What is the ruling on placing money in banks that some scholars permit and others prohibit?

The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.

The questioner : There is an Islamic bank called the Faisal Bank in Egypt. The Islamic Faisal Bank is supervised by a group of scholars. Some people doubt this bank, while others defend it. So, if one of us places his money in it, does he bear a sin, or is the sin on the scholars supervising it?

The Shaykh : I do not know anything about the state of this bank, nor do I know about it. However, I advise every person who has a doubt about any bank, or any company, or any institution to avoid it, because the matter is serious. Indeed, this money that you put in, if you profit from it, you will eat and drink and be nourished by it. If you eat, drink, and are nourished by it while it is forbidden, that is among the causes of the rejection of supplication, as in the hadith where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned: But if there is a need to place it in the bank because you fear it will be stolen, for example, there is no harm. Place it for the sake of that need. And if something comes to you from its profit, and it has not openly declared that it deals in usury, its account is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic).