An institution established on donations from interest-based banks: What is the ruling on these salaries?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, there is a da'wah institution that has offices and employees. This institution is sustained by donations from people of good and donors. Some of the donors to this institution are interest-based banks. This institution is engaged in teaching the memorization of the Qur'an and the like. What is the ruling on taking the salaries paid to the employees, given that they contain a percentage of interest?
The Shaykh : I thought you would ask whether this institution or that one is pleased to accept this donation from an interest-based bank. I thought you would ask that question. But since the question was not that, but rather about the employees' salaries, there is no doubt that as long as the employees are performing their duties, what is given to them is lawful for them, even if it is openly interest-based money and not mixed with other pure, lawful funds. This is because money that comes from a forbidden source in exchange for a wage is lawful for the recipient. The scrupulousness (wara') lies in not accepting it, but the legal ruling is that it is permissible. It is like if an interest-taker, a gambler, a seller of intoxicants, or someone similar dies and leaves behind a large fortune; this fortune becomes lawful for the heirs because it came to them through a lawful path. Similarly, we say regarding the states today that deal in interest and distribute salaries to their employees: the employee takes this money in exchange for his job, and even if its origin is interest-based or contains interest, it is lawful for him. However, scrupulousness is a separate matter. If you ask whether it is permissible, the answer is that it is permissible. But the important point in this matter, which drew attention, is that these lawful or religious institutions must not accept money or donations from banks known for dealing in interest.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, so that no one misunderstands your words to mean that these institutions, whose funds are pure with regard to interest, have the right for these banks, or institutions based on interest in sales and dealings, to do so. It would be good if you could clarify this point, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, please repeat that.
The Shaykh : I thought you would ask whether this institution or that one is pleased to accept this donation from an interest-based bank. I thought you would ask that question. But since the question was not that, but rather about the employees' salaries, there is no doubt that as long as the employees are performing their duties, what is given to them is lawful for them, even if it is openly interest-based money and not mixed with other pure, lawful funds. This is because money that comes from a forbidden source in exchange for a wage is lawful for the recipient. The scrupulousness (wara') lies in not accepting it, but the legal ruling is that it is permissible. It is like if an interest-taker, a gambler, a seller of intoxicants, or someone similar dies and leaves behind a large fortune; this fortune becomes lawful for the heirs because it came to them through a lawful path. Similarly, we say regarding the states today that deal in interest and distribute salaries to their employees: the employee takes this money in exchange for his job, and even if its origin is interest-based or contains interest, it is lawful for him. However, scrupulousness is a separate matter. If you ask whether it is permissible, the answer is that it is permissible. But the important point in this matter, which drew attention, is that these lawful or religious institutions must not accept money or donations from banks known for dealing in interest.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, so that no one misunderstands your words to mean that these institutions, whose funds are pure with regard to interest, have the right for these banks, or institutions based on interest in sales and dealings, to do so. It would be good if you could clarify this point, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, please repeat that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.