The Shaykh Al-Albani’s remarks on Islamic banks.

The Shaykh : ... Glory be to Allah! Today, people, my brothers, are at two extremes: either laxity or strictness. What does laxity mean for us? It means departing from the Shari'ah, having no concern for it. As for strictness, it means making things difficult for people. Dozens of questions come to us in a single month, sometimes in person and sometimes by telephone. A man says, "Professor, I have some money. If I keep it at home, I am afraid the thieves will take it. Is it permissible for me to put it in the banks?" I tell him, "No, it is not permissible." He says, "Well, what am I supposed to do? I am afraid." I say, "What does this mean? Allah the Exalted says: . This verse should be placed on a board in the hearts of people, like this: . This verse has been abrogated from the hearts of people; they do not think about it at all. It does not occur to them, nor does it cross their minds, that if they fear Allah in their wealth, our Lord will preserve their wealth for them. But the bank that preserves their wealth does not occur to them that the whole bank might fly away, that it might collapse and go bankrupt. And this has happened repeatedly and over and over.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : No, there is a dire necessity here, a dire necessity that eats riba and feeds riba. When you see this matter is simple: a bribe is giving money to nullify a right or to establish a falsehood. And Allah is sufficient for the believers in fighting.

The questioner : Well, my sir, suppose I have enlarged the matter a little.

The Shaykh : You have made it small, may Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : Does the Islamic bank carry the same ruling?

The Shaykh : The same case.

The questioner : But, my teacher, this ruling covers it.

The Shaykh : It is the same case. Once an officer came to me; he saw my situation and heard that I say it is not permissible, so he visited me at home and said, "I want to ask you a question." I said, "Go ahead." He said to me, "What is your opinion of the Islamic bank?" I said to him, "What is your opinion of the Islamic society? Did it please you?" He said, "No, by Allah." I said to him, "No, by Allah; ...

The questioner : Meaning that your opinion falls under riba?

The Shaykh : There are many signs, many fabricated signs. Many people go wanting a car, for example, priced at four thousand. They need four thousand and five hundred for six months. If you tell him for a year, the five hundred becomes a thousand, the four thousand becomes five thousand, and so on with the buildings, and so on with everything. My brothers, this is riba. But we just put what? The transaction is a ruse to eat riba. Allah is the Greatest. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says: , . This is by the explicit text of the Qur'an: . They slaughter the fat, plump sacrificial animal, looking at it and it is greasy. The fat must be poured out like the kidneys and the like, as a punishment from Allah because of their transgression. So, because of the wrongdoing of those who became Jews, We forbade them the good things that had been made lawful for them. What did the Jews do? They did not bear the ruling of Allah; they devised a ruse against it. Meaning they melted it, meaning they threw it into the large pots and lit the fire underneath it, and it flowed, taking what? A new form. But it is the fat, it is truly the fat. So Satan made their evil deeds attractive to them and inspired in them that this is not forbidden. The forbidden thing is that you sell the fat as it is on the back of the animal. You did not sell the fat as it was, but you labored and worked, and so on. You hear the same answer from the Islamic bank and others. They tell you, "In transactions, in such and such." Well, my sir, we tell you: it is permissible for you to take a fee for the transaction. But why is the difference that his transaction is five months, he writes it as ten months, for half a year, for a year? What difference does it make to you? Nothing. Why? This is riba, just as the dealings of all banks are: you take a hundred dinars for a month, for them it is such and such, for two months you increase it, and so on.

The questioner : Installments?

The Shaykh : Installments are not permissible.

The questioner : Well, a deposit in the Islamic bank.

The Shaykh : A deposit in a safe-deposit box is permissible, but a deposit where you take the money and do with it what you wish is not permissible.

The questioner : Confirming your statement, there is also a doubt in the contract from another angle, which is when you buy a car, the Islamic bank is not the owner of this car. By agreement between me and the Islamic bank, it falls upon something it does not own.

The Shaykh : This is correct.

The questioner : And the goods are in the sea.