What is your opinion of some scholars who say that it is permissible to work in interest-based banks?

The Shaykh : The question just now was that some scholars say that working in interest-based banks... Do you think these scholars to whom he is referring...The questioner : First, did they say: "Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said"? Let us leave aside the third element, which is necessary. Did they say: "Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said"? The answer is no, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who was entrusted with explaining the Qur'an, said the opposite of what these people say, who are described in the question as scholars. What did Allah say? He, the Exalted, said: So, I do not say that a scholar doubts this, nor do I say that a student of knowledge doubts this, but is there any sane Muslim who doubts that the one who works as an employee in a bank is helping the bank to consume people's wealth unjustly and to consume what Allah has forbidden? I do not think anyone doubts this fact. Otherwise, he would not be able to understand the meaning of cooperation in sin. This is not merely committing sin directly; this is a scientific fact known not only to scholars but to beginning students of knowledge. Now, here is the explanation from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding such a verse: There is no doubt among any Muslim that consuming riba (usury or interest) is one of the major sins, and that drinking khamr (intoxicants) or becoming addicted to it is forbidden, if not also one of the major sins. The one who consumes riba has fallen into a major sin, and the one who drinks khamr is the same. Do you think that if there were no cooperation in evil, you could find a usurer who consumes people's wealth through riba? No. Would you find a drinker of khamr if there were no cooperators in evil? The answer is no. And the evidence from the Sunnah, which explains the Qur'an, is: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The first thing he (peace be upon him) mentioned was Then he added the rest of the ten, saying: None of these people drank khamr, but they are the cause of the existence of the drinker of khamr. If there were no seller of grapes to the one who crushes them into khamr, there would be no khamr in the world. Therefore, the one who does not drink khamr is cursed by the Shari'ah as long as he helps the drinker of khamr, meaning he prepares the means for him to be able to drink khamr. This is a hadith agreed upon by the scholars of Muslims regarding its authenticity, and it has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through many authentic paths. The second hadith, which is at the heart of the subject, is: Can you imagine a scholar saying that there is no harm in a Muslim being an employee in an interest-based bank while he writes down the riba, when the Messenger of Allah says: This is not a scholar. He may be a scholar in the sense of Do not imagine a man who truly believes in Allah and truly knows the Book and the Sunnah, yet he says and issues that unjust fatwa that it is permissible for a Muslim to be an employee in a bank. Now, we have raised the following question repeatedly, and the answer was unanimous. I do not say now about these employees, but I say: these rich people who are not employees in the bank but have deposited their money in the bank. If they all agreed to withdraw their capital from the largest of the interest-based banks, what would happen to the bank? Unanimously, you would say: bankruptcy. So, who created the bank? Those who feed the riba, who say, "We deposit and place our money in the bank to preserve it, and we do not consume riba." They think that by doing so, they are doing a good deed. No, no, no, as evidenced by the fact that if they withdrew this money, the banks would go bankrupt. Therefore, those who deposit their money in banks are the cause of the existence of those who consume riba. Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth when he said: If it is religiously established that the one outside the bank is cursed because he is the cause of the existence of this bank, now we move to the image that has a direct relation to the question. These people dealing with banks still deposit their money in banks. Suppose these employees in the bank repented and turned to Allah, the Exalted. What do I say when they heard the fatwa...The Shaykh : ...contrary to the fatwa of that scholar. Rather, I say: when they heard the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), first the hadith concerning them: Then the hadith: They heard these two hadiths, so they turned to Allah, repented, and withdrew. What would happen to the bank? It would cease to function, without a doubt. So, cooperation in evil is a text in the Noble Qur'an and a great Islamic principle. It is not permissible for a Muslim to help a Muslim in an evil deed, let alone to help a disbeliever in an evil deed. And one of the problems of the banks called today, unfortunately, by a name other than their true name, is "Islamic banks." If there were Islamic banks, their capital is deposited in the banks of the disbelievers in Europe, in Switzerland, in [place], and so on. Therefore, from whichever angle you look at dealing with these banks, even if they bear the name "Islamic bank," you will find it forbidden. It is not permissible to deal with them, even if one only deposits his money to preserve it. And this is actually a long and very long discussion, but it is sufficient for me now that I have reminded...The questioner : ...directly, and the attendees, that the one who issues a fatwa that it is permissible for a Muslim to be an employee in a bank that deals in riba is ignorant of or ignores the Qur'anic verse: And some Prophetic hadiths that explain that cooperation in evil is an evil deed.