The Ruling on Working in Riba Banks and Paying Money for Employment
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A woman asks: I am a woman in need of a job. I tried hard, but to no avail. The only option is to pay a specific person to get me employed in a certain department for a limited amount. Then I found a job without the intermediary, but it is in one of the riba (usury or interest) banks. I am faced with these two options. Please issue a ruling for me, as I am in dire need of this. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You must not work in the banks, nor among men, ever. This is wrong. The banks are forbidden; they are riba banks. Neither a man nor a woman may work in them, because it involves dealing in riba. As for the one you pay to intercede for you, that is a bribe. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Bulugh al-Maram 7:77 The one who intercedes is not in distress, so he seeks the reward from Allah, but not for a wage.
A woman asks: I am a woman in need of a job. I tried hard, but to no avail. The only option is to pay a specific person to get me employed in a certain department for a limited amount. Then I found a job without the intermediary, but it is in one of the riba (usury or interest) banks. I am faced with these two options. Please issue a ruling for me, as I am in dire need of this. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
You must not work in the banks, nor among men, ever. This is wrong. The banks are forbidden; they are riba banks. Neither a man nor a woman may work in them, because it involves dealing in riba. As for the one you pay to intercede for you, that is a bribe. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever intercedes for his brother and that one gives him a gift for that (intercession) which he accepts, he has engaged in one of
من شفع لأخي شفاعة فأهدى له هدية فقبلها أتى بابا عنه من
Source
لقاءات لابن باز - لقاء مفتوح - ابن باز - ٢ — archive.org (23:36)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.