What is the ruling on one who issues a fatwa permitting riba (usury or interest)?

Question:
A questioner says: There is a mufti in my country who issues fatwas declaring riba (usury or interest) lawful. Is it permissible for me to warn the general public against his fatwas?

Answer:
Declaring riba (usury or interest) to be lawful is apostasy from Islam; we seek refuge in Allah. If one declares riba to be lawful, he has declared Islam to be lawful [i.e., he has rejected the prohibition], and Allah the Exalted says: . And those who say that riba is lawful are lying about Allah. However, in some matters, the issues of riba differ. Some people may think that a certain matter is riba when it is not. One must be careful in declaring something to be wrong.
As for the one who says that all riba is lawful, that is apostasy. But in some matters, one scholar may say it is riba, while another says it is not riba, that it is not among the types of riba. For example, tawarruq (a commodity sale used to obtain cash), which people call "al-wa'ajah." This is an example where a person buys a car from Zayd, or a piece of land, or a house, on credit in installments, intending to sell it so that he can graduate, get married, pay off a debt he owes, or build a home for himself. He bought it to sell it; he bought it on credit to sell it. Sometimes, a scholar says this matter of tawarruq is not permissible because the intention is to get the money, as he bought it to sell it. But the correct view is that it is not riba. The correct view in these matters, which are among the permissible matters of the religion, is that there is no harm in it. Allah says: . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought on credit, and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a suit of armor on credit, and he also bought food for his family on credit. If a person buys a car or something else on credit for a known period in installments, and then sells it to Zayd or 'Amr, to someone other than the one he bought it from, to another person for a lower price, in order to get married, or to renovate his home, or to pay off a debt that has burdened him, or his family has burdened him, or something similar, then the correct view is that there is no harm in it, and it is not riba. So whoever says that this is riba has erred; it is not riba. Likewise, if he sells a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of dates, for example, a sa' of rice, or a sa' of wheat, hand-to-hand, it is not riba. Hand-to-hand is different; this is one type and that is another type. If he exchanges dates for wheat, dates for rice, or dates for barley, hand-to-hand, some ignorant people may say this is riba. No, it is not riba, if it is hand-to-hand, it is not riba. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The point is that the issues of riba differ.
If you know that this one who issues fatwas on riba has contradicted the texts, and you are clear in your understanding, yes, speak up and say: This is invalid, whether in riba or in anything else. Or if he says that prayer is not obligatory, or that zakah (the obligatory alms) is not obligatory, this is injustice and oppression. Warn against it.
The point is that there is a distinction here. Some people may think that zakah is obligatory on something that does not have zakah. For example, the carpets you lay down, and the sofa you sit on; there is no zakah on them when sold. An ignorant person may come and say there is zakah on them. That is a mistake; there is no zakah on them. They are for wealth and enjoyment. Sofas, cars you use, camels for sale—there is no zakah on them. If one says there is zakah on them, he is mistaken. Thus, some fatwas may lead an ignorant person to think that the one who issued them is mistaken, while he is actually correct. So one must verify according to the evidence of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law).
So riba is of this nature; there are matters that some people think are riba but are not riba. As for the one who says that all riba is lawful, that there is no riba at all, that it is all lawful, that is apostasy, declaring it lawful, and lying about Allah. Yes.