Investing in Al-Rajhi Bank and SABIC Company
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Shares of Al-Rajhi Bank are about to be offered, and the Islamic Bank will sponsor it. Is it permissible to invest in it or not? And what is Your Eminence’s opinion on investing in companies like SABIC and others?
The Shaykh:
This is Al-Rajhi Bank; it is an Islamic bank, and the state has approved it to be an Islamic bank in which Muslims can participate, and it does not deal in riba (usury or interest). This will, if Allah wills, compensate for the riba-based banks. We hope that other Islamic banks will follow suit so that it expands for people and has branches in all parts of the Kingdom, so that people can do without the riba-based banks. The state has approved this, and the ruler, Prince Abu Fahd, has promised this. The matter has been finalized with him and his partners to make it an Islamic bank that handles Islamic transactions and manages people’s money without riba. We ask Allah to help him with this, to complete it well, and to send out beneficial and good branches in all areas, so that Muslims everywhere can benefit from it.
As for SABIC, we have not known much about it until now. We have been asked about it many times, and we have now obtained information about it and its system. In the coming month, if Allah wills, the Council of Senior Scholars will look into its status to see if it is sound for people to invest in it or not.
I do not have an answer regarding it right now, because things have been said about it that require some consideration. Therefore, I do not see an answer to it now until its system is established, if Allah wills. The answer will come in a few days, if Allah wills. Yes.
Another questioner:
I am going there; there is a bonus at the door. Come on, eighty riyals.
The Shaykh:
We will study it, if Allah wills, or we will study it and drink, if Allah wills. Yes. Yes.
Shares of Al-Rajhi Bank are about to be offered, and the Islamic Bank will sponsor it. Is it permissible to invest in it or not? And what is Your Eminence’s opinion on investing in companies like SABIC and others?
The Shaykh:
This is Al-Rajhi Bank; it is an Islamic bank, and the state has approved it to be an Islamic bank in which Muslims can participate, and it does not deal in riba (usury or interest). This will, if Allah wills, compensate for the riba-based banks. We hope that other Islamic banks will follow suit so that it expands for people and has branches in all parts of the Kingdom, so that people can do without the riba-based banks. The state has approved this, and the ruler, Prince Abu Fahd, has promised this. The matter has been finalized with him and his partners to make it an Islamic bank that handles Islamic transactions and manages people’s money without riba. We ask Allah to help him with this, to complete it well, and to send out beneficial and good branches in all areas, so that Muslims everywhere can benefit from it.
As for SABIC, we have not known much about it until now. We have been asked about it many times, and we have now obtained information about it and its system. In the coming month, if Allah wills, the Council of Senior Scholars will look into its status to see if it is sound for people to invest in it or not.
I do not have an answer regarding it right now, because things have been said about it that require some consideration. Therefore, I do not see an answer to it now until its system is established, if Allah wills. The answer will come in a few days, if Allah wills. Yes.
Another questioner:
I am going there; there is a bonus at the door. Come on, eighty riyals.
The Shaykh:
We will study it, if Allah wills, or we will study it and drink, if Allah wills. Yes. Yes.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 42 — archive.org (1:17:41)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.