Yusuf al-Qaradawi says: Riba is forbidden for its owner, but as for the poor person to whom it reaches, it is not forbidden.

The questioner : The Shaykh : Yusuf al-Qaradawi went to Australia two years ago and issued a fatwa to the people, a fatwa that led them astray. The gist of this fatwa is that he said riba is forbidden for the taker, for the owner of the riba.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide him.

The questioner : But as for the poor person to whom it reaches, it is not forbidden for him, and it is permissible to build mosques?

The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : By Allah, many Muslims there were led astray by it?

The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest. Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s education is from al-Azhar, and his methodology is not based on the Book and the Sunnah. He issues fatwas to people that contradict the Shari'ah, and he has a very dangerous philosophy. When something is forbidden in the Shar', he escapes the prohibition by saying there is no definitive text forbidding it. Therefore, he permitted singing and permitted that Englishman who had embraced Islam, who was one of the great British singers, to continue in his profession and eat from his earnings. Al-Qaradawi claimed that there is no definitive text forbidding singing or musical instruments. This contradicts the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims that definitive texts are not required for legal rulings. The evidence for this is that they, including al-Qaradawi himself, say that the proofs are the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, and analogical reasoning. Analogical reasoning is not a definitive proof because it is independent legal reasoning, and independent legal reasoning is subject to error and correctness, as is the case in the authentic hadith. But he brought up this tune that there is no definitive proof, in order to escape and absolve himself from many legal rulings. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said , so it is never permissible for a Muslim to benefit from forbidden money on the pretext that he did not consume the riba. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said . As for building mosques with riba money, the response to him is with his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) إنّ الله طيّب ولا يقبل إلاّ طيّبا وإنّ الله أمر المؤمنين بما أمر به المرسلين فقال يا أيّها الرّسل كلوا من الطيّبات واعملوا صالحا ثمّ ذكر الرّجل أشعث أغبر يطيل السّفر يرفع يديه يقول يا ربّ يا ربّ ومأكله حرام ومشربه حرام وملبسه حرام وغذّي بالحرام فأنّى يستجاب لذلك Indeed, Allah is Pure and accepts nothing but what is pure. And indeed, Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: O messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds. Then He mentioned the man, disheveled and dusty, who has lengthened his journey, raising his hands and saying: O my Lord, O my Lord. Yet his food is forbidden, his drink is forbidden, his clothing is forbidden, and he is nourished with what is forbidden. So how will he be answered?. All these hadiths refute al-Qaradawi and those like him who issue fatwas based on their opinions, following the method of the Ahl al-Ra'y (people of opinion) in the past, who were mostly from the Hanafis.