Interest is haraam in Islam then why people say that It depends upon situation.
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:
Dear Burhan Bhai
Asslam-o-Alaikum,
Please answer my below questions.
Interest is haraam in Islam then why people say
that-
1. It depends upon situation.
2. It depends upon place where you are living like
muslims of
Also I want to know about Insurance, bonds etc. Are
these halaal in islam? Please reply,
Jazak Allah Your brother
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Answer:
Interest halaal in
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.
Q-1: Interest is haraam in Islam then why people
say that: It depends upon situation.
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
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.
Without an iota of a doubt,
modern-day interest is a form and manifestation of ‘riba’, and Allah and His
Messenger (saws) have declared every form and every situation of transacting in
‘riba’ absolutely unlawful and haraam for the believers; thus brother let no
one convince you otherwise.
Allah says in the
Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 36:
It does not behove a
believing man and a believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given
their decision in a matter, they should exercise an option in that matter of
theirs. For whoever disobeys Allah and
His Messenger, has indeed strayed into manifest error.
Q-2: It depends upon place where you are living
like muslims of
Regardless of where one lives
or resides on this earth, the laws of Islam will be the same for all of
them! It can never be that believers
from one country have a different set of Islamic laws from another nation. Whatever product is considered unlawful will
be unlawful all over the world, regardless of its people or its location.
There is no hadith recorded in
the authentic collections of Sunnah which declares the giving or taking of
interest as lawful for the believers!
Q-3: Also I want to know about Insurance, bonds
etc. Are these halaal in islam?
It is not the concept of
‘insurance’ or ‘bonds’ per se which are considered unlawful in Islam, but
rather what is ‘haraam’ and forbidden in Islam is the ‘interest-based’ aspect
which is utilized by the conventional insurance companies and the bonds markets
during their transactions when conducting their business.
Almost all the conventional
insurance companies and bonds securities transact their business based on interest,
and it is this interest aspect which is deemed absolutely haraam in Islam. But Alhamdolillah, today there are several
Islamic Insurance Institutions and Islamic Bonds which transact their business
based on Shariah principles, and thus there is absolutely no harm in seeking
insurance or buying bonds from such ‘interest-free’ institutions.
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
Wister