Is it permissible to add something when repaying a debt?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This is not the truth, my Shaykh. Two questions came from America...
The Shaykh : But here they described you in a certain way.
The questioner : No... America, praise be to Allah, it arrived.
The Shaykh : Ah, I am afraid you will be pleased with it...
The questioner : No, praise be to Allah...
The Shaykh : And that is why I warned you.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, that He has gathered us with you, O Shaykh. I had supplicated to Allah to gather us with you.
The Shaykh : To gather us all under the banner of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart. Please, go ahead.
The questioner : The first question: I had seen a bearded Shaykh there who is committed to the religion, and he asked me a question and said to me, "Ask Al-Albani about this question." This man lent a person thirty thousand dollars, based on what he told me. After a period, the other man came and gave him thirty thousand dollars and said to him, "These nine thousand are a gift to you on the thirty thousand dollars." Is this permissible or not?The Shaykh : Al-Albani, regarding this question: This man lent a person thirty thousand dollars, based on what he told me. After a period, the other man came and gave him thirty thousand dollars and said to him, "These nine thousand are a gift to you on the thirty thousand dollars." Is this permissible or not?
The Shaykh : He said to him, "This is a gift for giving me the thirty thousand in the past period."
The questioner : The same debtor, right?
The Shaykh : The same debtor gave him nine thousand.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The same debtor gave him nine thousand.
The questioner : And what is the case if he said to him, "You take the thirty thousand, and just return them to me when you want to give me a gift"?
The Shaykh : Now it is clear, whereas at first you did not mention that he gave him thirty and added nine; finally you said there is nothing wrong with it at all. However, the issue differs if he gave it to him before he repaid him. That is, I borrowed the thirty thousand from you and have not yet repaid you, and you gave me nine thousand. This is not permissible because this is like bait. But if you paid him cash, or I paid you the thirty thousand, and then added nine or ten more, whether less or more, this falls under his saying (peace and blessings be upon him). This is what the jurists mean when they say that every loan that brings a benefit, if it is stipulated, is not permissible. We do not say "stipulated" and then the answer comes out distorted. Every loan that brings a benefit, if stipulated from the beginning, is riba. And all these bank operations are based on that, and therefore it is riba. As for a man who does good to you, Allah says: [Ar-Rahman 55:60].
The questioner : And what is the situation if he says to him, "You take the thirty thousand, and that is all; return them to me when you like, and give me a gift."
The Shaykh : This is not permissible. And this reminds us of the trick of one of the Shaykhs—I refer to them as the Shaykhs of the North, meaning northern Syria. A man who is a jurist on the Shafi'i school, but he does not understand Islam from the Book and the Sunnah. He wrote a book he called "The Teachings of Islam." Unfortunately, among his teachings he said, "The trick to escape from riba is to make a vow to Allah—correct me, Professor, use it in your trade and goods—the trick to escape from riba is to make a vow to Allah. Whenever you borrow a loan from a person, you give him the amount of five. At that time, you must fulfill this vow." It is written and printed. This... Allahu Akbar. I told you, a man who is well-versed in the Shafi'i school, but he has no knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah.
The questioner : The question itself, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is not permissible. And this reminds us of the trick of one of the sheikhs—I refer to them as the sheikhs of the North, meaning northern Syria. A man who is a jurist according to the Shafi'i school, but who does not understand Islam from the Book and the Sunnah. He wrote a book called "The Teachings of Islam." Unfortunately, among his teachings he said, "The trick to escaping riba is to make a vow to Allah—correct me, Professor, use it in your trade and merchandise—the trick to escaping riba is to make a vow to Allah that whenever you borrow a loan from a person, you give him the amount plus five. In that case, you must fulfill this vow." This is written and printed. This... Allahu Akbar. I told you, a man who is well-versed in the Shafi'i school, but who has no knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah.
The questioner : This is what I wanted to bring to you... Is it permissible?
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible. Neither selling it nor buying it, let alone giving it as a gift.
The questioner : I must tell you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Be patient a little, let us finish this part. Do you have a quantity of it?
