My question to you is that. I know that Ribaa or interest is haram and so is everything associated with it.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Asalamu
Alaikum Brother Burhan:
Im a frequent reader of the contents of your website and find it very useful to
know Islamic way of life, instructions, guidance as per the holy quran and
hadith which are required on a daily basis by a simple (not very learned man in
terms of Islam) man.
First of all allow me to thank you for a wonderful job that you and your team
are doing, may Allah reward you in this life and here after.
My question to you is that. I know that Ribaa or interest is haram and so is
everything associated with it.
However, I have asked a learned man who have said that if one keep his money in
a Islamic Bank and the profit earned is not haram. Please shed light on this.
In this regard, please note that there are no Islamic banks in
What can a muslim do with the interest money earned in a Non Islamic bank in a
Non Islamic country?
How can I secure my retirement in terms of finance, where I am unable to do
buisness in this competent world, cannot have fixed deposits, insurance, etc.
Thank you for your reply.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Riba interest
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world
and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble
efforts in the propagation of the Truth.
If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister
get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves
indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful
to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and
pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our
shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the
Hell Fire. Ameen.
Your
Statement: I know that Ribaa or interest is haram and so is everything
associated with it.
Allah says
in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 274-276:
But
those who devour ‘riba’ become like the one whom Shaitaan has bewitched and
maddened by his touch. They have
been condemned to this condition because they say, “Trade is just like ‘riba”, whereas Allah has made trade halaal and
‘riba’ haraam. Henceforth, if one abstains from taking ‘riba’ after
receiving this admonition from his Lord,
no legal action shall be taken against him regarding the ‘riba’ he had
devoured before: his case shall
ultimately go to Allah. But if one
repeats the same crime even after this,
he shall go to Hell, where he
shall abide for ever! Allah deprives
‘riba’ of all blessing and develops charity, and Allah does not like an
ungrateful, sinful person.
Allah says further in the Holy Quran Chapter 2
Surah Baqarah verse 278:
O Believers!,
fear Allah and give up that ‘riba’ which is still due to you, if you are true believers. But if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you
by Allah and His Messenger!
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
Ali said he heard Allah's Messenger (saws)
invoke the curse of Allah on those who took usury, those who paid it, those who
recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah.
Your
Question: However, I have asked a learned man who have said that if one keep
his money in a Islamic Bank and the profit earned is not haram. Please shed
light on this.
The absolute majority of the good Islamic Banks conduct
their business on interest-free Shariah principles, thus indeed the profits
earned from one’s investments or deposits in a Shariah-compliant Islamic Bank
would be deemed absolutely lawful for the believers.
Your
Question: In this regard, please note that there are no Islamic banks in
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5083 Narrated by Abu Dharr
Allah's Messenger (saws) said to him, "Fear
Allah wherever you are.”
It is not as if it is only lawful in Shariah for one to
place or invest their wealth in Islamic Banks alone! A believer is at absolute liberty in Islam to
invest their wealth in any lawful investment, or trading, or business, or in
property, etc. What a believer, who
sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day, cannot and should not do is transgress
the clearly prescribed Boundaries of their Lord and indulge in what is declared
as ‘unlawful’ or ‘haraam’….and without an iota of a doubt, every single
derivative and manifestation of the evil of ‘riba’ and ‘interest’ is
categorically declared as ‘haraam’ for the believers.
If one happens to reside in a place or nation where there
are no Shariah-compliant financial institutions or banks, one is obviously at
liberty to invest one’s wealth in any other type of lawful investment like
trading, or property, etc.
Your
Question: What can a muslim do with the interest money earned in a Non Islamic
bank in a Non Islamic country?
Allah and His Messenger (saws) have indeed declared the
receiving and paying of ‘riba’ as absolutely Haraam and prohibited for the
believers in very strong terms, and it
is the prescribed duty of every believer, who sincerely believes in Allah and
the Last Day, to abstain from dealing in
‘riba’.
Allah says further in the Holy Quran Chapter 2
Surah Baqarah verse 278:
O Believers!,
fear Allah and give up that ‘riba’ which is still due to you, if you are true believers. But if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you
by Allah and His Messenger!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisa verse 161:
That they took ‘riba’, although they were forbidden. And that they devoured men’s substance
wrongfully. We have prepared for those
among them who reject faith a grievous punishment (of Hell Fire)!
