The Ruling on Working in Banks
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
Peace and the mercy of Allah.
The presenter:
Shaykh Salih, may Allah the Exalted guide you in your speech and your actions. Amen, amen.
The Shaykh:
May Allah reward you with good. Amen.
The presenter:
To begin with. Abu Faisal, if you please, if you are far from the television, because there is a delay between you and the Shaykh. All right, everyone. My television is a bit short. No, no, I am far from it, but it is the amplifier. Yes. All right, listen to me on the phone, O Shaykh, go ahead.
The questioner:
The first question concerns the job of one of the sons at one of the local Saudi banks, about whose dealings we know nothing. We do not know if there is any riba (usury or interest) in it, whether it is mixed, or what, we do not know. So what is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
My brother, it is known about banks that they deal in riba; this is a known fact about banks. So if you know of a bank that has no riba, tell us about it. The known and famous thing is that banks deal in riba, and the Muslim avoids working in them, because if he works in them, he becomes a cooperator with them in sin and aggression. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:[Al-Ma'idah 5:2] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who eats riba, the one who gives it, the scribe, and the two witnesses. The scribe and the two witnesses did not eat the riba, but they facilitated it through writing and testimony, so they shared in the curse with the eater and the giver. Yes.
Peace and the mercy of Allah.
The presenter:
Shaykh Salih, may Allah the Exalted guide you in your speech and your actions. Amen, amen.
The Shaykh:
May Allah reward you with good. Amen.
The presenter:
To begin with. Abu Faisal, if you please, if you are far from the television, because there is a delay between you and the Shaykh. All right, everyone. My television is a bit short. No, no, I am far from it, but it is the amplifier. Yes. All right, listen to me on the phone, O Shaykh, go ahead.
The questioner:
The first question concerns the job of one of the sons at one of the local Saudi banks, about whose dealings we know nothing. We do not know if there is any riba (usury or interest) in it, whether it is mixed, or what, we do not know. So what is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
My brother, it is known about banks that they deal in riba; this is a known fact about banks. So if you know of a bank that has no riba, tell us about it. The known and famous thing is that banks deal in riba, and the Muslim avoids working in them, because if he works in them, he becomes a cooperator with them in sin and aggression. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
but do not cooperate in sin and aggression
وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 2181 - حكم العمل في البنوك - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (0:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.