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No Sin in Opening an Account with a Usurious Bank for a Necessity

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Darul Iftaa Jordan
Is it permissible to transfer one`s salary to an account with a usurious bank? Does the person doing this incur sin or not?

Answer:

All perfect 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 principle, a Muslim should deal with Islamic banks. However, if he/she  couldn`t find any and there was no other way to transfer money or receive salary then there is no sin in opening a current account with a usurious bank provided that the money or salary is withdrawn immediately since it is forbidden to delay that on purpose. Any delay will allow the bank to benefit from the money, and this is tantamount to helping in sin and rancor. The evidence on this is that Allah the Almighty says, "O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals, with the exceptions named: But animals of the chase are forbidden while ye are in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb: for Allah doth command according to His will and plan." {Al-Mai`dah, 2}. In addition, any usurious profits coming from that money must be gotten rid of through dividing them amongst the poor and the    needy and the common interests of the Muslims. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

This answer was collected from the official government Iftaa Department of Jordan.

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