Cases of Riba-Based Transactions #2

Cases of Riba-Based Transactions #2

Questions:

1. She is helping her husband to buy a flat, but he borrowed the money with interest. My husband and I work at the same agency. This agency helps its employees by selling flats to them in return for only its actual cost. The agency has 3 buildings, and the price the agency offers its employees is incomparable with the prices in the real estate market.   We were on the list of buyers on the basis that every one of us will pay 50% of the price of the apartment. My question is: if we borrow from the agency we work for, there will be a small interest; the agency helps to pay 12.5% of the borrowed amount. Is this haram? Is it impermissible interest?  My second question is: I can borrow my share from my sister, but my husband cannot have this amount unless he borrows from an interest-based bank. Will the sin be his? Or will it be a sin for both of us?.

2. Working in a riba-based bank with no pay in order to learn the accounting and networking systems. I am currently learning about a computer system that uses networks, but I do not have experience. I was told that this system is used in banks. Is it permissible for me to train in a bank that deals with interest (without any salary)? Shall I look for another place to train on such technical matters, knowing that it is difficult to find one, or it is alright to do so?.

3. She took a riba-based loan and gave it to her brother to do Hajj. My brother was longing to go for Hajj and he did not have the financial resources for that, so I decided to help him. I have some money in the bank, but I preferred to keep it because I am afraid that I may need it for many important things. So I took a loan from the bank and used it to help my brother. My question is: what is the ruling on the good deed that I wanted to do? Will I have any reward for that, or as taking the loan from the bank is haraam, will I not get any hasanah for this good deed? What about my brother’s Hajj – is it valid so long as he is not responsible for the source of the money?.

4. Using a credit card to get married. I have to go back home next month after 5 years and have to get married but I don't have money and I have no one who can give me a loan can I take money from my credit card I have no other way please give me some answer.

5. Should he accept his father’s money that was earned from haraam sources? I hope you can advise me about this matter. I am a young man, twenty-one years old. I am studying in business college and my father works in tourism (in the private sector, in one of the resort cities). He is an electrical engineer and works in the village as the director of the engineering department, which means that he is responsible for everything that has to do with electricity, staring with light fixtures and ending with water pumps, and including refrigerators for storing wine, lights for dance halls, televisions, etc. He receives a high salary for this work, four thousand Egyptian pounds.  As well as studying, I was also working in a restaurant – just because I liked the work, not because I needed to. When I wanted to become independent and start a small business of my own, I could not find anyone except my father from whom to take the money I needed. But I was not sure as to whether my father’s money is halaal or haraam, so I consulted one of the shaykhs who are known to be of Ahl al-Sunnah, and he told me that as his money is mixed, it is not permissible for me to take anything of it except for essential things such as food, drink, clothing and tuition fees. As for what I need as capital to start my own business, it is permissible to take it from him as a loan. But now my father wants to help me as a father, and work alongside me in the store. Sometimes I would leave the store to him and go and take care of the store’s needs and my own needs. In this way my father started to learn about my work and was able to run the store by himself. This is where the first problem arises … I used to keep precise records of what I took from my father, but since he joined me in the store, things have become mixed up. My father sometimes takes money from his own pocket and puts it in the till, or buys goods for the store from his own pocket. This can be kept track of with a great deal of effort, but what I cannot keep track of is the fact that he may buy food for the house, then he finds that the store needs it, so he brings some of what he bought for the house and puts it in the store, without my knowledge and without consulting me, and without telling me how much it cost so I can repay him.
The second problem is that he is not happy with the idea of my returning the money to him, he regards it as my money and my brothers’ money, and he is working and bringing this money for us, so he will never accept the money being returned to him.
The third problem is that he is not convinced that his money is haraam – if it is haraam. He thinks that it is the kind of “necessity which means that forbidden things are permitted” and his government job pays only 400 Egyptian pounds – not the difference. We are a family of five, two of whom are studying in university. He thinks that the wealth of the state is all haraam because the state deals with riba-based loans and imposes taxes and allows trade in alcohol, so everyone who works has some haraam element in his income.  My question now is:

1- What is the ruling on my father’s wealth? Does the principle of “necessity which means that forbidden things are permitted” apply here? If that is the case, is it permissible for us to make use of his haraam earnings because he is looking after us? 

2- How can I work out how much money my father has contributed to my business when he himself does not know how much it is? 

3- How can I return this money to him – if I have to return it – if he refuses to take it? Is it permissible for me to insist and to pay back the debts I owe to the people to whom it is owed? 

4-What is permissible to me of my father’s wealth? If he dies, is it permissible for me to inherit his wealth?.

6.     Ruling on taking an interest-based loan for an urgent need. What is the ruling on taking an interest-based loan from the bank for an urgent need such as continuing university studies, or buying a car for one who has a family, or buying a house for a family, knowing that the person who is taking the loan cannot find anyone to lend him money without  interest?

