The Response to Those Who Say That Bank Interest Is Permissible
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There is a fatwa from His Eminence Shaykh Sayyid Tantawi in Egypt stating that bank interest is permissible.So he says: The Shaykh relied on a jurisprudential opinion that says: There are two opinions on the issue of banks; one opinion specifies the interest in advance, and the other does not specify its interest. So he based his fatwa on the opinion that specifies the interest in advance. The brothers ask: Is this a valid opinion with a basis in the Shari'ah, or is it an ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) of the Shaykh?
What we see is that it has no basis in the Shari'ah and that it is an error; because riba (usury or interest) is the increase, whether the increase is in the interest of everyone or not. Some of our brothers among the contemporary scholars,They say: say that investment riba is in the interest of both the taker and the giver. The taker's interest is that his money increases; he gives a thousand and takes a thousand and two hundred. And the one who gives the riba benefits by taking this money and buying equipment with it, or establishing a project or something similar.They say: This has a benefit for both parties, and the Islamic Shari'ah did not come except to increase benefits and attain them.And the origin of riba is based on injustice, as He the Exalted said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 279] .
We have nothing to say about this theory, but if it contradicts the text, it must be invalidated; because theories cannot stand in contradiction to the text. Otherwise, the claim of Iblis (Satan) that he was created from fire and Adam from clay, and that clay is better than fire, would have stood. Even the basis of Iblis's analogy is wrong.I say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought some good dates,So he said: and he asked: (Where did this come from?They said: O Messenger of Allah! We take one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of this for two sa' of inferior dates, and two sa' for three sa').
I ask you, O questioner, is there injustice in it? I gave you two inferior sa' worth ten dirhams, and you gave me one good sa' worth ten dirhams. Is there injustice? There is no injustice in the apparent or the hidden. If you sold it in the market, you would take ten, and if you sold the two in the market, you would take ten. There is no injustice.And yet the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: (No, that is the very riba. Return it),So he said: This is the very riba,And he said: (Return it) and he said: (No), expressing pain at this action, and yet there was no injustice in it and there was a benefit. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated it.And he said: (It is the very riba). By this, we know that the fatwa you referred to, and what some of the contemporaries said, is an erroneous fatwa; it is not correct. Both exploitative, unjust riba and beneficial investment riba are forbidden (haram). We ask Allah to protect us and you and guide us to the truth. O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
What we see is that it has no basis in the Shari'ah and that it is an error; because riba (usury or interest) is the increase, whether the increase is in the interest of everyone or not. Some of our brothers among the contemporary scholars,They say: say that investment riba is in the interest of both the taker and the giver. The taker's interest is that his money increases; he gives a thousand and takes a thousand and two hundred. And the one who gives the riba benefits by taking this money and buying equipment with it, or establishing a project or something similar.They say: This has a benefit for both parties, and the Islamic Shari'ah did not come except to increase benefits and attain them.And the origin of riba is based on injustice, as He the Exalted said:
But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
وَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُؤُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلا تُظْلَمُونَWe have nothing to say about this theory, but if it contradicts the text, it must be invalidated; because theories cannot stand in contradiction to the text. Otherwise, the claim of Iblis (Satan) that he was created from fire and Adam from clay, and that clay is better than fire, would have stood. Even the basis of Iblis's analogy is wrong.I say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought some good dates,So he said: and he asked: (Where did this come from?They said: O Messenger of Allah! We take one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of this for two sa' of inferior dates, and two sa' for three sa').
I ask you, O questioner, is there injustice in it? I gave you two inferior sa' worth ten dirhams, and you gave me one good sa' worth ten dirhams. Is there injustice? There is no injustice in the apparent or the hidden. If you sold it in the market, you would take ten, and if you sold the two in the market, you would take ten. There is no injustice.And yet the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: (No, that is the very riba. Return it),So he said: This is the very riba,And he said: (Return it) and he said: (No), expressing pain at this action, and yet there was no injustice in it and there was a benefit. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated it.And he said: (It is the very riba). By this, we know that the fatwa you referred to, and what some of the contemporaries said, is an erroneous fatwa; it is not correct. Both exploitative, unjust riba and beneficial investment riba are forbidden (haram). We ask Allah to protect us and you and guide us to the truth. O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.