My beloved brother in Islam, first and foremost one who
believes in Allah and the Last Day, must immediately abstain and stop taking
any interest.
It is not as if it is deemed permissible in Islam for one
to continue taking interest as long as he spends it on charity; for Allah does
not accept anything in His Cause unless and until it is pure and lawful.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 2214 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘O people,
Allah is Good and He, therefore, accepts only that which is good!’
Now the question arises what should one do with the
interest money one has already accumulated in the past in ignorance of the Laws
of Allah?
For the unlawful ‘interest’ money that one has accumulated
in one’s past in ignorance of Allah’s Laws, the person has two choices:
Some scholars are of the opinion that it does not help the
cause of the believers to leave the interest in conventional banks for at best
it helps them to generate more interest, and at worst, they may dispose it to
an institution which might work against the Cause. In cases where one has already accumulated
interest money in ignorance of Islamic Law, and Allah Subhanah has guided them,
and they now wish to dispose off that illegal money, the scholars are of the
opinion that one may take this interest with the intention that he wants to rid
himself of this evil thing, and give it away to some charity without seeking
any reward from Allah Subhanah for this spending. His only intention should be to get rid of
this unwanted and illegal money, and thus purify himself from the evil of
‘riba’. The believer who does this only
because he fears the accounting of Allah on an Inevitable Day, will, if Allah
Wills, be rewarded for keeping himself pure from the evils of ‘riba’.
The spending of illegally and unlawfully earned wealth
does not have any worth in the Sight of Allah; for Allah is Good and Pure, and
He accepts only what is good and pure.
The issue with the illegally and unlawfully accumulated
money is not how best to spend it, but how soon can one rid himself of this
illegal and unlawful wealth. His only
intention in giving this money away should be to purify oneself and get rid of
the evil that is with him. This illegal
and unlawful money earned from interest can be compared to a burning coal in
one’s hand! When one unintentionally and
accidentally holds a burning coal, his only intention is to get rid of the
burning coal from his hand; not where best to place it so that it can be of
some benefit!
Your Question:
Please advice me if I can continue the way iam doing or should I take that
money and destroy every time it is credited in my account.
Beloved
brother, may Allah Subhanah bless you and reward you appropriately for your
sincere striving to be obedient to His Laws.
If the bank which you are currently dealing with refuses to open an
account which does not bear interest, you might try finding a bank which would
not ‘insist’ on giving you interest on your account….beloved brother, basically
you need to do whatever it takes to make sure that you are not a recipient of
any interest funds.
Your
Question: How can I secure my retirement in terms of finance, where I am unable
to do buisness in this competent world, cannot have fixed deposits, insurance,
etc.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 276-279:
276 Allah will deprive ‘riba’ (interest) of all blessings, but will give
increase for deeds of charity: for He Loves not creatures ungrateful and
wicked.
277 Those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and establish
regular prayers and regular charity will have their reward with their Lord: on
them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
278 O ye who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains of your demand
for ‘riba’, if ye are indeed believers.
279 If ye do it not, take notice of war from Allah and his Messenger:
but if ye turn back ye shall have your capital sums; deal not unjustly and ye
shall not be dealt with unjustly!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 30 Surah
Rome verses 39-40:
39 That which ye lay out for ‘riba’ (interest) will have no increase
with Allah: but that which ye lay out for charity seeking the Countenance of
Allah (will increase): it is these who will get a recompense multiplied.
40 It is Allah Who has created you: further He has provided for your
sustenance; then He will cause you to die; and again He will give you
life.
Respected brother, a believer is at absolute liberty to
invest their wealth in any lawful business or investment…..but what they cannot
and should never do, under absolutely any circumstances, is try to earn or
increase their wealth through unlawful means….and without an iota of a doubt,
the increase of one’s wealth through ‘riba’ or interest is categorically
declared as unlawful and ‘haraam’ for the believers who sincerely fear Allah
and the Last Day.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 65 Surah
Talaq verse 2 (part):
And for those who
fear Allah He (ever) prepares a way out.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
