A man inherited money from a father who dealt with ordinary interest-based banks, and the basis of his work was buying and selling, and the matter was not distinguished in his case
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The questioner : In a question regarding a man who inherited money from a father who dealt with ordinary interest-based banks, and the basis of his work was buying and selling, and the matter was not distinguished in his case, the wheat and the chaff are mixed as they say, so he cannot separate or distinguish the amount of the forbidden from the lawful in this money, and especially since it may have passed, or it did pass, in his father's life that he reached the point of bankruptcy, then he built wealth anew, then he went bankrupt, or he went through fluctuations?
The Shaykh : The money is mixed.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This issue, if Allah wills, is also easy; because any money that the heir inherits, and it is not known that any part of this specific money belongs to so-and-so and reached the deceased through an un-Islamic path; so any money the heir inherits is lawful for him, his inheritance of it made it lawful for him, even if the deceased acquired that money through an un-Islamic path. And I said earlier except what is known from this specific money to belong to so-and-so; in that case, it must be returned to its owner. And since you described the question as money that is mixed with some of it, and it cannot be distinguished first, and consequently it is not possible to know who this deceased wronged to return his injustice to him; then the loss is upon the deceased, and the gain is upon the heir.
The questioner : A continuation of the same question; a man inherited money in the form of shares in a company whose work is mixed, containing interest and work, for example, agriculture or manufacturing. If this man wants to get rid of these shares by selling them; is all the money lawful for him, or must he distinguish, meaning separate?
The Shaykh : If it is possible for him to distinguish the amount his father earned through an un-Islamic path, then he does not possess it, but he spends it in public utilities, and he keeps what is besides that; either the capital, or it with the profit that came through a lawful path, if it is possible. Otherwise, it is as we said in the answer to the previous question: when he inherits this money, the sin is upon the deceased, and there is no sin upon him in his capacity as the heir.
The questioner : If the shares were from purely interest-based banks, meaning his deceased father bought shares with a specific capital, and invested it in buying shares of an interest-based bank?
The Shaykh : In that case, the saying of Allah, the Exalted, applies:[Al-Baqarah 2:279], like any person who placed his money in the bank, then Allah turned him to repentance, and he extracted this money, along with its interest; in that case, only his capital is lawful for him, and as for the interest, he spends it in public utilities such that no specific person benefits from it. Is the answer clear?
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, it is clear.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The Shaykh : The money is mixed.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This issue, if Allah wills, is also easy; because any money that the heir inherits, and it is not known that any part of this specific money belongs to so-and-so and reached the deceased through an un-Islamic path; so any money the heir inherits is lawful for him, his inheritance of it made it lawful for him, even if the deceased acquired that money through an un-Islamic path. And I said earlier except what is known from this specific money to belong to so-and-so; in that case, it must be returned to its owner. And since you described the question as money that is mixed with some of it, and it cannot be distinguished first, and consequently it is not possible to know who this deceased wronged to return his injustice to him; then the loss is upon the deceased, and the gain is upon the heir.
The questioner : A continuation of the same question; a man inherited money in the form of shares in a company whose work is mixed, containing interest and work, for example, agriculture or manufacturing. If this man wants to get rid of these shares by selling them; is all the money lawful for him, or must he distinguish, meaning separate?
The Shaykh : If it is possible for him to distinguish the amount his father earned through an un-Islamic path, then he does not possess it, but he spends it in public utilities, and he keeps what is besides that; either the capital, or it with the profit that came through a lawful path, if it is possible. Otherwise, it is as we said in the answer to the previous question: when he inherits this money, the sin is upon the deceased, and there is no sin upon him in his capacity as the heir.
The questioner : If the shares were from purely interest-based banks, meaning his deceased father bought shares with a specific capital, and invested it in buying shares of an interest-based bank?
The Shaykh : In that case, the saying of Allah, the Exalted, applies:
But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
فإن تبتم فلكم رؤوس أموالكم لا تظلمون ولا تُظلمونThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good, it is clear.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.