I have a religious question i would like to ask, I am in deep debt which is gathering substantial interest by the day that is adding to my already enourmous debt.
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:
I have
a religious question i would like to ask, I am in deep debt which is gathering
substantial interest by the day that is adding to my already enourmous debt,
and my sister offered to pay off my debt with interest she had accumilated from
an account of hers, is this halal or haram? i already work two jobs to support
my family and i am struggling to make ends meet, which is why i can not afford
to pay back the debt on my own and my sister`s offer will help me alot
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Answer:
Pay interest thru
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.
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 your
sister to continue taking interest as long as she spends it on charity or to
help her brother; 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:
- One may leave it in the bank.
- Or, one may take it and dispose it.
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 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: ….and my sister offered to pay off my debt with interest she had
accumilated from an account of hers,
If your sister has accumulated some unlawful interest in
her account in ignorance of the Laws of Allah Subhanah, there is no harm if she
gives it to you to repay your interest-bearing loan, so that you can come out
of the vicious cycle of ‘riba’.
Beloved brother, we remind you as we remind ourselves,
that both you and your sister and all the believers must strive their absolute
utmost from ever indulging in the evil and abomination of ‘riba’, which is
categorically declared as ‘haraam’ by Allah and His Messenger (saws).
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