The Poor Among the Lawful Channels for Funds That Have No Owner
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Question: His Eminence, the distinguished scholar Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the President of the Committee of Senior Scholars, may Allah preserve him and keep him.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I hope you will answer my question urgently, as my work depends on receiving your kind response.
I am the guardian of one-third of a deceased person’s estate, intended to be made into a perpetual charity. However, the state, may Allah the Exalted honor it, seized the estate in one of the banks operating in the Kingdom for four years, which increased the principal of the estate before the division by an amount of usury without a doubt.
My question now concerns that increase, because it has become an ambiguous injustice whose people are unknown; for it is difficult to know from whom it was taken. Some scholars hold that ambiguous injustices should be spent on the general interests of the Muslims, which is a strong opinion, while others hold that they should be spent on the poor, which is less beneficial than the former opinion. Also, leaving it in the bank is aiding it in repeating the sin and reusing it in usury without end, which is a great sin that is not permissible to do ever.
Also, the deceased’s employees had a grant that was given to them at the beginning of each year, and the heirs refused to pay them anything after his death. Am I permitted to pay them what they were accustomed to receiving from this usurious increase?
I hope to receive your comprehensive answer at the earliest time, may Allah the Exalted reward you and grant you abundant reward, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
We see that the increase should be taken and spent on channels of good, and that what the testator bequeathed should be carried out according to his bequest, provided the bequest is lawful and contains nothing that contradicts the Shari'ah. You will be rewarded for that, if Allah wills, and may Allah multiply your reward. If there are poor people among the heirs, there is no harm in helping them from the usurious increase without informing them of it; because the poor are among the lawful channels for funds that have no lawful owner, or whose owner is unknown. May Allah guide them all. And peace.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I hope you will answer my question urgently, as my work depends on receiving your kind response.
I am the guardian of one-third of a deceased person’s estate, intended to be made into a perpetual charity. However, the state, may Allah the Exalted honor it, seized the estate in one of the banks operating in the Kingdom for four years, which increased the principal of the estate before the division by an amount of usury without a doubt.
My question now concerns that increase, because it has become an ambiguous injustice whose people are unknown; for it is difficult to know from whom it was taken. Some scholars hold that ambiguous injustices should be spent on the general interests of the Muslims, which is a strong opinion, while others hold that they should be spent on the poor, which is less beneficial than the former opinion. Also, leaving it in the bank is aiding it in repeating the sin and reusing it in usury without end, which is a great sin that is not permissible to do ever.
Also, the deceased’s employees had a grant that was given to them at the beginning of each year, and the heirs refused to pay them anything after his death. Am I permitted to pay them what they were accustomed to receiving from this usurious increase?
I hope to receive your comprehensive answer at the earliest time, may Allah the Exalted reward you and grant you abundant reward, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
We see that the increase should be taken and spent on channels of good, and that what the testator bequeathed should be carried out according to his bequest, provided the bequest is lawful and contains nothing that contradicts the Shari'ah. You will be rewarded for that, if Allah wills, and may Allah multiply your reward. If there are poor people among the heirs, there is no harm in helping them from the usurious increase without informing them of it; because the poor are among the lawful channels for funds that have no lawful owner, or whose owner is unknown. May Allah guide them all. And peace.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.