Ruling on Saving in Companies at a Fixed Rate
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His Eminence the Shaykh: A fatwa was attributed to you regarding the permissibility of the savings system at the Aramco company, knowing that this system determines the profit rate from the beginning of the year. What is your statement?Meaning: If a year passes, they guarantee you (5%), and if you complete ten years, they guarantee you (100%). What is your statement regarding this matter, O Shaykh?
I say: You have done well in asking about what is attributed to us, because many things that are not correct are attributed to us and to other scholars. However, some people, when they like something and want people to accept it, attribute it to one of these scholars so that it will be accepted. Otherwise, we have written a response to this in writing stating that it is not permissible, because it is clear riba (usury or interest).
And they said: This is a matter of encouragement.
We told them: Encouragement is done by other means. For example, encouragement is given to someone who excels in something by saying: You have a percentage that increases your salary, or you are given a fixed reward for your excellence. As for following this path, it is not permissible. We have mentioned this, but I do not know—Glorified and Exalted is He!—where this fatwa attributed to us came from.
And I say to the one who raised it that I asked him, and he said: It is not correct, and we see that it is not permissible. These companies that do this work are making a profit, because they take money from people and put it in interest-based banks, and they make a great profit. Otherwise, their intention is not the mercy of people or doing good to them, but they know where to eat the shoulder.
I say: You have done well in asking about what is attributed to us, because many things that are not correct are attributed to us and to other scholars. However, some people, when they like something and want people to accept it, attribute it to one of these scholars so that it will be accepted. Otherwise, we have written a response to this in writing stating that it is not permissible, because it is clear riba (usury or interest).
And they said: This is a matter of encouragement.
We told them: Encouragement is done by other means. For example, encouragement is given to someone who excels in something by saying: You have a percentage that increases your salary, or you are given a fixed reward for your excellence. As for following this path, it is not permissible. We have mentioned this, but I do not know—Glorified and Exalted is He!—where this fatwa attributed to us came from.
And I say to the one who raised it that I asked him, and he said: It is not correct, and we see that it is not permissible. These companies that do this work are making a profit, because they take money from people and put it in interest-based banks, and they make a great profit. Otherwise, their intention is not the mercy of people or doing good to them, but they know where to eat the shoulder.