Fiqh Of Interest

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Are we allowed to give sadaqahfrom the interestthat we earnon the moneyin our bank accounts? The question itself contains several eITOrsthat need to be closely examined.

1. Muslims are servantsof Allah (swt), who worship Him (swt) andabideby His (swt) commandsand prohibitionswherever they are,whetherin Dar ai-islam (the Islamic Stateor the Khilafah), or in Dar aI-Kufr (any land in which Islam is not implementedcomprehensively.At present,ail countriesfall underthis category).A Muslim must adhereto the Shari'ah in his relationshipwith his Creator,himself andwith otherpeople,be they Muslims or non-Muslims. Therefore,he shouldbe aware of Allah's (swt) ruling, regardingthingsand actions,andhe shouldadhereto the rule beforecommitting any action becausehe will be held responsibleon the Day of Judgementfor his actionsand sayings.Allah (swt) says, "Therefore,by your Lord, we will ofa surety,call themto accountfor all their deeds."[1MQ 15: 9293] 2. Dealing in riba is forbidden,whetherthis is in Dar aI-Islamor in Dar aI-Kufr, and whetherthe dealingis betweentwo Muslims, or a Muslim and a non-Muslim.

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3. Islam hasallowed Muslims to live in Oar al-Kufr amongnon-Muslimsaslong asthey do not neglect their individual duties, and as long asthey do not get persecutedbecauseof their deen.However,it would be mandubfor them to live in the Islamic Statewhen it is established.Emigrationto Oar ai-Islamwould be compulsoryfor thosewho are ordered by the Khaleefah.and on anyonewho is persecutedbecauseof his deen.Evidencefor this is derivedfrom the hadith of ~ulayman ibn Buraydahwho narratedthat the Messengerof Allah (saw)said,"Invite them to move from their land to Oar alMuhajireen(the land of the emigrants)and inform them that if they do emigratethey will enjoy the samerights as the Muhajireen and they will havethe samedutiesasthe Muhajireen." This hadith indicatesthat it is pem1issiblefor themto remainin Dar al-Kufr, but mandubfor them to emigrate,becausethey will enjoy the samerights andhavethe samedutiesasthoseof the Muslims who arecitizensof the Islamic State. If they do not emigrate,they Will remainMuslims for Allah's Messenger(Saw)went on to say, "If they refuseto moverom their homes,inform themthat they will be consideredasa'rab (desertArab) Muslims, who must perform all dutiesperformed by Muslims, but they will haveno sharein the war booty whatsoever,unlessthey performedjihad with other Muslims." Allah (swt) revealedthe following v~e concerningthe Muslims who did not emigratewith the Messengerof Allah (saw) and did not live in the Islamic Statein Madinah,but remainedinsteadin Makkah, "But if they seekhelp from you in the matterof the deenthen it is your duty to help." [TMQ 8:72]

This meansthat they can call for help andhavethe right of protectionif they live outsidethe Islamic State.However,they are not entitled to the rights of guardianship,which is only for the citizensof the Islamic State,and proof for this comesfrom the fact that they do not qualify for the statebenefitssuchaswar booty, spoilsand others. 4. Islam allows the Muslims to tradeand dealwith individual non-Muslims,to hire them andto work for them,provided that this work, professionor responsibilitiesdo not violate the commandsof Allah (swt). A Muslim is allowed to work in the shops andmarketsof non-Muslims,providedhe doesnot sell or handlealcohoLandhe doesnot collect. pay, recordor witnessriba becausethe Messengerof Allah (saw)said,"Allah hascursedhe who takesn'ba,he who gives it. he who writes it andhe who witnessesit. " Regardingdealingsandtransactionswhich involvesthe Muslim who depositshis moneyas a tlUst with a Muslim or with the non-Muslim, it hasbeenconfirmedby Ijma' of the Sahabahthat the Messengerof Allah (saw) depositedhis shieldas a security with a Jew.He (saw)died andhis (saw) shieldwas still deposited,andthe Muslims then settledthe debt that was on the Messengerof Allah's (saw)neck andrecoveredthe shield.This waswhat most of the Sahabahusedto do, and narrations aboutthis are numerous. The disbelievershavefinancial institutionscalledbanks,andthesearenot Islamic. Islam hasnever known suchinstitutionsand they do not fonD part of the Islamic economicsystem.Thesebankskeepthe moniesof individuals and companiesand deal in interestloans,securedcredit andmortgages.The distinguishedMuslim scholars,whosereputations havenot beentaintedby working for the non-Islamicregimesruling over Muslim land, and otherpartsof the world, nor the organisationswhich serve theseregimessuchasthe Muslim World League,al-Azhar,at-Najar,al-Zaytouna,Dar al-Ifta and others,haveagreedon the permissibility of Muslims depositingmoneyin banks,providedthey do not take interestand they do not get involved with it in any way. If a Muslim depositsmoneyin the bank of his own free will, the matteris mubah,however,he is forbiddenfrom making interesta condition,to cashin interestor to take a loan basedon interest. Bankshavebegunin the pastfew yearsto offer intereston currentaccounts.So what is the Islamic verdict on the moneyfrom interestwhich a Muslim finds in his currentaccount?Is he allowedto dealwith it? Doeshe havethe right to disposeof it? And how doesIslam define the right of disposal?The answerto this is as follows. The moneywhich a Muslim fmds in his bank accountthat exceedshis capitalis noa, whetherit is called profit. revenues,gainsor anythingelse.It is riba andriba is haran1in !slant. The explicit evidencesstatingthis prohibition are abundantand aredefinite textswith definite meaning from the Qur'an. the Sunnahand the Ijma' of the Sahabah.Theseexplicit evidencesare clear and concentrated,andthereis no needto list all of them.They also leaveno room for ijtihad or interpretation.It is sufficient to mentionthat Allah (swt) says,

