Some people consume riba (usury or interest) and then say that they have repented to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?
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The questioner : Consuming riba (usury or interest) or taking riba (usury or interest), and then saying: "I have repented to Allah (Mighty and Majestic)." Is he required to pay this excess, and is he compelled to pay it?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : We mentioned this. We said that if this usurer appeals to the judge, the judge compels him to pay the excess, and he is not given it, even if the situation is the reverse.
The Shaykh : What did he do?
The questioner : That is, if this man who has repented appeals to the judge, the excess is annulled.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He is not given the excess, and if it is not annulled, he is given it.
The Shaykh : No, that is not what we said. But we are conveying the reality. The correct reality is that the excess is annulled only by appealing to the judge, yes.
The questioner : We said that we take the excess from him and do not give it to the owner of the riba (usury or interest), but rather we place it in the treasury of the Muslims.
The Shaykh : And what do you say?
The student: We take the excess for the Muslims.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. We say: First, if this man repents before taking the riba (usury or interest), it is obligatory for him to stop, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:279].
As for if it is after he has taken it, he does not return it to its owner, but rather he is compelled to remove it from his ownership. He removes it from his ownership and gives it in charity.
And if it is said: If this excess was given willingly by the owner, not out of dire necessity, then he gives it in charity. But if it was out of dire necessity—like the issue of the person in dire necessity that we mentioned—then it is obligatory for him to pay it, because this person in dire necessity did not pay it voluntarily, yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : We mentioned this. We said that if this usurer appeals to the judge, the judge compels him to pay the excess, and he is not given it, even if the situation is the reverse.
The Shaykh : What did he do?
The questioner : That is, if this man who has repented appeals to the judge, the excess is annulled.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He is not given the excess, and if it is not annulled, he is given it.
The Shaykh : No, that is not what we said. But we are conveying the reality. The correct reality is that the excess is annulled only by appealing to the judge, yes.
The questioner : We said that we take the excess from him and do not give it to the owner of the riba (usury or interest), but rather we place it in the treasury of the Muslims.
The Shaykh : And what do you say?
The student: We take the excess for the Muslims.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. We say: First, if this man repents before taking the riba (usury or interest), it is obligatory for him to stop, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
But if you repent, you may have your principal
وإن تبتم فلكم رؤوس أموالكمAs for if it is after he has taken it, he does not return it to its owner, but rather he is compelled to remove it from his ownership. He removes it from his ownership and gives it in charity.
And if it is said: If this excess was given willingly by the owner, not out of dire necessity, then he gives it in charity. But if it was out of dire necessity—like the issue of the person in dire necessity that we mentioned—then it is obligatory for him to pay it, because this person in dire necessity did not pay it voluntarily, yes.