Deposits in Riba-Based Banks in Cases of Necessity
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Fatwa No. ( 18752 )
Q: The Center has several accounts with one of the banks, including an end-of-service account for employees, in which cash amounts are deposited. Banks, including the one we deal with, have a practice of giving depositors a cash return on the deposited amounts at varying rates, which differ according to the size of the deposits and the duration of their lock-in. They also provide facilities in the form of easy loans, funding for training programs, or participation in development projects within the depositing entity. In this context, the Center has received more than three hundred thousand riyals in about a year, and this return may increase if it continues. What do you see, Your Eminence, that we should do now and in the future regarding this matter? Knowing that the bank benefits from our deposits more than we do, and leaving them with the bank doubles its benefit, and we see that the Center is more entitled to this return if it is permissible to cover some of the shortfall in revenues or expenditure in some areas of need. .
A : It is not permissible to deposit money in riba-based banks, except in cases of necessity. If a Muslim is compelled to deposit money in them for the sake of preservation, it is permissible, and it is forbidden
for him to take any riba-based interest on the deposited amount. What was mentioned in the question about the bank giving the institute varying rates on the amounts deposited with it is pure forbidden riba in the Book and the Sunnah, so it is not permissible for you to accept it, in order to refrain from what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have forbidden. As for the interest mentioned that has already been received, it is not lawful for you, neither for the institute nor for the individuals, but it is obligatory for you to dispose of it by giving it to the poor.
Q: The Center has several accounts with one of the banks, including an end-of-service account for employees, in which cash amounts are deposited. Banks, including the one we deal with, have a practice of giving depositors a cash return on the deposited amounts at varying rates, which differ according to the size of the deposits and the duration of their lock-in. They also provide facilities in the form of easy loans, funding for training programs, or participation in development projects within the depositing entity. In this context, the Center has received more than three hundred thousand riyals in about a year, and this return may increase if it continues. What do you see, Your Eminence, that we should do now and in the future regarding this matter? Knowing that the bank benefits from our deposits more than we do, and leaving them with the bank doubles its benefit, and we see that the Center is more entitled to this return if it is permissible to cover some of the shortfall in revenues or expenditure in some areas of need. .
A : It is not permissible to deposit money in riba-based banks, except in cases of necessity. If a Muslim is compelled to deposit money in them for the sake of preservation, it is permissible, and it is forbidden
for him to take any riba-based interest on the deposited amount. What was mentioned in the question about the bank giving the institute varying rates on the amounts deposited with it is pure forbidden riba in the Book and the Sunnah, so it is not permissible for you to accept it, in order to refrain from what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have forbidden. As for the interest mentioned that has already been received, it is not lawful for you, neither for the institute nor for the individuals, but it is obligatory for you to dispose of it by giving it to the poor.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.