I deposit my money in the bank and do not take the interest; rather, I donate it to charitable causes. Is that permissible? And a word about riba and its danger.

The Shaykh : The question says: I deposit money in the bank with interest, but I do not benefit from this interest; rather, I donate it to charitable causes. Is that permissible? And what...?
I say: What we always and forever advise in the lands of Islam and the lands of disbelief is that it is not permissible for a Muslim to deposit his money in a bank. This is an issue I know may be difficult for some Muslims, but the truth is more deserving of being spoken and more deserving of being followed. For the Muslim is not merely a claim that has no effect on the person of the Muslim; the Muslim is tested, meaning: he is charged with rulings so that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) may test His servants with them: . This test must be kept before the eyes of every Muslim. Part of this test is that a Muslim may have some money, and he fears its loss or theft or other such contingencies, so he finds an excuse for himself to deposit it in the bank to preserve it. From the economic standpoint, this is permissible, indeed obligatory. But the economy in Islam must be based on the foundations of Islam... If there were a ruling Islam, or a Muslim ruling by the Book in the lands of Islam, there would be no banks. But when Muslims became lax in adhering to their religion, the banks came to them, because they found... they found people among the Muslims who considered it permissible to deposit their money in banks. And so the banks were filled with the money of the Muslims themselves, and they do not know, or they know and ignore a great principle of Islam that the Qur'an specified, saying: .
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) detailed and clarified this verse, as is his manner in many verses, saying, for example: , . It is clear, because he consumes the wealth of people by falsehood. So what is the food? ; that is because without him, the eater would not exist. ; without... this, it would not be... Therefore, the matter is tied to both together. For that reason, he (peace be upon him) said: , and he also said: , . Here are four categories: the eater initially, then the three types of the one fed, the witness, and the two writers. Because they cooperated with the feeder in what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden most severely and considered among the major sins. He (peace be upon him) said: , and it came in another hadith: ; so this riba is among the greatest of major sins. For that reason, he cursed the one who eats it and the one who assists him in eating it, starting with the feeder, the writer, and the witnesses.
So, when a Muslim is aware of such a verse and such a hadith, which indicates that eating riba is among the major sins, because the curse is... upon its owner from the major sins; likewise, the feeder, when the Muslim is aware of such texts, knowledge is not sufficient, but it must be accompanied by faith. So, when the believing Muslim is aware of such a hadith and has sincere faith in it, I cannot imagine a Muslim depositing his money in a bank at all, even if he does not benefit from the interest on this money as mentioned in the question. Because he assisted the bank that is established upon the disobedience of Allah and His Messenger. So from this point, it is sufficient to be a deterrent for him from depositing money in the bank. We find that many Muslims and some Islamic writers do not dwell on this point, but they go straight to addressing the interest, and their views differ on it. Some say it is not permissible to take it because it is riba, and some say he takes it but does not benefit from an interest that is specific to him, but rather he spends it on public interests.
As for the original issue, which is depositing money in the bank, that it is a major sin, few people dwell on this. And the group I referred to, which says that it is better for the depositor to take this interest than to leave it for the bank to benefit from it, because leaving it for them is assistance to them. I say: Glory be to Allah! The assistance began from the moment this depositor deposited his money in the bank. Why do they not look at this cause from the beginning, so that it is said to the Muslim and he is advised: Do not deposit your money in the bank, because this deposit... in this bank established upon the disobedience of Allah. Rather, they say this statement when it comes to benefiting from the interest, and they rationalize that leaving this interest for the bank is assistance to them. But the assistance began from the moment this money was deposited in the bank. Therefore, I say, after you have heard from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah: It is not permissible to deposit money in the bank at all. And what is said on such an occasion: My brother, where do we need to go with the money? If we leave it in the house... and if we carry it with us - also - perhaps... upon it and its owner, and other such excuses.
I say: It is a severe regret that Muslims today live an absolute material life; as if there is no difference between them and these disbelievers who live in this illusion and... The Muslim differs from the disbeliever in the aspects of faith, even if some disbelievers have aspects of faith, but in reality, it is like a mirage in a desert, which the thirsty man thinks is water. As for the Muslim, it is not so. The Muslim, for example, has a text in the Noble Qur'an: . The believing disbeliever, let alone the atheist among them, does not have such a text at all. And even if he did, he does not believe in it, as indicated by their absolute material life. As for the Muslim, it is supposed that he should always and forever be mindful of such a text, at least by its meaning. But it is not required of every Muslim to memorize the verses of the Noble Qur'an.
Therefore, the first thing we face with this immediate excuse is: If we do not put the money in the bank, such and such will happen to it. Where is your faith in the previous verse: ? The point is that these rationalizations with which the Muslim youth are afflicted do not agree with his faith in any way, ever. He must remember his faith and live with it, and not separate his faith from his life, as is the case of the disbelievers who live two contradictory lives.
On this occasion... I will give you an example of how these disbelievers live. I once met a Christian missionary there in Damascus, and a conversation took place about his belief and the belief of Muslims. I began to mention the contradictions in the Holy Bible, which they claim to have. I said: It came in the Torah that when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) took Adam out of Paradise, and also took out the snake that Satan had possessed and whispered to Adam, which was the cause of Adam's exit from Paradise.
They claim that Allah said in the Torah as a punishment for this snake: "You shall crawl on your belly, and you shall eat dust." I said to this missionary: Do you believe that the snake lives on eating dust from a scientific standpoint? He said: No. I said: How do you reconcile the scientific aspect that denies this text with your faith in this text? He said: Each thing is for its own sake. From the faith aspect, we believe that the snake lives on dust, and from the scientific aspect, we believe that dust is not suitable food for it. So he does not feel any discomfort, any embarrassment, or any contradiction between believing in the text of the Torah and his belief in science... Does the Muslim live like this? The Muslim believes that riba is among the greatest of major sins; so how does he deposit his money in the bank? It is not permissible for him to say: I do not take riba; because he feeds riba. It is necessary that we do not separate between the eater and the feeder.
This is what I want to remind this questioner and those like him of now: it is not permissible to deposit money in the bank under any circumstances. If one has previously been misled by some permissive fatwas regarding depositing money in the bank, and then wants to repent, let him remember the saying of Allah, the Exalted: .
We do not return from saying what? ... The owner of the bank will benefit from this money. It will split, what do you want with it? You are not responsible for it. You save yourself, , .

The questioner : ... .