The estate was deposited in the bank and increased; where is the increase to be spent?
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Question: His Eminence, the distinguished scholar, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah 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 man's estate, to be made into a perpetual charity; but what happened is that the state, may Allah exalt it, deposited 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 injustice among the injustices whose people are confused; because it is difficult to know from whom it was taken; some of the scholars hold that confused injustices should be spent in the general interests of the Muslims, and this is a strong opinion, while others hold that they should be spent on the poor, which is less beneficial than the previous opinion. Also, leaving it in the bank is aiding it in repeating the sin and reusing it in usury without end, and this 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 every year, and the heirs refused to pay them anything after his death. Is it permissible for me to pay them what they were accustomed to receiving from this usurious increase? I hope to receive your comprehensive answer at the earliest opportunity. May Allah 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, and after that:
We see that the increase should be taken and spent in the causes of good, and that what the testator bequeathed should be carried out according to his bequest, if the bequest is lawful and contains nothing that contradicts the Shari'ah. You will be rewarded for that, if Allah wills. May Allah multiply your reward.
And 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 destinations for money that has no lawful owner or whose owner is unknown. May Allah guide them all.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
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 man's estate, to be made into a perpetual charity; but what happened is that the state, may Allah exalt it, deposited 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 injustice among the injustices whose people are confused; because it is difficult to know from whom it was taken; some of the scholars hold that confused injustices should be spent in the general interests of the Muslims, and this is a strong opinion, while others hold that they should be spent on the poor, which is less beneficial than the previous opinion. Also, leaving it in the bank is aiding it in repeating the sin and reusing it in usury without end, and this 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 every year, and the heirs refused to pay them anything after his death. Is it permissible for me to pay them what they were accustomed to receiving from this usurious increase? I hope to receive your comprehensive answer at the earliest opportunity. May Allah 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, and after that:
We see that the increase should be taken and spent in the causes of good, and that what the testator bequeathed should be carried out according to his bequest, if the bequest is lawful and contains nothing that contradicts the Shari'ah. You will be rewarded for that, if Allah wills. May Allah multiply your reward.
And 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 destinations for money that has no lawful owner or whose owner is unknown. May Allah guide them all.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.