Is there any necessity in placing money in the bank?

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.

The questioner : A man placed his money in the bank out of necessity, not for the sake of interest, which is riba. Is it permissible to use it for a solid asset, such as buying books or the like, or to place it in public property, such as a telephone line or the like, or to donate it?

The Shaykh : Before answering the question, I am afraid that this question is connected to the previous questions. I am afraid there is also an error. Is there no error in the question?

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills, good. What is the necessity that compelled this person who is asking this question to place his money in the bank and take the riba upon it? What is the necessity?

The questioner : Fear that it will be stolen, or he inherited money...

The Shaykh : One by one, fear that it will be stolen? This is a necessity? This is a mistake more severe than the previous mistakes, because the previous mistakes were verbal mistakes. This is a verbal and practical mistake at the same time.

The questioner : A person inherited money while he was young...

The Shaykh : No, we have not finished with the first one yet, may Allah forgive you. Now he feels the mistake and is going around in circles. This person who deposits his money in the bank out of fear that it will be stolen, in my opinion, is not mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He may also be a fool. As for him not being mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), there is no doubt about that. As for him possibly being a fool, it is because he may not be a Qarun of his time, meaning he has wealth. Where would he put it? In any safe, in any place? He may be a poor man like in our story, having a few hundred dinars, a few thousand, and so on. Where would he put them? He would put them in the bank. This is extreme foolishness. These people cannot be trusted in any way, and no one is aware of it at all, even the thieves who have made theft their profession. It is a very grave mistake for a Muslim to commit what Allah has forbidden through the slightest of ruses, for the slightest of reasons, fearing that his money will be stolen. Brothers, I swear by Allah, I am amazed at the state of Muslims today. I say about them, are they Muslims or not? Are they believers in Allah and His Messenger, or are they among the disbelievers? This verse is not one of the abandoned verses or rulings that neither the common people nor the specialists share in knowing. Nor is it taken as a signboard to adorn houses. Many houses, when you enter them, you find a verse at the head of the place in beautiful calligraphy. The verse is not unknown like the ignorance of that woman who was asked about yesterday. Her husband asked me, saying, "I recently got married." He said he is Saudi, and she is from these lands. He said, after we got married, it became clear that the woman prays Fajr and Zuhr without performing ghusl from janabah. She only performs wudu and does not perform ghusl, and she prays the rest of the prayers while in a state of purity. I was shocked; this is the first time I have asked such a question. A Muslim woman, and I asked him how old she is. He said, twenty or twenty-one years old. Where is she living? She does not know that purity from janabah is a condition for the validity of prayer. He said that the statement of the Exalted: is not famous among Muslims, men and women. Therefore, this poor woman fell into this violation, like the fame of the verse: because this is what? It is taken as a signboard. I ask myself whether these Muslims believe in this verse: If he fears Allah and puts the money in a place no one knows, and if it has reached the nisab, he pays its zakah every year, and he believes that because he fears Allah, He will send thieves upon him? Far be it from Allah. So where is the excuse, let alone the necessity, for this Muslim—peace be upon you—who deposits his money in the bank? There is no necessity, my dear. This is a mistake.

The questioner : He inherited money while he was young, without...

The Shaykh : Then he became an adult, or not? So that we shorten the path, did he become an adult after that, or is he still a minor?

The questioner : When he grew up, there was interest.

The Shaykh : Do you want to apply it, meaning?

The questioner : I have money.

The Shaykh : No problem, yes.

The questioner : Meaning, I have money, and I inherited it while I was young. Now I have become an adult, so there is interest. How do I use it?

The Shaykh : Erase the word "interest" from your dictionary.

The questioner : Yes, it is riba.

The Shaykh : Yes, say riba. Now, this money, which is riba, they call it interest. It is not permissible for you to benefit from it in any way. Rather, it is to be spent on public facilities. It is not permissible for you to benefit from it in any way at all. Rather, the masses of people benefit from it through public facilities. It is not the poor person; you do not give it to a poor man. Rather, you undertake a project in which all people share in the benefit. This is from the category of repelling the greater evil with the lesser evil, because if this money is left in the bank, its wealth and tyranny will increase. So the lesser of the two is that the one who was involved in it in his time, or who involved himself for your sake, takes it. He involved himself because he was young, he was an orphan.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, so when he takes the money, the capital and the riba follow it. This riba is spent on public facilities. For example, a place in the neighborhood needs a public water fountain, so he spends it on this fountain. Rough land where boys and women stumble, and so on... The capital is withdrawn from the bank along with the riba...

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : It would be like that, but what was it? I think I have made it clear to you that if he was responsible, it is not permissible for him to deposit his money in the bank. There is no necessity at all. And if he was not responsible, then at the time of reaching maturity, he must withdraw this money from the bank so that it remains pure, clean, and zakat-paid. And the riba they give him, he does not benefit from it in any way, but he spends it on public facilities. Yes, please.

The questioner : Did you answer, or did you exclude inheritance from haram money?

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : I excluded it by the permissibility of disposing of it.

The Shaykh : No doubt, no doubt. I confirm that what you understood is correct.

The questioner : I excluded it a moment ago, and now in the final answer, there is some contradiction, or did I misunderstand?

The Shaykh : No, there is no contradiction, because this earnings is not inherited to enter into the money, but it was obtained from the bank. Meaning, he said that his family placed the money in the bank and he was young. Finally, the man grew up. And he did not say that he extracted the money, as we clarified earlier. But let us assume that he extracted the money from the bank, correct?

The questioner : His father died.

The Shaykh : Every question, my brother, has an answer, but my answer to it does not contradict what came before. Now, you also feel, as others feel, that there is a mistake in your perception. Therefore, I said his father died. His father died, and he inherited the money he left behind. Even if it was all haram, if the money was left behind, he is its heir. But if the money was not left behind and is still in the bank, do you understand? In any case, the answer is clear to you. Yes. Go ahead, O generous one.