The ruling on eating the food of one who deals in riba (usury or interest) and accepting his gifts
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Some of our relatives work in banks that deal in riba (usury or interest), and we visit them in good health. What is our situation if they offer us some food and drinks, and likewise if they give us some gifts? Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, if they offer you some food and drinks, say Bismillah and eat. Do not eat without the invocation, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that a person should invoke Allah when eating. 'Umar ibn Abi al-Salamah was with him, and he was a young boy.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "O boy, say Bismillah, meaning when eating, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you." So if these people offer you food, whether lunch, dinner, or coffee, say Bismillah and eat. And if they give you a gift, accept it and reciprocate it.
Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 1672Sahih (Al-Albani). Sunan Abi Dawud 1672Sahih (Al-Albani).
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ate from the food of the Jews. He accepted their gifts and bought from them. A woman offered him a sheep in the year of the conquest of Khaybar, and he accepted it and ate from it. A Jew invited him to barley bread and a sauce of rancid fat—rancid fat is spoiled fat—and he accepted his invitation and ate from it. He bought food for his family from a Jew and gave him his armor as a pledge. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) died while his armor was still pledged with this Jew.
It is well known that the Jews eat by means of fraud and take riba (usury or interest). Therefore, we say that the one who deals in riba is burdened with sin and guilt, while you are the one who praises Allah, except in one case: if we know that if we refrain from eating what is offered to us or accepting what is given to us, that refraining will deter him from the forbidden and make him desist from the forbidden, then we refrain, because there is a benefit in it. So if this relative of ours invites us, and he is one who deals in riba or other forbidden things, we say, "We will not accept your invitation until you quit your work," and we know that he will quit. In this case, we do not accept your invitation, because this falls under the category of forbidding evil. Likewise, if he gives us a gift and we return it, and we know that by doing so he will stop giving us gifts, we return it for the sake of the benefit. But if there is no benefit, there is no harm in accepting his invitation, eating his food, and accepting his gift. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, if they offer you some food and drinks, say Bismillah and eat. Do not eat without the invocation, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that a person should invoke Allah when eating. 'Umar ibn Abi al-Salamah was with him, and he was a young boy.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "O boy, say Bismillah, meaning when eating, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you." So if these people offer you food, whether lunch, dinner, or coffee, say Bismillah and eat. And if they give you a gift, accept it and reciprocate it.
Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
if anyone does you a kindness, recompense him
من صنع إليكم معروفا فكافئوهbut if you have not the means to do so, pray for him until you feel that you have compensated him.
فَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدُوا مَا تُكَافِئُونَهُ فَادْعُوا لَهُ حَتَّى تَرَوْا أَنَّكُمْ قَدْ كَافَأْتُمُوهُIt is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ate from the food of the Jews. He accepted their gifts and bought from them. A woman offered him a sheep in the year of the conquest of Khaybar, and he accepted it and ate from it. A Jew invited him to barley bread and a sauce of rancid fat—rancid fat is spoiled fat—and he accepted his invitation and ate from it. He bought food for his family from a Jew and gave him his armor as a pledge. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) died while his armor was still pledged with this Jew.
It is well known that the Jews eat by means of fraud and take riba (usury or interest). Therefore, we say that the one who deals in riba is burdened with sin and guilt, while you are the one who praises Allah, except in one case: if we know that if we refrain from eating what is offered to us or accepting what is given to us, that refraining will deter him from the forbidden and make him desist from the forbidden, then we refrain, because there is a benefit in it. So if this relative of ours invites us, and he is one who deals in riba or other forbidden things, we say, "We will not accept your invitation until you quit your work," and we know that he will quit. In this case, we do not accept your invitation, because this falls under the category of forbidding evil. Likewise, if he gives us a gift and we return it, and we know that by doing so he will stop giving us gifts, we return it for the sake of the benefit. But if there is no benefit, there is no harm in accepting his invitation, eating his food, and accepting his gift. Yes.
Source
ابن العثيمين - جلسة رمضانية — archive.org (38:50)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