"0 you who believe! FearAllah, and give up what remainsof your demandfor interestif you are indeed believers.If you do not, takenotice of war from Allah andHis Messenger.But if you turn back,you shall haveyour capital sums.Deal not unjustly and you shall not be dealtwith unjustly." [TMQ 2:278-279] Allah (swt) also says,

"Thosewho devourinterestwill not standexceptasstandsonewhom the Evil oneby his touch has driven to madness."[TMQ 2:275] Furthermore,die prohibition of noa is somethingthat is necessarilyknown to be part of die deen.So ijtihad on die matteris unlawful. The amountof moneythat exceedsone's capital in die bank,is moneythat doesnot belongto him, diereforehe does not havedie right of disposalover diat money. According to the scholars,the right of disposalis definedas:to benefit from ownedmoney.The right of disposalover one's own moneyincludesinvestingthe moneyand disposalof it eitherby benefitingoneselfor others,or by consumingor destroying suchmoney,or any other actions,all of which mustbe donein accordancewith the Shari'ahevidences. Oneof the conditions of ownershipin Islam is to havethe right of disposalof one's own assetsor properties. Therefore,it is unlawful for a Muslim to dealor disposeof anythingthat is not his, unlesshe hasthe pelmissionof the owner. For example,a softwarepackagebecomesthe propertyof the onewho buys it, and Islam allows him to sell, lease,copy, or destroythe programsinceone of the conditionsof valid ownershipin Islam is free disposal.Hence, Islam doesnot forbid the selling, leasingor copying of the programevenif the sellerputs conditionson the buyer. This is so becauseMuslims must honourall conditionsexceptconditionsthat forbid what is halal or allows a haramthing or an action. Therefore,Muslims are not boundby any invalid conditions,becausethe right of ownershipgivesthem the right of free disposal. In the light of this the moneya persongainsfrom depositingmoneyin thebank, is riba and this money is not his, andno Muslim is allowed to useit or disposeof it in any way whatsoever,be it to benefit himself or allowing othersto benefit from it, or to invest,consumeor destroysuchmoney.If the interestmoneyappearsin the bank account,a Muslim is not sinful, althoughthe moneyis not lawful for him. However,the momenthe disposesof suchmoneyhe becomessinful, becausehe is dealingin riba, which is a rebelliousact againstAllah (swt) andHis Messenger.If a Muslim dealsin that money, whetherby giving it to the poor or by returningit to the bank manageror any otherbank official, or using it to destroyit and get rid of it, or to personally benefit from it, he would in this casefall into sin, becausehe is disposingof moneythat was not his in the first place. However,if a Muslim left that moneyin his bank accountandignoredit completely,not disposingof it in any way whatsoever, he would not be sinful, for it would be regardedsimply asmoneythat had no owner.Hencethere is no needfor the

governmentscholarsto complicatethe issueby making it pennissible,halal. So,what shoulda Muslim do if interestappeared on his bank statement?He shouldignore it completely,for its useis not halal and disposingof it in any mannerwhetherto benefit from it or destroyit is not halal either.Thus the verdict is that it is moneythat hasno owner and no legal guardian. The Islamic Schoolsof Thoughtagreethat the Imam (i.e. the Khaleefah)is the guardianof he who has no guardian,and that the Imam is the guardianof the moneythat hasno legal guardianor owner,and for moniesthat haveno claimants.In this casethe moniesarecategorisedasfay'i (booty) which Allah (swt) allowedthe Muslims to gain from the nonMuslims. AI-Bukhari, Muslim and al-Tirmidhi reportedon the authorityof al-Miqdam al-Kindi that the Messengerof Allah (saw) said, "I am more responsiblefor a believerthanhe is for himself, so whoeverleft a debt or children,they would be for his heir; and I am the guardianof the one who hasno guardian,I inherit his moneyand easehis suffering." In the absenceof the Imam, no one is allowed to takeup his mandatorypowers,but we arecommandedto work towardsestablishingthe Islamic Stateand appointingan Imam. It is not lawful to establishassociationsthat haveas an aim the ronning of the Muslims' affairs insteadof the Imam. What someMuslims do is merelythe imitating of the Christiansand the Jews,basingtheir argumentson wild and imaginaryevidencesand misinterpretationsof the Qur'anic verse, "Help one anotherin goodnessandpiety." [TMQ 5:2] Co-operationin what is birr (good)andtaqwa(piety) doesnot meanviolating the commandof Allah (swt), nor doesit mean the taking over of the Imam's responsibility.It meanswe shouldperform gooddeeds,not to act as permanentguardiansand governors theseare the dutiesof the Islamic State.Imam Abu Hanifah said,

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"The Imam is the lawful guardian of the money that has no guardian or owner; and the Imam is the guardian (benefactor) of the money (assets) of the murtad (apostate) and the dhimmi (non-Muslim citizen of the Islamic State) who has no inheritors."

