How to Dispose of Interest-Based Profits
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Question: If I take money from the bank for a period exceeding one year, and profit comes to me with it, is it permissible to give it in charity, or return it to the bank, or what should I do?
Answer: It is obligatory for you to pay its zakah whenever a lunar year passes over it, whether it is in the bank or elsewhere, if it reaches the nisab. As for the profit the bank gave you, do not return it to the bank and do not consume it; rather, spend it in the causes of righteousness, such as charity for the poor, repairing restrooms, and helping debtors who are unable to pay off their debts. And you must repent from that.
It is not permissible for you to deal with the bank in riba, nor with any other bank, because riba is among the ugliest of major sins. And Allah the Exalted said in His great Book:[Al-Baqarah 2:275] Allah destroys riba and increases alms, and Allah does not love every sinful disbeliever [al-Baqarah: 275-276], until He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:278] So if you do not, then be advised of war from Allah and His Messenger. And if you repent, then yours is the principal of your wealth; you will not wrong, nor be wronged [al-Baqarah: 278-279]. These noble verses all indicate the severity of the prohibition of riba, and that it is among the major sins. Whoever persists in it is threatened with eternal abode in the Fire, may Allah save us from that. And this eternal abode is in its apparent sense, like the eternal abode of the disbelievers; it has no end if one considers riba permissible.
As for the one who knows that riba is haram and believes that, but then persists in it, the aforementioned threat encompasses him. However, his eternal abode in the Fire, if he enters it, is not like the eternal abode of the disbelievers; rather, it is an eternal abode that has an end, as the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams have established, contrary to the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah. Likewise, the eternal abode of the one who kills himself, and the one who kills another intentionally and oppressively, and the eternal abode of the fornicator, all fall under this category. Whoever among them considers these sins permissible has committed disbelief and will abide in the Fire eternally, like the abode of the disbelievers. We seek refuge in Allah from that.
As for the one who does not consider it permissible, but commits it out of obedience to desire and Satan, he will not abide in the Fire eternally like the abode of the disbelievers if he enters it; rather, he will abide in it with an abode that has an end. This is because the Arabs use the word "eternal" (khulud) in their language to express long residence, and the Noble Qur'an was revealed in their language. This is a great matter that one must be aware of, and distinguish between the eternal abode of the disbelievers and the eternal abode of the sinners. Due to ignorance of the difference between the two types of eternal abode, the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah fell into a great abomination and a defective belief, which is their ruling that sinners will abide in the Fire forever, like the abode of the disbelievers. The people of the Sunnah rejected this and demonstrated the invalidity of their doctrine with clear evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, and the words of the Salaf of the Ummah.
It is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he cursed the one who eats riba, the one who gives it, the one who writes it, and its two witnesses. He said:, narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), and al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih, from Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 5962.
It is obligatory for all Muslims: to beware of riba-based transactions and to cooperate with those involved in them in that matter; due to the two hadiths mentioned; and due to His saying, the Exalted: [al-Ma'idah: 2].
We ask Allah for us and for all Muslims success in what pleases Him, and safety from the causes of His anger. He is the best of those asked.
Answer: It is obligatory for you to pay its zakah whenever a lunar year passes over it, whether it is in the bank or elsewhere, if it reaches the nisab. As for the profit the bank gave you, do not return it to the bank and do not consume it; rather, spend it in the causes of righteousness, such as charity for the poor, repairing restrooms, and helping debtors who are unable to pay off their debts. And you must repent from that.
It is not permissible for you to deal with the bank in riba, nor with any other bank, because riba is among the ugliest of major sins. And Allah the Exalted said in His great Book:
Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لاَ يَقُومُونَ إِلاَّ كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا وَأَحَلَّ اللّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا فَمَن جَاءهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ فَانتَهَىَ فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَذَرُواْ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ As for the one who knows that riba is haram and believes that, but then persists in it, the aforementioned threat encompasses him. However, his eternal abode in the Fire, if he enters it, is not like the eternal abode of the disbelievers; rather, it is an eternal abode that has an end, as the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams have established, contrary to the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah. Likewise, the eternal abode of the one who kills himself, and the one who kills another intentionally and oppressively, and the eternal abode of the fornicator, all fall under this category. Whoever among them considers these sins permissible has committed disbelief and will abide in the Fire eternally, like the abode of the disbelievers. We seek refuge in Allah from that.
As for the one who does not consider it permissible, but commits it out of obedience to desire and Satan, he will not abide in the Fire eternally like the abode of the disbelievers if he enters it; rather, he will abide in it with an abode that has an end. This is because the Arabs use the word "eternal" (khulud) in their language to express long residence, and the Noble Qur'an was revealed in their language. This is a great matter that one must be aware of, and distinguish between the eternal abode of the disbelievers and the eternal abode of the sinners. Due to ignorance of the difference between the two types of eternal abode, the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah fell into a great abomination and a defective belief, which is their ruling that sinners will abide in the Fire forever, like the abode of the disbelievers. The people of the Sunnah rejected this and demonstrated the invalidity of their doctrine with clear evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, and the words of the Salaf of the Ummah.
It is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he cursed the one who eats riba, the one who gives it, the one who writes it, and its two witnesses. He said:
They are all the same.
هم سواءcursed the one who took or gave (Riba') usury, and the lady who tattooed others or got herself tattooed, and the picture-maker.
لعن آكل الربا وموكله، والواشمة والمستوشمة، والمصورIt is obligatory for all Muslims: to beware of riba-based transactions and to cooperate with those involved in them in that matter; due to the two hadiths mentioned; and due to His saying, the Exalted:
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.
وَتَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى الْبرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلاَ تَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ إِنَّ اللّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِWe ask Allah for us and for all Muslims success in what pleases Him, and safety from the causes of His anger. He is the best of those asked.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.