The questioner : If you want to dispose of it, first, O, you dispose of it at its capital value without profit, or at less than the capital, meaning at a loss. Immediately, with a delayed profit. You have one of your employees take a special paint and this circle, he blots it out and sells it.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, our Lord compensated for more than three-quarters of the loss. Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We need to see... What did he give it to you as? A mudarabah?
The questioner : A trade mudarabah. He with his money, and I with my effort.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Shaykh, before we move on, with the same question the professor raised: even if this man gave me this money to trade with it without any condition, and I wanted to give him a percentage increase over the rate agreed between us, is this permissible?
The Shaykh : If he gave you a loan, and you traded with this loan, and Allah guided you and made it easy for you, and you repaid him what was in your debt, and the extra, that is the permissible one. But if he gave you a mudarabah, it is not permissible to impose a specific percentage. Rather, he says, "It is on the profit and the loss," like this.
The questioner : It is originally on the profit and the loss, but I would like to add his percentage.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to impose. Give according to the agreement. But the believers are upon their conditions. You want to agree with him that the profit and loss are on the percentage. Okay, this is one. If we suppose you agreed with him that you give him the profit, and when you gave him the profit, you added to it, so what you gave him was one-third, there is no harm. But he has no right that you give him the increase over one-quarter. Rather, it is a gift from your side...
The questioner : I say it is a gift.
The Shaykh : My brother, you say so, but I say, upon what is the agreement?
The questioner : The agreement, O Shaykh, he gave me a sum of money.
The Shaykh : There is no need to repeat. I am telling you, if the agreement is that this money is a mudarabah, and the profit and loss are on the percentage you agreed upon, the matter is finished. If you added to it, Allah will increase for you.
The questioner : So is the reward of goodness except goodness?
The Shaykh : My brother, you say it this way, but I ask: what is the agreement?
The questioner : The agreement, Shaykh, is that he gave me a sum of money.
The Shaykh : There is no need to repeat it. I am telling you: if the agreement is that this money is a mudarabah (profit-sharing partnership) and the profit and loss are according to a percentage you agreed upon, the matter is finished. If you increase it, Allah will increase for you.
The questioner : That is what is meant.
The Shaykh: This is the answer.
The Shaykh : But here they described you in a certain way.
The questioner : No... America, praise be to Allah, it arrived.
The Shaykh : Ah, I am afraid you will be pleased with it...
The questioner : No, praise be to Allah...
The Shaykh : And that is why I warned you.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, that He has gathered us with you, O Shaykh. I had supplicated to Allah to gather us with you.
The Shaykh : To gather us all under the banner of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart. Please, go ahead.
The questioner : The first question: I had seen a bearded Shaykh there who is committed to the religion, and he asked me a question and said to me, "Ask Al-Albani about this question." This man lent a person thirty thousand dollars, based on what he told me. After a period, the other man came and gave him thirty thousand dollars and said to him, "These nine thousand are a gift to you on the thirty thousand dollars." Is this permissible or not?The Shaykh : Al-Albani, regarding this question: This man lent a person thirty thousand dollars, based on what he told me. After a period, the other man came and gave him thirty thousand dollars and said to him, "These nine thousand are a gift to you on the thirty thousand dollars." Is this permissible or not?
The Shaykh : He said to him, "This is a gift for giving me the thirty thousand in the past period."
The questioner : The same debtor, right?
The Shaykh : The same debtor gave him nine thousand.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The same debtor gave him nine thousand.
The questioner : And what is the case if he said to him, "You take the thirty thousand, and just return them to me when you want to give me a gift"?
The Shaykh : Now it is clear, whereas at first you did not mention that he gave him thirty and added nine; finally you said there is nothing wrong with it at all. However, the issue differs if he gave it to him before he repaid him. That is, I borrowed the thirty thousand from you and have not yet repaid you, and you gave me nine thousand. This is not permissible because this is like bait. But if you paid him cash, or I paid you the thirty thousand, and then added nine or ten more, whether less or more, this falls under his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)
The best of you are the best of you in repaying debts, and I am the best of you in repaying debts.