This meansthat only the Islamic Statecan apply the right of disposalregardingthe moneythat hasno owner.All that is asked of the Muslim who fearsAllah (swt) is to useonly his own capitalandnot to touchany surplusmoney, nor to closehis account, becausethe closing of the accountmeansdisposalof the riba eitherby leaving it to the bank or by taking it, and this is haram for the Shari'ahprinciple states'whateverleadsto haramis itselfharam.'. SomeSchoolsof Thoughtsay it is preferablefor a Muslim to mentionin his will that thereis an amount of interestin his bank accountthat he hasno right of disposalover.By doing thesethings,he will lift the sin from his neck, leaving everythingelseto the Islamic Statewhich will soonbe established,insha'Allah . In the absenceof the Khaleefahthe riba cannotbe touched,but when the countrybecomespart of Oar at-Islam(i.e. by establishingthe Khilafah in that country or whenthat land is conqueredby the Islamic State),then the riba becomesthe property of the Islamic Stateand the Imam its guardian.

When somepeopleattemptto legitimise this moneyby giving it to the poor, they fall into a graveerror for they haveendorsed (issueda fatwa to the people)regardingthe lawfulnessof the disposalof moneywhich doesnot belong to them.The fact that it is in their own bank accounts,aswe haveseenmeansnothingunderthe Islamic Shari'ah. And sincesomeof thosewho areintellectually defeated(whosepolicies arebasedon co-existingwith the cwrent reality and the presentsituation,ratherthanworking towardschangingit accordingto the commandof AlIah (swt), have approvedof the giving of suchmoneyto the poor, they haveallowedthemselvesto fall into flagrant sin, for they have given the peoplea fatwa to deal in moniesthat do not belongto them.If a Muslim asksfor the Shari'ahverdict in any matter in a sinceremanner,he shouldrealisethat the Shari'ahrule is the speech(address)of the Legislatorconnectedwith the actions of the people;i.e. Allah (swt), Who will ask everyMuslim abouthis actions,big or small.Allah (swt) hasprohibitedus from disposingof somethingthat doesnot belong to us. If a non-Muslim hascrediteda Muslim's bank accountwith interest,without any prior agreement,the Muslim in this caseis not held responsiblebecausehe did not initiate any actionin this instance. However,when he withdrawsthis interest,he commitsa sin the momenthe disposesof the money regardlessof his intention. Listen to the idiocy of the inventedfiqhi storiescomingfrom the governmentsheikhs,listen to their attemptsat changingthe meaningsand nameswhen they legitimiseriba. They say, "The Muslim is allowed to take riba, providedhe paysit to charity organisationsand to the poor." And they claim thereis no rewardfrom suchactionsand it will not be countedaszakat.The questionwe askthe governmentscholarsis this: How do you know that he is not rewardedandthat he is not accountablefor his actions,knowing that reward is in the bandsof Allah (swt) alone,and knowing that the Muslim is responsiblefor all his actions,big or small, for Allah (swt) says, "Then shall anyonewho hasdonean atom's weight of good seeit! And anyonewho hasdonean atom's weight of bad, shall seeit." [TMQ 99:7-8] Finally, I remind myself andall the Muslims, especiallygovernmentscholars,to fear Allah (swt) and obeyHim (swt), and of the hadith of the Messengerof Allah (saw)which wasnarratedby Imam Ahmed on the authority of Abu Malik al-Ashja'i that he heardthe Messengerof Allah (saw) saying,"Peoplefrom my Ummahwill drink khamr (alcohol) while giving it a different name."Ibn al-Qayyummentionedin his book the hadith of the Messengerof Allah (saw)which says,"I only fear for my Ummahthreethings after I've gone."They said: "What are these0 Messengerof Allah ?" He (saw) said: "I fear for you from the lapseof the scholar,the mle of a tyrant andthe whim of a follower." Suchabovecharity organisationsshouldfear Allah (swt) and review the lawfulnessof their foundationsaccordingto the Book andthe Sunnah.

They shouldreview their opinion which endorsesthe withdrawalof interestby the Muslims, which has reachedthe point where someof them havebegunbargainingwith the banksover the highestrate of interestand transferring their accountsfrom current to depositones,in order to gain a higher rate of interest,underthe pretextof helping the poor, and in casea time comesthat they may find that their fantilies arepoor, they allow themselvesto take interest Therefore,the charity organisationsand governmentscholarswould haveparticipatedin pemlitting somethingthat is forbiddenby definite evidence.Thereis no power andno strengthexceptfrom Allah (swt).

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