Two years ago, I bought a car through Orphans Funds Development Foundation. The price was (4850 JDs). I gave the owner (850 JDs) and told the Foundation that I needed (400 JDs), which is the amount of the loan. After sometime, I paid a visit to the same bank to obtain a housing loan. I realized, then, that dealing directly with the owner of the commodity, such as giving a down payment and the like, involves usury/interest, so I remembered what I have done out of ignorance and regretted that a great deal. How can I atone for that sin?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
In the beginning, it should be understood that it isn`t permissible to call the Murabah transaction conducted by Islamic banks as "Loan" since there is a huge difference between a loan and a sale. In fact, Islamic banks conduct a sale contract based on offer and acceptance and not provide a loan contract (Interest-free loan).
Some types of fraud people use to trick Islamic banks are as follows:
1-The client pays an advance payment to the owner of the commodity as part of the price.
2-The client agrees with the owner of the commodity to raise its price before the bank, so that he gets the excess amount from the owner in cash.
3-The client agrees with the bank to purchase a certain commodity although his real intention is to exchange it with another from the seller.
4-The client agrees with the owner of the commodity to resell that same commodity to him (Owner) after conducting the Murabaha transaction with the bank.
All these tricks are forms of usury and unlawful sale. Therefore, whoever committed such sin must make sincere repentance and ask Allah for forgiveness, and be determined not to do it again. Still, this doesn`t necessitate terminating the sale contract and returning the commodity to the owner. And Allah the Almighty knows best.