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:

Salaam Walaikum

I am working as a software developer and in a month time InSha Allah my salary will hiked and I will come in the Income Tax Bracket. The Income Tax is quite a big amout for a year and to get rebate from Income Tax we have to show investments. This investment could be a Home Loan , a Mutual Fund or investing or buying shares.

For Home Loan I will have to pay interest which is a sin. Also I do not want to invest my money in some financial institute because of interset which I will earn. So what is the best thing to get rebate from Income Tax also could you please tell me if I earn some money through Interest and distribute this money in poor , is it legal in Islam.

Thank You

Jazaa Kalla 

(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:

Take Interest to give charity

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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

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!

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)!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2827 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Even though usury be much, it leads in the end to penury."

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: could you please tell me if I earn some money through Interest and distribute this money in poor , is it legal in Islam.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, Allah and His Messenger (saws) have clearly and absolutely prohibited and declared it haraam for the believers to accept, take, or consume anything derived from ‘riba’ (usury or interest).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 172:

172 O ye who believe! Consume of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is Him ye worship.

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.’

As much as the giving of charity and sadaqah is deemed to be amongst the most meritorious deeds in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, Allah is Good and Pure and He only accepts which is good and pure.

Just as one cannot steal money and give it in charity expecting rewards from Allah Subhanah; the charity one gives from wealth earned from unlawful sources would have absolutely no merit or weight in the Sight of Allah Subhanah; but rather the Lord Most Just will hold the person severely accountable for earning his wealth from sources which are clearly described and declared as absolutely unlawful for the believers.

It would be absolutely unlawful in Islam for a believer to accept or take any interest whatsoever….and regardless of how one spends this unlawfully earned wealth, he will be held severely accountable in the Court of Allah Subhanah for indulging in something which has been clearly prescribed as absolutely haraam for the believers.

Your Question: So what is the best thing to get rebate from Income Tax

Beloved brother, we are obviously not qualified to guide you on how exactly to exact rebate from Income Tax in the country of your reside….the best legal advice may be sought from a good tax-lawyer who is well aware of the legal framework of the nation you live in.

What we do know from the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah is that it is not obligatory to seek rebate from the income-tax one pays for the privilege of staying in a particular nation….but it is absolutely obligatory for a believer who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day that he abstains from indulging in ‘riba’ (usury and interest)!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.28 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "Avoid the seven great destructive sins. “The people enquired, "O Allah's Apostle! What are they? "He said, "1. To join others in worship along with Allah, to practice sorcery, 2. to kill the life which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause, (according to Islamic law), 3. to take riba (usury), 4. to eat up an orphan's wealth, 5. to give back to the enemy and 6. fleeing from the battlefield at the time of fighting, and 7. to accuse chaste women, who never even think of anything touching chastity and are good believers.” (The Prophet (saws) included ‘riba’ amongst one of the ‘Seven Destructive Sins’. If one reads the other sins which accompany the list, one can imagine the magnitude of the sin and crime of ‘riba’)

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