Fatwa ID: 08924
Answered by: Alimah Maryam Badshah
Question:
I need your guidance regarding a matter that deeply affects both my business and my deen.
I come from a business family and always wanted to do business — not for money, but for time and independence and it aligns with my goal which needs more time than money. Years ago, as a college student with very little understanding of Deen, I never saw bank loans as something to avoid. I believed that if I ever wanted to become successful in business, taking a loan was necessary to grow faster. Besides, in our society — even though it is a Muslim-majority region — taking loans had become so common that it felt completely normal. And our family business even had one. But after college, something happened — I went through hardship, turned to Allah for help, and my relationship with Him grew. I began to start practicing it.
And just as I entered the business, our accounts were declared NPA. And when I got to know about it at that exact time, something hit me strongly — I took it as a sign that Allah ﷻ was protecting me from getting involved in riba. I felt it deeply in my heart and made a sincere decision to stay away from it completely. I even stopped my father and uncle from restructuring or continuing the loan, I asked them to make sincere tawbah and promised myself we would never deal with riba again. Since then, It has now been 2 years of financial struggle and we are in a very tough financial situation. We are unable to sell our assets because they are mortgaged and the market is down. But recently, we found a possible way out — we leased an Auqaf land and planned a project to construct a boutique hotel with shops. Our plan is to sell those shops and use the income to pay off all our debts and finally become free.
Recently, I learned about government subsidy schemes for the tourism and hospitality sector, which could help complete this project. However, we must first take a loan through a bank to become eligible for the subsidy. Some even suggest taking the loan, keeping the money untouched, and repaying it immediately after receiving the subsidy.
My question is:
Is it permissible in Islam to take such a loan temporarily, just to qualify for the subsidy, with the intention of not using the money and repaying it as soon as possible?
I truly want to stay far from riba, but I also want to benefit from any halal support the government offers to complete this project and repay old dues. Please guide me clearly whether this is allowed or not.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
To take a loan that that is interest-based is impermissible, regardless of the reason or the intention to pay it back as soon as possible. Loans are not inherently impermissible, it is riba (usury) attached to the repayment contract that renders a loan forbidden (haram). Even if a person does not use any of the borrowed money and returns the full amount, the riba (usury) lies in the excess payment above what has been borrowed. Therefore, unless you are able to gain the subsidy whilst also not make any additional payments (interest) on the loan, it would be impermissible (haram).
References:
كُلُّ قَرْضٍ جَرَّ نَفْعًا حَرَامٌ فَكُرِهَ لِلْمُرْتَهِنِ سُكْنَى الْمَرْهُونَةِ بِإِذْنِ الرَّاهِنِ.
Raddul Muhtār (Vol.5, pg.166, Dār Al-Fiqr)
… وَالْفِضَّةُ بِالْفِضَّةِ مِثْلًا بِمِثْلٍ يَدًا بِيَدٍ، وَالْفَضْلُ رِبًا، وَالذَّهَبُ بِالذَّهَبِ مِثْلًا بِمِثْلٍ يَدًا بِيَدٍ، وَالْفَضْلُ رِبًا» أَيْ: بِيعُوا الْحِنْطَةَ بِالْحِنْطَةِ مِثْلًا بِمِثْلٍ يَدًا بِيَدٍ.
Badā’i’ Al-Ṣanā’i’ (Vol.5, pg.183, Dār Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah)
فَيَكُونُ رِبًا كَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ عَلَى آخَرَ أَلْفُ دِرْهَمٍ فَصَالَحَهُ عَلَى أَلْفٍ وَخَمْسِمِائَةٍ، أَنَّ الصُّلْحَ يَكُونُ بَاطِلًا كَذَا هَذَا، وَهَذَا عَلَى أَصْلِهِمَا مُطَّرِدٌ؛ لِأَنَّ عِنْدَهُمَا أَنَّ مَنْ أَتْلَفَ عَلَى آخَرَ مَا لَا مِثْلَ لَهُ، أَوْ غَصَبَ مِنْهُ مَا لَا مِثْلَ لَهُ فَهَلَكَ فِي يَدِهِ
Badā’i’ Al-Ṣanā’i’ (Vol.4, pg.90, Dār Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۖ وَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ﴾
Qur’an (2:278-9)
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Alimah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham