Hajj from the salary of riba (usury or interest) banks
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The question is repeated a second time: What is the ruling on a person who works in riba (usury or interest) banks and receives a monthly salary? Is it permissible for him to perform Hajj with this salary?
The Shaykh:
Working in riba (usury or interest) banks is not permissible. It is obligatory for the believer to stay away from every forbidden job or one that assists in a forbidden act.
Riba (usury or interest) banks contain explicit riba (usury or interest) in their transactions: the known, guaranteed interest on deposits, lending, and borrowing. They lend at a known interest rate, such as five percent or ten percent, and they borrow from the deposits in the same way. This is riba (usury or interest) by the consensus of the Muslims. The Muslim must abandon it, and the Muslim who is in charge of the banks must abandon it, and they should not be deceived by the disbelievers who do it. The Muslim has a religion, and the disbelievers have a religion. "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion." The disbelievers have made disbelief in Allah permissible, and they have made permissible what Allah has forbidden, so you are not like them. Allah says that He will destroy riba (usury or interest) and preserve charity, and He says, Exalted is He:[Al-Baqarah 2:278-279] meaning, so know that there is war from Allah and His Messenger. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in what is authentic from him, in the hadith of Jabir and Ibn Mas'ud, that
Therefore, one must be cautious of employment in banks, whether in writing, accounting, witnessing, or anything else that assists in the acts of riba (usury or interest). And Allah is the One to be sought for help. He has no excuse from the money of riba (usury or interest), nor from the earnings of riba (usury or interest), nor from any foul earnings, nor from bribery, nor from betrayal, nor from any other forbidden means of earning, such as selling intoxicants, narcotics, and tobacco. All these are hidden earnings. So the believer seeks a good earning for his Hajj so that he can perform Hajj with it. The Hajj is valid if he performs it while possessing forbidden money; the Hajj is valid, but it is deficient because of the riba (usury or interest) and forbidden earnings he has with him. Otherwise, it is not a condition of Hajj that the money be lawful. He may perform Hajj with a morsel, because Hajj consists of actions: standing at 'Arafah, tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah), and sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah), which have no connection to money. The Hajj is valid, just as the prayer is valid even if one has eaten riba (usury or interest); his prayer is valid, but these sins diminish the reward of these acts.
The questioner:
What is the ruling on praying in a riba (usury or interest) bank?
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory to pray in the mosques, not in the bank or anywhere else.
The questioner:
May Allah keep you.
The Shaykh:
He prays in the mosques with his believing brothers, establishing the congregation in the mosques of Allah. He does not pray in the house or elsewhere.
The questioner:
If he is a guard in the middle of the bank and cannot [leave].
The Shaykh:
A guard prays around the bank, and [praying] in the bank is of no benefit. Praise be to Allah.
The questioner:
From the money of riba (usury or interest). Yes.
The Shaykh:
It appears that one prays in it, and the sin is upon the one who consumes riba (usury or interest), and in the mosques one prays.
The question is repeated a second time: What is the ruling on a person who works in riba (usury or interest) banks and receives a monthly salary? Is it permissible for him to perform Hajj with this salary?
The Shaykh:
Working in riba (usury or interest) banks is not permissible. It is obligatory for the believer to stay away from every forbidden job or one that assists in a forbidden act.
Riba (usury or interest) banks contain explicit riba (usury or interest) in their transactions: the known, guaranteed interest on deposits, lending, and borrowing. They lend at a known interest rate, such as five percent or ten percent, and they borrow from the deposits in the same way. This is riba (usury or interest) by the consensus of the Muslims. The Muslim must abandon it, and the Muslim who is in charge of the banks must abandon it, and they should not be deceived by the disbelievers who do it. The Muslim has a religion, and the disbelievers have a religion. "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion." The disbelievers have made disbelief in Allah permissible, and they have made permissible what Allah has forbidden, so you are not like them. Allah says that He will destroy riba (usury or interest) and preserve charity, and He says, Exalted is He:
(278) O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. (279) And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِCursed is the one who eats riba (usury or interest), the one who is paid to eat it, the one who writes it, and the two witnesses.
لعن أكل الربا وموكلا وكاتبا وشاهدين،Therefore, one must be cautious of employment in banks, whether in writing, accounting, witnessing, or anything else that assists in the acts of riba (usury or interest). And Allah is the One to be sought for help. He has no excuse from the money of riba (usury or interest), nor from the earnings of riba (usury or interest), nor from any foul earnings, nor from bribery, nor from betrayal, nor from any other forbidden means of earning, such as selling intoxicants, narcotics, and tobacco. All these are hidden earnings. So the believer seeks a good earning for his Hajj so that he can perform Hajj with it. The Hajj is valid if he performs it while possessing forbidden money; the Hajj is valid, but it is deficient because of the riba (usury or interest) and forbidden earnings he has with him. Otherwise, it is not a condition of Hajj that the money be lawful. He may perform Hajj with a morsel, because Hajj consists of actions: standing at 'Arafah, tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah), and sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah), which have no connection to money. The Hajj is valid, just as the prayer is valid even if one has eaten riba (usury or interest); his prayer is valid, but these sins diminish the reward of these acts.
The questioner:
What is the ruling on praying in a riba (usury or interest) bank?
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory to pray in the mosques, not in the bank or anywhere else.
The questioner:
May Allah keep you.
The Shaykh:
He prays in the mosques with his believing brothers, establishing the congregation in the mosques of Allah. He does not pray in the house or elsewhere.
The questioner:
If he is a guard in the middle of the bank and cannot [leave].
The Shaykh:
A guard prays around the bank, and [praying] in the bank is of no benefit. Praise be to Allah.
The questioner:
From the money of riba (usury or interest). Yes.
The Shaykh:
It appears that one prays in it, and the sin is upon the one who consumes riba (usury or interest), and in the mosques one prays.
Source
واجب الرجل والمرأة — islamhouse.com (51:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.