What is the ruling for one who wants to buy goods but cannot do so except through dealing with a bank?

The questioner : Well, Shaykh, regarding banks, it is not permissible to deal with them, but if... one buys goods through the bank because there is no other option...?

The Shaykh : It is not permissible to deal with banks at all. Earning or gathering money through a means that is not prescribed—excuse me, through an impermissible means—does not make that earnings permissible. We mentioned a verse and a hadith earlier.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : The verse is The hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Be moderate in your seeking," meaning improve the path you take in seeking your livelihood. If this usurious dealing were permitted for the sake of earning money, then all forbidden transactions would be permitted; the sale of intoxicants would be permitted, and the sale of grapes to one who presses them into wine would be permitted, and all these things that are forbidden in Islam would be permitted. Therefore, every Muslim must fear Allah in his earnings. In my opinion, the cause of all these impermissible means is the lack of trust between people who deal with one another. You just mentioned a real example: this Bedouin brings goods from Europe, from whatever country it is. He cannot do anything; whenever he brings goods, he goes, pays the cash, and receives them, and so on. In my opinion, if a truly believing merchant knew a factory or a manufacturer or a trader according to his work, and went to that trader once, agreed with him, and treated him well—meaning, gave him cash instead of deferred payment to prove his trust in him—in my opinion, over time, and this is certainly the case, the situation would proceed without the bank's mediation at all. But unfortunately, such a thing does not exist among Muslims, let alone among the disbelievers. And as Muslims, I say we must always keep in our minds a truth that we have neglected, which is: the atheists ask, "Why were we created? Why do we exist?" The believer's answer is: "We were created to worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic)." If that is the case, how is the worship of Allah? The worship of Allah is only by following the rulings of Allah. The servant in this worldly life should not look at poverty, wealth, riches, comfort, toil, or hardship, but rather he should look at the obedience of Allah and His worship, by whatever means that obedience or worship is achieved, and he must perform it. Look, for example, as we all know, one of the best deeds is jihad in the path of Allah. So when a Muslim goes out in the path of Allah, he does not ask about his wife, his mother, his father, or his child, nor even about his life. Why? Because he sold all of that in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if we keep this truth in mind and live it in our lives, we will not think about the impermissible means that bring us money, because the Muslim is content with little, and it was said long ago, "Contentment is a treasure that is not exhausted." Now, this self-evident truth in the Shari'ah is absent from the minds of the masses of Muslims today. Most Muslims today, in terms of how they gather money, are like the disbelievers!

The questioner: Allahu Akbar.

The Shaykh : I mean, do the disbelievers have something called haram or halal? No. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) branded them in the Noble Qur'an with His saying (Mighty and Majestic): The point is that they do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The disbelievers today do not have anything called haram.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Everything is halal with them; in fact, they do not know what is haram or what is halal. They only gather money from whoever moves and crawls. And for that reason, everything that is precious to Muslims has become cheap to them, especially the Jews among them. The point is that they do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The disbelievers today do not have anything called haram.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Everything is halal with them; in fact, they do not know what is haram or what is halal. They only gather money from whoever moves and crawls. And for that reason, everything that is precious to Muslims has become cheap to them, especially the Jews among them. Their honor has become cheap to them for the sake of what? Acquiring money, acquiring power, and so on. The Muslim does not imitate the disbeliever. The Muslim, the Muslim does not imitate the disbeliever, the Muslim, even in an ordinary appearance. This is also one of the matters that the masses of Muslims have neglected. I do not want to expand on the topic now for fear that we will stray from the main topic. I want to remind you now of some authentic Prophetic hadiths that I consider to be an explanation of the previous verse.