خيركم خيركم قضاء وأنا خيركم قضاءIs the reward for good [anything] but good?
فهل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسانThe questioner : And what is the situation if he says to him, "You take the thirty thousand, and that is all; return them to me when you like, and give me a gift."
The Shaykh : This is not permissible. And this reminds us of the trick of one of the Shaykhs—I refer to them as the Shaykhs of the North, meaning northern Syria. A man who is a jurist on the Shafi'i school, but he does not understand Islam from the Book and the Sunnah. He wrote a book he called "The Teachings of Islam." Unfortunately, among his teachings he said, "The trick to escape from riba is to make a vow to Allah—correct me, Professor, use it in your trade and goods—the trick to escape from riba is to make a vow to Allah. Whenever you borrow a loan from a person, you give him the amount of five. At that time, you must fulfill this vow." It is written and printed. This... Allahu Akbar. I told you, a man who is well-versed in the Shafi'i school, but he has no knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah.
The questioner : The question itself, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is not permissible. And this reminds us of the trick of one of the sheikhs—I refer to them as the sheikhs of the North, meaning northern Syria. A man who is a jurist according to the Shafi'i school, but who does not understand Islam from the Book and the Sunnah. He wrote a book called "The Teachings of Islam." Unfortunately, among his teachings he said, "The trick to escaping riba is to make a vow to Allah—correct me, Professor, use it in your trade and merchandise—the trick to escaping riba is to make a vow to Allah that whenever you borrow a loan from a person, you give him the amount plus five. In that case, you must fulfill this vow." This is written and printed. This... Allahu Akbar. I told you, a man who is well-versed in the Shafi'i school, but who has no knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah.
The questioner : This is what I wanted to bring to you... Is it permissible?
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible. Neither selling it nor buying it, let alone giving it as a gift.
The questioner : I must tell you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Be patient a little, let us finish this part. Do you have a quantity of it?
The questioner : If you want to dispose of it, first, O, you dispose of it at its capital value without profit, or at less than the capital, meaning at a loss. Immediately, with a delayed profit. You have one of your employees take a special paint and this circle, he blots it out and sells it.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, our Lord compensated for more than three-quarters of the loss. Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We need to see... What did he give it to you as? A mudarabah?
The questioner : A trade mudarabah. He with his money, and I with my effort.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Shaykh, before we move on, with the same question the professor raised: even if this man gave me this money to trade with it without any condition, and I wanted to give him a percentage increase over the rate agreed between us, is this permissible?
The Shaykh : If he gave you a loan, and you traded with this loan, and Allah guided you and made it easy for you, and you repaid him what was in your debt, and the extra, that is the permissible one. But if he gave you a mudarabah, it is not permissible to impose a specific percentage. Rather, he says, "It is on the profit and the loss," like this.
The questioner : It is originally on the profit and the loss, but I would like to add his percentage.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to impose. Give according to the agreement. But the believers are upon their conditions. You want to agree with him that the profit and loss are on the percentage. Okay, this is one. If we suppose you agreed with him that you give him the profit, and when you gave him the profit, you added to it, so what you gave him was one-third, there is no harm. But he has no right that you give him the increase over one-quarter. Rather, it is a gift from your side...
The questioner : I say it is a gift.
The Shaykh : My brother, you say so, but I say, upon what is the agreement?
The questioner : The agreement, O Shaykh, he gave me a sum of money.
The Shaykh : There is no need to repeat. I am telling you, if the agreement is that this money is a mudarabah, and the profit and loss are on the percentage you agreed upon, the matter is finished. If you added to it, Allah will increase for you.
The questioner : So is the reward of goodness except goodness?
The Shaykh : My brother, you say it this way, but I ask: what is the agreement?
The questioner : The agreement, Shaykh, is that he gave me a sum of money.
The Shaykh : There is no need to repeat it. I am telling you: if the agreement is that this money is a mudarabah (profit-sharing partnership) and the profit and loss are according to a percentage you agreed upon, the matter is finished. If you increase it, Allah will increase for you.
The questioner : That is what is meant.
The Shaykh: This is the answer.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.