Dealing with more than one bank in cases of necessity
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Fatwa number ( 9208 )
Q: I ask your Eminence to illuminate the path for me and for many others regarding the problem of banks in this country - Ireland - and I will provide your Eminence with a detailed explanation of the conditions and features of banking transactions: First: Without a doubt, the banks here are based on usury. Second: We must deal with banks for the following reasons: A- A person carrying cash with him personally or keeping it in his home poses a danger to his life. B- The financial allowances imposed on us must be transferred to a bank account, and this cannot be done by any other means. C- We deal with non-Muslims here, and the majority of them transact via bank checks and wire transfers, so there is hardship for us, especially in academic pursuits, if we do not deal in this manner. D- Generally, there are significant banking facilities that are not available without dealing with banks. E- Traveler’s checks, which are also cash instruments, are purchased from banks, and they are susceptible to theft or loss. F- It is possible to place money in a safe deposit box, and in the bank, in which case the bank does not use it in its funds but takes a fee for it, and in this case, there are no banking facilities of any kind, which means an inability to deal with people.
Third: When a person places his money in the bank, he has a choice between two paths: A- He places it in a current account; in this case, he does not take explicit interest agreed upon between him and the bank, but it is certain that this money enters into the bank’s usurious transactions, which means: that he has participated in usury, and the bank has benefited from its usurious gains for its own benefit, i.e., the bank. B- Or he places it in a savings account, in which case he takes interest estimated by the bank, so in this case he knows the amount of interest on his money, and the bank also benefits from utilizing the funds for a longer period, since in this case the withdrawal procedures are more difficult than in the first case. For your Eminence’s information, the Muslims here in Ireland have differed on this specific point, which is: does a person place his account in a current account and leave the bank to benefit from his money for other than the benefit of Muslims? In this case, he does not know how much of the usury has entered his money. Or does he place it in a savings account, in which case he knows the amount of interest in it, and he can then take it out and give it to those Muslims who need it, not as charity, but on the basis that a Muslim is more deserving of this money than a disbeliever. In the latter case, a person cannot deny that the bank has not benefited from his money at all; rather, the closest to the truth is that the bank has
also benefited, but it shared that interest with the person, and the brothers in charge of the Islamic Center in Dublin issue a fatwa that it is better for a person to place his money in a savings account, and that Muslims benefit from his money, as they are more deserving than non-Muslims. So what is correct, knowing that individual accounts are naturally smaller than institutional accounts? Fourth: Some banks deal only in local currencies, and our money is transferred to us in foreign currencies, and if we accept that, there is no doubt that it involves a great loss for us - to the benefit of the banks - but few banks accept foreign currencies on the condition that they do not give you local cash except by opening another account, and here is another question: Is it permissible to open two accounts to avoid the loss? Or is it not permissible to open more than one account and accept the loss no matter how much it is? Fifth: Dealing with more than one bank provides ease in transactions, so is it permissible to deal with more than one bank? To the narrowest extent; for facilitation. In conclusion, I summarize the questions as follows: 1- Which type of account must we deal with: current or savings? 2- Is it permissible to open more than two accounts in one bank to avoid the loss? 3- Is it permissible to deal with more than one bank - within
narrow limits required by necessity, and that for facilitation?
A : First : Depositing in usurious banks is forbidden except in cases of necessity and without interest. Second : When exchanging foreign currencies for local currencies at the bank, and the condition of opening another account there is imposed, it is not permissible; because that involves stipulating a contract within a contract, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade two sales in one sale, and he said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 4630Sahih (Darussalam) . Third : Dealing with more than one bank in cases of necessity and without interest is not a problem.
Q: I ask your Eminence to illuminate the path for me and for many others regarding the problem of banks in this country - Ireland - and I will provide your Eminence with a detailed explanation of the conditions and features of banking transactions: First: Without a doubt, the banks here are based on usury. Second: We must deal with banks for the following reasons: A- A person carrying cash with him personally or keeping it in his home poses a danger to his life. B- The financial allowances imposed on us must be transferred to a bank account, and this cannot be done by any other means. C- We deal with non-Muslims here, and the majority of them transact via bank checks and wire transfers, so there is hardship for us, especially in academic pursuits, if we do not deal in this manner. D- Generally, there are significant banking facilities that are not available without dealing with banks. E- Traveler’s checks, which are also cash instruments, are purchased from banks, and they are susceptible to theft or loss. F- It is possible to place money in a safe deposit box, and in the bank, in which case the bank does not use it in its funds but takes a fee for it, and in this case, there are no banking facilities of any kind, which means an inability to deal with people.
Third: When a person places his money in the bank, he has a choice between two paths: A- He places it in a current account; in this case, he does not take explicit interest agreed upon between him and the bank, but it is certain that this money enters into the bank’s usurious transactions, which means: that he has participated in usury, and the bank has benefited from its usurious gains for its own benefit, i.e., the bank. B- Or he places it in a savings account, in which case he takes interest estimated by the bank, so in this case he knows the amount of interest on his money, and the bank also benefits from utilizing the funds for a longer period, since in this case the withdrawal procedures are more difficult than in the first case. For your Eminence’s information, the Muslims here in Ireland have differed on this specific point, which is: does a person place his account in a current account and leave the bank to benefit from his money for other than the benefit of Muslims? In this case, he does not know how much of the usury has entered his money. Or does he place it in a savings account, in which case he knows the amount of interest in it, and he can then take it out and give it to those Muslims who need it, not as charity, but on the basis that a Muslim is more deserving of this money than a disbeliever. In the latter case, a person cannot deny that the bank has not benefited from his money at all; rather, the closest to the truth is that the bank has
also benefited, but it shared that interest with the person, and the brothers in charge of the Islamic Center in Dublin issue a fatwa that it is better for a person to place his money in a savings account, and that Muslims benefit from his money, as they are more deserving than non-Muslims. So what is correct, knowing that individual accounts are naturally smaller than institutional accounts? Fourth: Some banks deal only in local currencies, and our money is transferred to us in foreign currencies, and if we accept that, there is no doubt that it involves a great loss for us - to the benefit of the banks - but few banks accept foreign currencies on the condition that they do not give you local cash except by opening another account, and here is another question: Is it permissible to open two accounts to avoid the loss? Or is it not permissible to open more than one account and accept the loss no matter how much it is? Fifth: Dealing with more than one bank provides ease in transactions, so is it permissible to deal with more than one bank? To the narrowest extent; for facilitation. In conclusion, I summarize the questions as follows: 1- Which type of account must we deal with: current or savings? 2- Is it permissible to open more than two accounts in one bank to avoid the loss? 3- Is it permissible to deal with more than one bank - within
narrow limits required by necessity, and that for facilitation?
A : First : Depositing in usurious banks is forbidden except in cases of necessity and without interest. Second : When exchanging foreign currencies for local currencies at the bank, and the condition of opening another account there is imposed, it is not permissible; because that involves stipulating a contract within a contract, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade two sales in one sale, and he said:
It is not permissible to lend on the condition of a sale
لا يحل سلف وبيع
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.