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:

assalamualaikum. i know that getting loan from anybody by paying interest is haraam. but in this calculating world nobody is ready to help anybody by giving a loan without expecting for interest. in such case what are we supposed to do? in the case of builders though they try not to receive a loan by paying interest, the buyer asks the builder to direct him somewhere where he would be getting loan. but is it correct to suggest him to a reputed bank where he would receive his loan ? if yes the builder also gets involved in the interest transactions unknowingly. we come from a middle class background where there is no backing of any kind . how will we be able to come up in our profession as we have our personal commitments. we beleive truly in allah but please suggest a suitable solution for this problem. allah hafiz.  

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Answer:

Buy home on loan

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 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib

Ali heard Allah's Messenger (saws) invoke the curse of Allah on those who took ‘riba’, those who paid it, those who recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah.

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have strongly condemned the concept of ‘riba’ and declared it absolutely haraam for the believers. Without an iota of a doubt, the concept of conventional bank ‘interest’ is a form, manifestation, and part of ‘riba’ or usury, and thus any transaction based or done on the concept of ‘interest’ would be considered absolutely forbidden for those who sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day.

If taking a mortgage for buying a home or for any other reason involves the payment of ‘interest’, such a transaction would be deemed haraam in the sight of Shariah, and any believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day must abstain from it.

Your Question: please suggest a suitable solution for this problem.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, it is not as if it is obligatory for a believer in Islam to own the home he lives in! If one does not possess the necessary wealth to purchase a home without a loan, then he should fear Allah and live in a rented home; or alternatively find someone who would give him an interest-free loan or get his home mortgaged through an Islamic bank or Shariah-compliant financial institution. But under no circumstances should he involve himself in the evil of ‘riba’.

Your Question: in the case of builders though they try not to receive a loan by paying interest, the buyer asks the builder to direct him somewhere where he would be getting loan. but is it correct to suggest him to a reputed bank where he would receive his loan ? if yes the builder also gets involved in the interest transactions unknowingly.

If the builder is a believer who sincerely fears Allah and is asked by his client to direct him to a reputable bank whereby he could secure a loan for the house, the believing builder should fear Allah and direct him to a Shariah-compliant or Islamic Bank; and in case the builder is not aware of any such bank in the area, he should fear Allah and abstain from advising his client to seek a ‘riba’ based loan.

If the builder were to guide or direct his client to seek an interest-based loan from a conventional bank, although he is not responsible for the decision of the client but because he did guide the client towards the ‘haraam’, he will share a part of the sin.

But if the client of their own free will chose to take an interest-based loan for the purchase of their house from a believing builder, the builder is not at all responsible for the source of the funds of his client; and thus the client alone will bear the sin of transacting in ‘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