Question:
Salaam Brother,
Totally disagree with your answer in response to my first question on ‘bank loans and credit cards’.
As credit card is concerned, when we apply for c/c we accept the terms and conditions which is totally against the teachings of Islam, even if we pay the full balance on time to avoid the interest, it does not make it hallal as terms of conditions violates Quran and Sunnah.
And as the loan is concerned we have to consider The Quran as well as The Hadith, because Quran only talks about Riba Alnisiha and Hadith tallk about Riba Alnisiha as well as Riba Alfadal.When any order comes in Quran it comes step by step (Just like in case of Alcohol).
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) cursed the one who deals with Riba. From Jabir (ra): The Prophet (pbuh) cursed the receiver and the payer of riba, the one who records it and the two witnesses to the transaction and said: “They are all alike [in guilt].” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Jazakallah,
Saqib
Answer:
Salaam brother,
I enclose the answer to your question below.While we accept that there is a difference of opinion among various scholars and respect views of others,we, at understanding islam UK, approve of the following answer.
Here is the answer to the first issue;
Credit card use in UK is of two main types. The first type are called Debit cards. A person has an account in the bank. He is issued a card, which he can use instead of carrying cash which is both dangerous and unsafe. With your debit card you can pay by your own money or you can pay from an agreed overdraft limit. For the service provided by the bank we may pay them a small charge on a monthly basis. Personally, I cannot see anything un-Islamic in this. There is a second type of credit card where the bank gives the person the option of spending beyond his account up to a pre determined limit. He then pays the money owed to the bank with interest. In the opinion of our scholars using either of these debit cards is permissible and not against the Islamic Shariah as detailed below.
The second issue raised is that Quran mentions and prohibits interest on credit transactions (called riba al-nasia), whilst ahadith of prophet pbuh suggest that he had prohibited another kind of riba: riba al-fadl (interest in excess).Here is the answer to that;
“the narrations claimed to be condemning riba al-fadl have been incorrectly understood and that if their correct context is properly explained, they would appear to be clearly explaining the idea of the same concept of riba that is mentioned in Qur’an (riba al-nasia). If the ahadith of riba al-fadl are properly interpreted, they serve to clarify two important aspects relevant to the prohibition of riba: one that riba is only applicable to credit dealings and, two, that while dealing with loan transactions, it is absolutely essential that what is returned by the borrower should be identical to the item he borrowed, otherwise it is very likely to cause the transaction to be riba-ridden.”
Please, see further explanations on the issue;
“The Qur’an has mentioned the prohibition only of taking Riba. However, in some of the ahadith the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have condemned and prohibited the payment of Riba. Furthermore, the Prophet (pbuh) is also reported to have condemned offering one’s services as a scribe for a Riba-based loan deed and/or standing witness on such a loan deed.
It is clear from various verses of the Qur’an that the real prohibition of the Shari`ah applies to taking Riba. The Qur’an has not even once mentioned the prohibition of giving Riba. The reason being that the real moral crime, i.e. the injustice, according to the Qur’an, lies in taking or devouring Riba, not in giving it. The Qur’an condemned those who charged Riba; it admonished them and reminded them of the punishment that they shall face on the Day of Judgment for charging Riba, and then, finally, it gave them the ultimatum that if they do not refrain from charging Riba, the Islamic state – under the leadership of the Prophet (pbuh) – shall declare a war against them ( 2: 279). During all this time, not a single verse admonished those who paid Riba. They were not threatened with any dire consequences of their act and were never directed by the Prophet (pbuh) to stop the payment of Riba. On the contrary, the Qur’an actually directed the lenders to deal with them in a soft manner: it directed the lender to give the borrower some time to return the lender’s principal amount, if he was not in a position to retire the loan immediately. It further advised them that if it be possible for them, they should even forgo this principal amount as alms and get their rewards for this generous act in the hereafter.
However, it is quite clear that taking Riba, in contrast to, for instance, lying is a two-way transaction. That is, one cannot take Riba, unless somebody is willing [or forced] to pay Riba. It is this transactional aspect of Riba, due to which, payment of Riba is also brought under the ambit of Islamic discussion. It is clear that payment of Riba or, in other words, securing a Riba-based loan can sometimes come under the scope of “co-operating in a sin”. This is so because every case of payment of Riba shall consequently imply the taking of Riba by the other party of the transaction. And taking Riba, according to the Qur’an, is a major sin.
In view of this fact, Muslims (individuals as well as states) should do their utmost in avoiding to secure a Riba-based loan, as this, in many cases, can amount to “co-operating in a sin”. However, when the provision of a necessity of life (whether at the individual level or at the collective level) is possible only through a loan, a person (or the collectivity) may not be left with any option besides securing a loan and thereby provide for the necessity. In such a situation, it may be hoped that such an action will not be considered “co-operating in a sin”, because of the lack of alternatives available to the individual (or collectivity), in question.”
In conclusion paying interest per se is not a sin. If we were living in a society where Riba was eliminated or was in the process of elimination, as was the case in the time of prophet pbuh, then we could say that paying in many cases could have been cooperating with sin. However living in an interest based global economy where alternatives are very rare, even this does not apply i.e. we cannot say that in this time and era paying interest is cooperating with sin.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us again
Best regards
UIUK team
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