Unlawful Money must be Gotten Rid of by Giving it to Charity

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions. It isn`t permissible to benefit from usurious interests since unlawful money must be disposed of by giving it to the poor, needy and the public interest of Muslims. Al-Imam Al-Ghazali(May Allah have mercy on him) said: "If he has unlawful money, and he wanted to free himself from the liability before Allah and make sincere repentance, there are two cases: First: If there is a specific owner to that money, then it must be given to him, or his deputy, and if he isn`t alive then it must be given to his heirs. Second: If there is no specific owner, and it wasn`t possible to know who he is, then that money must be spent in favor of Muslims` public interest, such as building mosques, roads…etc. Otherwise, it must be given to the poor, and if he gives it (the unlawful money) to the poor, this money is not unlawful to them (the poor); rather, it is lawful for them and pure; and he may spend it on himself and his family if he is poor, because if his family is poor, then they meet this description (of being poor). In fact, there is more reason to give it in charity to them than anyone else. And he himself can take (money) in proportion to his need because he is also poor." The afore text was quoted by Al-Imam An-Nawawi then he made the following comment: "What al-Ghazali said about the unlawful money was also stated by fellow scholars. Al-Ghazali has also reported it after Mu`awiah Bin Abi Sofian and others from the righteous predecessors who reported it after Ahmad Bin Hanbal and Al-Harith Al-Muhasibi and others from the pious scholars. This is because it isn`t permissible to get rid of unlawful money by throwing it into the sea; therefore, there is no solution other than spending it in favor of Muslim`s public interest."{Al-Majmou`, 9/428-429}. And Allah knows best.