Answer:

1. Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

If buying the flat will be done by means of a loan from the company with interest, then this loan is riba which is haraam, regardless of whether the interest is great or small. Based on that, it is not permissible to enter into this transaction, because of the prohibition and stern warning on riba. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Those who consume Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trading is only like Riba,’ whereas Allaah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba. So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops consuming Riba, shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allaah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Riba), such are the dwellers of the Fire — they will abide therein. Allaah will destroy Riba and will give increase for Sadaqaat (deeds of charity, alms). And Allaah likes not the disbelievers, sinners.  (QS al-Baqarah 2:275-276]

“O you who believe! Fear Allaah and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allaah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums)” [QS al-Baqarah 2:278-279]

And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it, and he said: they are all the same. Narrated by Muslim (1598) from the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him). 

So beware of falling into this major sin which leads to doom. 

Secondly: 

What you must do is advise your husband to keep away from riba, for Allaah does not bless it. What the believer should do is be prepared to meet Allaah and strive for that; he should realize that Allaah has only forbidden the things that He forbids because they are harmful and evil. He says, describing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning): “He allows them as lawful At‑Tayyibaat (i.e. all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), and prohibits them as unlawful Al‑Khabaa’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods)” .[QS al-A’raaf 7:157]

If your husband insists on taking a loan with interest, the sin of that will fall upon him alone. We ask Allaah to guide us and you. And Allaah knows best.

2. Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible to work in riba-based banks, with or without a salary, because the one who works in them will either be dealing directly with riba by recording or witnessing it, or he will be helping with it in some way. The riba-based banks are places of great evil in which a major sin is committed and there is no guarantee that the one who sits in such a place will not be subjected to the curse of Allaah of which He has warned those who engage in riba. There is also no guarantee that the one who trains in such a place will not be tempted by his self that is inclined towards evil to carry on working there because of the temptation he finds there. 

Hence we say that it is not permissible to work or train in riba-based banks. You should look for another place that is free of sin, and you will find it in sha Allaah. We ask Allaah to help and guide you. And Allaah knows best.

3. Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

Spending money to help one’s brother or anyone else perform Hajj is a great righteous deed because it is helping him to perform this important act of worship which will lead to his being raised in status and his bad deeds being erased. But it is not permissible for this help to be a cause of you falling into that which Allaah has forbidden, such as taking a loan from a riba-based bank, for riba is a serious matter, and warnings have been issued concerning it that has not to be issued concerning any other sin. What you have to do is repent to Allaah from dealing in riba. 

You should note that it is not permissible to deposit money in a riba-based bank except if there is fear for one’s wealth and there is no Islamic bank. In that case, you should deposit in a non-interest-bearing account, because one of the basic principles of sharee’ah is that necessity may make that which is forbidden permissible, but only as much as is necessary. 

Secondly: 

Your brother’s Hajj is valid in sha Allaah, because he took the wealth from you in a permissible manner, either as charity, a gift or a good loan (i.e. one without interest). 

Some scholars are of the view that the wealth which a person acquires by haraam means – such as riba – is haraam for the one who acquires it only, and it is not haraam for the one who takes it from him subsequently in a permissible manner, such as selling, gift-giving and so on. The prohibition applies only to you having to take a loan with interest, not to your brother. 

May Allaah help us and you to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. And Allaah knows best.

4. Praise be to Allaah.

Riba (usury, interest) is one of the things that are definitively forbidden in Islamic shari'a. 

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Allaah has permitted trading and forbidden Ribaa. So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Ribaa, shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allaah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Ribaa), such are the dwellers of the Fire — they will abide therein”.[QS al-Baqarah 2:275]

2 – And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

 “O you who believe! Fear Allaah and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really) believers”. [QS al-Baqarah 2:278]

3 – It was narrated that ‘Awn ibn Abi Juhayfah said: “I saw my father buying a slave whose profession was cupping, and he ordered that his tools be broken. I asked him about that and he said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the price of blood, the price of a dog and the earnings of a prostitute; he cursed the woman who does tattooing and the one who asks for it to be done, and the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, and he cursed the one who makes images.”  (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2123). 

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed those who consume riba and those who pay it.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1597). 

4 – It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ”Avoid the seven things that doom a person to Hell.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, what are they?” He said, “Associating others with Allaah (shirk); witchcraft (sihr); killing a soul whom Allaah has forbidden to kill, except for a lawful reason; consuming riba; consuming the property of orphans; fleeing from the battlefield, and slandering chaste and innocent believing women.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2615; Muslim, 89). 

5 – It was narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Tonight I saw (in a dream) two men who came to me and took me out to a holy land. We went on until we came to a river of blood, in which a man was standing, and on the riverbank, there was a man with stones in front of him. The man who was in the river came forward, and when he wanted to climb out, the other man threw a stone in his mouth and sent him back to where he came from. He did that every time the man wanted to come out, throwing a stone into his mouth to make him go back. I said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘The one who you saw in the river is the one who consumed riba.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 1979) 

There is unanimous agreement (among the scholars) that riba is haraam, and credit cards come under the heading of riba. Hence we do not think that we can offer the questioner any better advice than the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is to fast so that he can calm himself down and to get used to worship, and to make it difficult for the Shaytaan to find any way to influence him. 

