The Ruling on the Work of an Accountant in Interest-Based Banks

Question: I have been in these blessed lands for more than five years. I suffered and toiled greatly at first, and my sponsor had no work that could relieve me of the hardship and need for money to sustain my life and provide for my family, including my parents and brothers. I searched for work and moved through more than four commercial establishments. Finally, I settled in one of the banks here in Riyadh. I exerted my utmost effort and was sincere in my work until I became an accountant in current accounts. I learned that this bank places most of its funds in banks inside and outside the Kingdom at interest-based rates. There are also customer accounts where we receive bank documents recording interest-based earnings for their accounts on our side, from external banks.
Allah the Exalted knows that I am in extreme distress over this matter, and I have had no peace of mind since I learned of it. I have married and brought my wife here, and Allah the Exalted has blessed me with two sons. I am a student of religious knowledge... until he said: "I love jurisprudence in religion, and I attend scholarly gatherings. I will face hardship and difficulty if I leave this job, and I will be delayed in providing for my father and mother. My mind is preoccupied with this, and I await a fatwa from your eminence on this matter."

Answer: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made lawful for His servants what brings them salvation and fulfills their needs, and He has forbidden what harms them. Therefore, a servant is not compelled to what Allah has forbidden; rather, he must strive with his utmost effort to seek lawful sustenance.
Employment in banks is not permissible, because it is assisting them in sin and transgression—whether one is an accountant, a clerk, or otherwise. It is obligatory for the believer to beware of this and to stay away from banks, because Allah says: : [Al-Ma'idah: 2]. Thus, cooperating with banks, or with highway robbers, or with thieves, or with deceivers, or with those who take bribes, is all cooperation in sin and transgression, and it is not permissible.
What you received before that—meaning before you knew the ruling—is yours; what came after you knew is not yours. This is based on the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He: [Al-Baqarah: 275]. So what you received previously before you knew is yours, but after you knew, you must leave this job, repent to Allah, the Exalted, for what has passed, and dispose of what you received through the path of riba while you were aware of it, in the direction of righteousness and good, such as charity to the poor and the needy, and the like, until you rid yourself of this money that came to you without a legitimate Shari'ah basis.
It is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): . Therefore, it is obligatory for the believer to beware of that: [Al-Talaq: 2], [Al-Talaq: 4].
If you fear Allah, Allah will make your affairs easy and provide for you from where you do not expect. Seek other jobs, even if the wage is small. If you are taking five thousand, six thousand, or ten thousand riyals monthly from the bank, you will find, if Allah wills, among the permissible jobs a livelihood that is sufficient for you, and Allah will bless it for you, even if it is two thousand, three thousand, or four thousand, or much less than that.
You must seek the lawful, and Allah will compensate you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith, when asked: "Which earnings are the purest?" He said: , and he also said: (peace and blessings be upon him).