Taking bank gifts for depositors
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, some banks give gifts to their customers who deposit their money with them for safekeeping, such as bags, pens, and calendars. What is the ruling on taking these gifts? And how do we respond to those who describe the one who condemns the taking of them as a worrier and an extremist?
The Shaykh:
This is a ruse. They are using a ruse to engage in riba (usury or interest) investment. When they saw that Muslims do not want to engage in riba investment, they resorted to this ruse of gifts in order to entice them to deposit. This is advertising for the bank so that people will accept it for deposits on the basis that they will receive these gifts. These gifts are riba; they are not permissible. It is riba investment and a ruse to riba, so it is not permissible. And they say what they say, calling people worriers, or they say whatever they want. This is not permissible.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
And we do not know that they give bags, and they give morals, and they give perfume and… This is a false ruse. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, wiping the hands on the face.
The Shaykh:
They give books from the books of knowledge, not as a false ruse. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, some banks give gifts to their customers who deposit their money with them for safekeeping, such as bags, pens, and calendars. What is the ruling on taking these gifts? And how do we respond to those who describe the one who condemns the taking of them as a worrier and an extremist?
The Shaykh:
This is a ruse. They are using a ruse to engage in riba (usury or interest) investment. When they saw that Muslims do not want to engage in riba investment, they resorted to this ruse of gifts in order to entice them to deposit. This is advertising for the bank so that people will accept it for deposits on the basis that they will receive these gifts. These gifts are riba; they are not permissible. It is riba investment and a ruse to riba, so it is not permissible. And they say what they say, calling people worriers, or they say whatever they want. This is not permissible.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
And we do not know that they give bags, and they give morals, and they give perfume and… This is a false ruse. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, wiping the hands on the face.
The Shaykh:
They give books from the books of knowledge, not as a false ruse. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تتمة باب الصلح — islamhouse.com (1:17:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.