Ruling on Opening an Account in Banks
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We are a group of teachers who receive our salaries from the Bank of Cairo. Is it permissible for me to open an account with them so that I can receive my salary faster and use the card?
If there is a pressing need for this, there is nothing wrong with it. If there is no pressing need, there is no need to open an account.Meaning: For example, if they gave you a check on the Bank of Cairo and you went to the bank and said, "This is the check," would they give you the money or not?The questioner: They give me the money.
The Shaykh: But why do you open an account?The questioner: It is faster.For example: Our salary does not come until the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth, but if I open an account, I receive it on the twenty-sixth, and sometimes on the twenty-seventh before the other teachers. So I withdraw from them and take the balance before anyone else.
The Shaykh: Is there a pressing need?The questioner: If I know that they deal in riba (usury or interest), this means: I am faster and safer.
The Shaykh: The important thing is, I give you a rule: If you need to open an account in a bank that deals in riba (usury or interest), there is nothing wrong with it. If you do not need to do so, do not open one.
If there is a pressing need for this, there is nothing wrong with it. If there is no pressing need, there is no need to open an account.Meaning: For example, if they gave you a check on the Bank of Cairo and you went to the bank and said, "This is the check," would they give you the money or not?The questioner: They give me the money.
The Shaykh: But why do you open an account?The questioner: It is faster.For example: Our salary does not come until the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth, but if I open an account, I receive it on the twenty-sixth, and sometimes on the twenty-seventh before the other teachers. So I withdraw from them and take the balance before anyone else.
The Shaykh: Is there a pressing need?The questioner: If I know that they deal in riba (usury or interest), this means: I am faster and safer.
The Shaykh: The important thing is, I give you a rule: If you need to open an account in a bank that deals in riba (usury or interest), there is nothing wrong with it. If you do not need to do so, do not open one.