What is your opinion regarding companies that deposit their funds in banks and receive interest on them, and then donate that interest to mosques and charitable works, and
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. A questioner asks: What is your opinion regarding some companies that deposit their funds in banks and receive interest on them, and then donate that interest to mosques and charitable works, and other matters? Is this permissible? And what is the ruling on receiving a salary from these banks?
The Shaykh : I see that it is not permissible for a person to take riba (usury or interest) from banks under any circumstances, because Allah the Exalted said in His Book:[Al-Baqarah 2:279] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) announced the abolition of riba, even if it was contracted before Islam. He said (peace and blessings be upon him) while addressing the people at 'Arafah during the Farewell Pilgrimage: Sunan Ibn Majah 3074Sahih (Darussalam). And if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: even though this riba had been contracted before Islam, what then of riba that was contracted during Islam? So I do not see that anyone should take from banks—no, not even what benefits—no, I do not see that anyone should take riba from banks under any circumstances, whether with the intention of building a mosque with it, or giving it in charity to a poor person, or placing it in weapons for jihad in the path of Allah, or otherwise, because of the verse: [Al-Baqarah 2:279]. Some of our brothers among the scholars have preferred (istihsan) that riba be taken from banks, especially riba in non-Muslim foreign countries, to be taken and spent on general or private interests, meaning it is not entered into the person's ownership. But this preference (istihsan) is in opposition to the text, and any preference (istihsan) in opposition to the text has no standing, because what is our argument before Allah the Mighty and Majestic if Allah the Exalted says: [Al-Baqarah 2:279]. And because if a person takes riba from banks, his soul may become stingy afterwards, meaning after he takes it, so he does not give it in charity or spend it on interests, especially if it is a large amount.
And if riba is taken from banks with this intention, then others will follow his example, not knowing that he spent it on another matter and removed it from his ownership, so he becomes a role model for others in taking riba.
And because if a person takes riba, even if he spends it on interests or the like, the scholars of the People of the Book will mock the Muslims and say, "These Muslims, Allah has forbidden them riba, yet they take it," and they will blame us for taking riba, while they are like us in taking it.
And because if a person takes riba from banks and then gives it in charity or places it in interests, it is like one who smeared his hand with impurity and then... no... then sought to remove it with water. Is it reasonable to smear your hand with impurity and then go wash it? Rest from the impurity from the start; do not take it.
And because taking riba from banks leads to people becoming indifferent and enthusiastic about establishing Islamic banks. But if it were said to people, "Do not take this riba," they would be compelled to establish Islamic banks to be self-sufficient with them instead of these riba-based banks. And for other reasons that may not come to my mind now, but what I have mentioned, I think, are five or six, which are sufficient for a person to abandon riba no matter what.
Some people make excuses, saying: "If we left riba in these banks, they would use it to build churches and to fight Muslims." We say: We are not responsible for their actions; we are only responsible for what? Our own actions. So let us fear Allah the Exalted in ourselves, and if they spend it, they spend it as they wish.
Then we say secondly: Is this riba our property? Meaning, is this increase from our funds? Answer: It may be, and it may not be. It is possible that they traded with our specific money and earned this profit and gave it to us, or it may not be; they may trade with the money we gave them and then lose it. So this is not our property until we say, "We authorized them to use our property to fight us or to order the building of churches." It has not entered our ownership in the first place. And in any case, what I see is that it is not permissible to take riba from banks absolutely, whether a person takes it for himself or takes it in order to get rid of it through charity or otherwise. Yes?
The student: The salary.
The Shaykh : As for the salary, meaning the one who works at the bank, do you mean?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes. As for taking the salary from the bank, for example, if an employee is directed to the bank to take his salary from it, there is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing on the employee, because this transaction is not his work, but the work of others. All he has to do is take his salary from a specific source, so there is nothing on him in that.
The Shaykh : I see that it is not permissible for a person to take riba (usury or interest) from banks under any circumstances, because Allah the Exalted said in His Book:
But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
فإن تبتم فلكم رؤوس أموالكم لا تظلمون ولا تظلمونThe usuries of Ignorance days are abolished, and the first usury (that I abolish) is our usury, the usury due to ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib. It is all abolished.
ربا الجاهلية موضوع وأول الربا أضعه من ربانا ربا العباس بن عبد المطلب فإنه موضوع كلهThe riba of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance is abolished.
ربا الجاهلية موضوعBut if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
فإن تبتم فلكم رؤوس أموالكم لا تظلمون ولا تظلمونBut if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
إن تبتم فلكم رؤوس أموالكم لا تظلمون ولا تظلمونAnd if riba is taken from banks with this intention, then others will follow his example, not knowing that he spent it on another matter and removed it from his ownership, so he becomes a role model for others in taking riba.
And because if a person takes riba, even if he spends it on interests or the like, the scholars of the People of the Book will mock the Muslims and say, "These Muslims, Allah has forbidden them riba, yet they take it," and they will blame us for taking riba, while they are like us in taking it.
And because if a person takes riba from banks and then gives it in charity or places it in interests, it is like one who smeared his hand with impurity and then... no... then sought to remove it with water. Is it reasonable to smear your hand with impurity and then go wash it? Rest from the impurity from the start; do not take it.
And because taking riba from banks leads to people becoming indifferent and enthusiastic about establishing Islamic banks. But if it were said to people, "Do not take this riba," they would be compelled to establish Islamic banks to be self-sufficient with them instead of these riba-based banks. And for other reasons that may not come to my mind now, but what I have mentioned, I think, are five or six, which are sufficient for a person to abandon riba no matter what.
Some people make excuses, saying: "If we left riba in these banks, they would use it to build churches and to fight Muslims." We say: We are not responsible for their actions; we are only responsible for what? Our own actions. So let us fear Allah the Exalted in ourselves, and if they spend it, they spend it as they wish.
Then we say secondly: Is this riba our property? Meaning, is this increase from our funds? Answer: It may be, and it may not be. It is possible that they traded with our specific money and earned this profit and gave it to us, or it may not be; they may trade with the money we gave them and then lose it. So this is not our property until we say, "We authorized them to use our property to fight us or to order the building of churches." It has not entered our ownership in the first place. And in any case, what I see is that it is not permissible to take riba from banks absolutely, whether a person takes it for himself or takes it in order to get rid of it through charity or otherwise. Yes?
The student: The salary.
The Shaykh : As for the salary, meaning the one who works at the bank, do you mean?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes. As for taking the salary from the bank, for example, if an employee is directed to the bank to take his salary from it, there is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing on the employee, because this transaction is not his work, but the work of others. All he has to do is take his salary from a specific source, so there is nothing on him in that.