It was narrated that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us: “O young men, whoever among you can afford to get married, let him do so, and whoever cannot do that, then let him fast, for it will be a shield for him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4778; Muslim, 1400) 

A shield means that it will protect him from falling into sin. And Allaah knows best.

5.      Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly working in the tourist industry as it exists at present, especially in your country, involves a lot of things that go against shari'a, such as mixing, tabarruj (wanton display of women), alcohol and other haraam things. As this is the case, part of your father’s wealth is haraam. This is what the scholars call mixed wealth. The scholars have stated that if a person has mixed wealth that includes both halaal and haraam, it is permissible to eat from his wealth and it is permissible to deal with him in all ways, but it is better to be cautious. 

With regard to your father claiming that this is a necessity, that is not correct, because there are many means of earning a halaal living. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine”.[QS al-Talaaq 65:2-3]

If a person makes this claim, then soon he will claim that he can do all kinds of haraam things because of necessity. 

You should understand that there are severe consequences to consuming haraam wealth, even if that is only that one’s du’a’s are not answered, as it says in Saheeh Muslim, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah is Good and only accepts that which is good…” and he mentioned a man who has been traveling for a long time and is unkempt and covered with dust, and he raises his hands to the heavens (and says), “O Lord, O Lord,” when his food is haraam, his drink is haraam, his clothes are haraam, and he is nourished with haraam, so how can he receive any response?”( Narrated by Muslim, no. 1015. )

The wealth that your father has acquired through the haraam job is described by the scholars as wealth that is haraam because of the way in which it was acquired, i.e., he earned it in a haraam manner. Some scholars are of the view that this wealth is haraam only for the one who earns it, but for the one who takes it from him in a permissible way, it is not haraam for him, such as if your father gives you a gift or spends on you and so on. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: Some of the scholars said that in the case of wealth that is haraam because of the way in which it was acquired, the sin is only on the one who earned it, not on the one who takes it in a permissible way from the one who acquired it. This is unlike wealth that is haraam in and of itself, such as alcohol, wealth seized by force, and so on. This view has a strong basis, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) bought food from the Jews for his family, and he ate from the lamb that the Jewish women gave him in Khaybar, and he accepted the invitation of a Jew, even though it is well known that most of the Jews consume riba and haraam wealth. Perhaps this view is further supported by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning the meat that was given in charity to Bareerah: “It is a charity for her and a gift from her to us.” Al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab al-Tawheed, 3/112.  

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: With regard to that which is haraam because of the way in which it is acquired, such as that which is taken by means of deceit, or by means of riba, or by means of lying and so on, this is haraam for the one who acquires it, but it is not haraam for anyone else if he acquires it from him in a permissible manner. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to deal with the Jews even though they used to consume haraam wealth and riba. This indicates that it is not haraam for anyone other than the one who acquired it. Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah, 1/198. 

Based on this, then you can inherit from your father and you do not have to keep track of what he has contributed to your business, or return what he contributed, but if you are cautious about consuming any of his wealth as much as you can, that is better. And Allaah knows best. 

For more information, see Ahkaam al-Qur’aan by Ibn al-‘Arabi, 1/324; al-Majmoo’, 9/430; al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, 2/233; Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 3/496, question no. 21701.

6.  Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: ribaa (interest, usury) is haraam wherever it exists and whatever form it takes. It is haraam for both the owner of the capital and whoever borrows it from him with interest, whether the borrower is rich or poor. Both are guilty of sin and indeed both of them are cursed. Whoever helps them in that, the one who writes down the contract and the one who witnesses it is also cursed, because of the general meaning of the aayahs and sound ahaadeeth which indicate that it is haraam. 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trading is only like Ribaa,’ whereas Allaah has permitted trading and forbidden Ribaa. So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Ribaa, shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allaah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Ribaa), such are the dwellers of the Fire — they will abide therein.

Allaah will destroy Ribaa and will give increase for Sadaqaat (deeds of charity, alms). And Allaah likes not the disbelievers, sinners” [al-Baqarah 2: 275-276]

‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Gold is to be paid for by gold, silver by silver, barley by barley, dates by dates, like by like, payment being made hand to hand. He who made an addition to it, or asked for an addition, in fact, dealt in usury [ribaa].” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh).

 It was narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes ribaa, the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it. He said they are all the same.” (Narrated by Muslim).

 ... Whoever is unable to work and is poor is allowed to ask for help, and to take zakaah and social security.

 Secondly: The Muslim, whether he is rich or poor, is not allowed to take a loan from the bank at 5% or 15 % or more or less, because that is ribaa and is a major sin. Allaah has caused him to have no need of that because of the ways that He has prescribed such as means of earning a halaal income by working as an employee for company owners, or as a civil servant in permissible work, or by dealing with the money of another on a profit-sharing basis.

( Source: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/ ). Questions answered by 
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Islam Q&A with General Supervision from As-Syaikh Muhammad Salih at-Tunajji. Editor: Ustaz Sofyan Kaoy Umar, MA, CPIF, e-mail: ustazsofyan@gmail.com