rather, the riba (usury or interest) is from whose money? It is from the bank's money that they give you this riba (usury or interest) as a guarantee, whether your money, which you caused them to work with, profited or not.
As for those who say, "We take it and give it in charity," we say: Do you take it and give it in charity as an act of drawing near to Allah, or to get rid of it? If he says it is to draw near, we say Allah will not accept it from you, because Allah the Exalted is Good and accepts only that which is good. If he says it is to get rid of it, we say: What is the benefit of staining your hand with impurity and then going to seek what removes this impurity? If you believe that this money is haram (forbidden) for you and it is not lawful for you to take it, how do you take it in order to spend it in another direction? Then we say secondly: Suppose you intended this good intention, do you guarantee that you will carry it out? Perhaps greed will overcome you in the future and you will not carry it out. This is what you claim: that you take it to get rid of it.
If someone says, "If the bank gives you this riba (usury or interest) and it is unavoidable, and they do not accept your withdrawal," then in that case, you may take it in order to give it in charity to get rid of it, or to return it to your family, because the owner of this money intended to get rid of it. In that case, he will be rewarded for it. However, if there is no compulsion to take this riba (usury or interest), it is haram (forbidden) and it is not lawful to take it.