['Aalim Network QR] Credit Cards (Followup)

[abbas@dircon.co.uk (Abbas Jaffer)]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun Alaykum,

The following follow-up questions were kindly answered by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi.

The original question and answer is given first for reference.

Regards,

Abbas Jaffer
Moderator -'Aalim Network

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ORIGINAL QUESTION:

My question: Is the paying of interest on credit cards, loans etc haram
and also is taking interest haram?

I have read the previous responses on these issues from the archive, it
mentions that under certain circumstances it is allowed. I would like some
clarification in this matter. I would like my question to be answered by 
Ayatullah Sistani's guidelines.

ORIGINAL ANSWER:

Our mujtahidin have technically separated the issue of taking a loan from
the issue of paying interest on it. They say that taking a loan is permissible 
but paying the interest is haram. If the loan agreement contains the clause 
of interest charges, the mujtahidin say that "the loan agreement is okay but 
the condition of interest is invalid." That means that religiously you are not 
under any obligation to pay the interest.

I have written to Ayatullah Sistani about taking a loan in which one knows
that he will end up paying the interest: is it a sin to pay interest in such
a case which one has imposed on oneself?

His answer was that it is not considered a sin, because technically, he
considers the charging of interest by the creditor as unjust and usurpation.

Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

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FOLLOW-UP QUESTION #1:

"His answer was that it is not considered a sin, because technically, he
considers the charging of interest by the creditor as unjust and usurpation."

Please clarify the above statement.

CLARIFICATION

For the sake of clarification, I will translate the question I wrote to
Ayatullah Sistani and his answer (dated 12 Shaban 1417):

Q: "In Minhajus Salihiyn (v. 1, p. 430), you have written that taking a loan
from a non-Muslim bank with the niyyat of istinqaz (that is, taking
advantage of a non-Muslim's wealth which he is willingly placing at your
disposal) is permissible. Now suppose that a person takes some money from a
non-Muslim bank with the niyyat of istinqaz to buy a house or to invest in a
business fully aware that as result he will have to pay interest when he
pays back the money to the bank --- in this case, is such a person
committing a sin by paying the interest? Even though he took the money with
niyyat of instinqaz, he knew that finally he will end up paying more as
interest."

A. "If he takes the money from the bank not as a loan but with niyyat of
istinqaz, then the extra that the bank will forcefully take from him is not
considered as interest because interest is the extra payment which is a
condition in loan."

			---------------------------------

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION #2:

If you have real estate mortgage with P+I payment  for personal living, is
it O.K.?

ANSWER:

In light of the above answer from Ayatullah Sistani, it is O.K.

			--------------------------------

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION #3:

If you are interested in real estate investment, e.g. Houses, Duplex,
Commercial Properties where you will end up paying interest, is it O.K?

ANSWER:

In light of the above with the niyyat of istinqaz, it is O.K.

			---------------------------------

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION #4:

Is it permissible for  a person to work in a loan Department of a Bank or
Mortgage Co or Other Lending Institution, where they collect interest on
their loans and pay the salary from the loan?

ANSWER:

According to Ayatullah Sistani, if you are working in a non-Muslim Bank and
your customers are non-Muslims, then working in interest related dealings is
O.K. (See Minhajus Salihiyn, vol. 1, p. 448)

			---------------------------------

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION #5:

Can this Loan Person get involved in processing a loan for a Liquor store or
any other similiar business loans? What are the limitations?

ANSWER:

When it comes to dealing with intoxicating drinks, the rules are more
strict. I am not aware of any new fatwa on this issue; but as far as my
reading goes, it is difficult to allow any kind of involvement in such
business. More details are coming in my next book on "Business Ethics in Islam".

Sayyid M. Rizvi