Is it permissible to obtain a credit card?

A friend of mine told me it is wrong to possess a Credit Card. When I pointed out that there is nothing wrong as long as I don’t pay interest, he put forward the following argument: At the time of signing the contract with Credit Card company, one is required to give an undertaking that if he is unable to pay at the specified time, then he would pay interest on the amount due. That is, one is committing to interest since one doesn’t know what situation he would be in, in future, which Allah (SWT) alone knows, or since the person has the intention to pay interest on failure to pay back. Also there is a Hadith which says that deeds depend upon intentions. Therefore if one has intentions of paying interest on failure, one might actually pay in future. My question is it a sin to have a credit card?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The contention of your friend is principally correct. It is prohibited to enter into an interest bearing loan even though one will endeavor to avoid paying interest.

In an avoidable situation, one should avoid obtaining a credit card.

In an unavoidable situation, if one obtains a credit card, then from a juridical point of view, it is a loan with a condition to pay interest. Accordingly, the condition will fall off and the loan will be regarded as interest free.^[1]

We do understand that if the credit card holder did not make timeous payment, the creditor still has a legal right to claim interest from him and the Shar’i implication of the condition falling off will have no effect.

It is important to note the fiqhi rulings set out by the Fuqaha have two dimensions; one is of a judicial nature while the other is non judicious and is an issue of personal consciousness.

If one is pressed by need to take out a credit card and there is no alternative and doing without a credit card would put a person in difficulty, then there is a leeway for him to make use of the credit card facility and make timeous payments. This relaxation is based on the fiqhi maxim: 

الضرورات تبیح المحظورات

Needs or necessities permit prohibition.^[2]

However, this is not a general ruling and many avenues are taken into consideration before acting upon such a maxim.

To illustrate this with an example and close analogy, it is a norm to pay the electricity and water bills to the municipality that bills its clients with an interest clause in it. It is difficult to arrange our individual and personal light and water sources. It would be impractical to advise people to use lanterns, dig boreholes, or bring water from the rivers to their houses.

In such a situation, the practical difficulties are considered to grant relaxation to merely enter into a contract with an impermissible clause but with the intention not to practice on the clause and maintain the contract according to Shari’ah. In this day and age, the use of credit card has become so common that at times, not having a credit card becomes very challenging, especially when dealing in a conventional and corporate world. In many instances, a deal or payment cannot be done except through a credit card. While we acknowledge that the ideal situation is to avoid using a credit card, Shariah also takes into consideration practical realities and difficulties.^[3]

It is also advisable that since the condition in a contract is a violation of a Shar’i right, if one takes out the credit card contract due to need and necessity, he should also make tawbah and istighfaar.

Most importantly, a person must take it upon himself to act upon the following when obtaining a credit card:

• Try to obtain the credit card based on need and necessity.
• The user of the credit card must have a firm intention and must endeavor all efforts in paying the bills within the stipulated time without fail.
• To remove any possibility of a default payment in which case interest is charged, it is recommended to set up an online payment scheme which will directly debit all purchases and payments to his account. Precaution must be exercised to ensure there is sufficient cash in the account to pay the total monthly amount before it is due.^[4]

One may also use the benefits provided by the credit card company on condition that the benefits do not consist of anything Haram and the benefits are not stipulated as interest. This will be regarded as a gift from the credit card company.^[5]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

AbdulMannan Nizami

Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, IL, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net