What is the Allamah Khorasani’s opinion about the bank’s interests? In the case that his opinion is forbidding of all bank interests, what should those, who are not capable to work with their money and capital, and do not know any trustworthy individual for participation and manufacturing activity, do?
Question & Answer
One type of the usury is transferring of wealth to another person on the condition of its repayment in a larger amount, and with this description any definite interest that the bank makes condition, in proportion to the deposit, to depositor and pays him is considered usury and is forbidden according to the book of God; As one of our helpers informed us, said:
«سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ أَیَّدَهُ اللّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِ الْمَصْرَفِ یُودِعُهُ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ مالِهِ مِائَةَ دِینارٍ لِیَعْمَلَ بِهِ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّی عَلَى أَنْ یُؤْتِیَهُ عِشْرِینَ دِیناراً مِنَ الرِّبْحِ، قالَ: هَذَا وَاللّهِ رِباً فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ یَقُولُونَ ما هُوَ إِلّا مُضارَبَةٌ! قالَ: كَذَبُوا! أَلَمْ یَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ رِبْحَ الْمُضارَبَةِ غَیْرُ مَعْلُومٍ وَ لا مَشْرُوطٍ؟!»; “I asked his Honor Mansoor may God help him about the bank that a man deposits one hundred Dinars of his money to it in order to work with that in a determined time, in return for that it pays twenty Dinars interest to him! Said: Swear to God, this is usury, then avoid it! I said: They say that this is Mudharabah! He said: They are lying! Do they not know that the benefit of Mudharabah is neither definite nor conditional?!”
But the fact is that at the present time any transaction with the bank is not permissible except in cases of necessity; because the bank, with its current structure, has no principle in Islam and is one of the invented-heresies of the infidels, which has always acted within the framework of their economic policies and has helped their domination over the world’s wealth and the Muslims’ dependence on them; as one of our helpers informed us, said:
«سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ أَیَّدَهُ اللّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِ الْبَنْكِ، فَقالَ: سَلْ غَیْرِي! سَلْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْفُقَهاءَ! قُلْتُ: لِماذا؟! قالَ: لِأَنَّكَ فِي سَعَةٍ ما لَمْ تَسْأَلْنِي فَإِذا سَأَلْتَنِي أَخْبَرْتُكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَضاقَتْ عَلَیْكَ! أَما سَمِعْتَ قَولَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ﴾؟! قُلْتُ: أَخْبِرْنِي بِالْحَقِّ وَ لا تَرُدَّنِي إِلَى حُفْنَةٍ مِنَ الْقَراصِنَةِ! قالَ: لا بَنْكَ فِي الْإِسْلامِ إِنَّما هُوَ وَدِیعَةٌ وَ قَرْضٌ وَ مُضارَبةٌ وَ مَنْ عامَلَ الْبَنْكَ لَمْ یَسْلَمْ مِنَ الرِّبا! قُلْتُ: إِلّا مَنْ أَكْرَهَهُ ظالِمٌ؟ قالَ: إِلّا مَنْ أَكْرَهَهُ ظالِمٌ! ثُمَّ قالَ: أَ لَكَ مالٌ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ وَ أَتَطَبَّبُ! قالَ: لَوْ أَلْقَیْتَ مالَكَ فِي الْبَحْرِ خَیْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ تَضَعَهُ فِي الْبَنْكِ، لِأنَّهُ كِیسُ الظَّلَمَةِ وَ إِنَّ كِیسَهُمْ كَبَیْتِ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ یَتَّصِلُ بَعْضُهُ بِبَعْضٍ حَتَّى یَنتَهِيَ إِلَی الْمَرْكَزِ! قُلْتُ: وَ مَا الْمَرْكَزُ؟! قالَ: كِیسُ الْأَعْوَر»; “I asked his Honor Mansoor may God help him about the bank, then he said: Ask other than me! Ask these jurists! I said: Why?! He said: Because you are at liberty until you ask me, so when you ask me, I will inform you of the truth, so there will be hardship for you! Have you not heard the word of almighty God that He says: <Do not ask about things which, if they are disclosed to you, will upset you>[1]?! I said: Inform me of the truth and do not refer to a band of thieves and bandit! He said: There is no bank in Islam and there is only deposit, loan and Mudharabah, and whoever transacts with the bank will not be safe from usury! I said: except for the one an oppressor forces him (for example, for necessary administrative works)? He said: Except for the one who is forced by an oppressor! Then he said: Is there money for you? I said: Yes, I am practicing medicine! He said: If you throw your wealth into the sea, it is better than putting it in the bank; because that is the bag of the oppressors and their bag is similar to the spider’s web, some of which are attached to some others until it leads to the center! I said: Which is the center?! He said: The bag of the (man) one-eyed”!
It is understood from here that those who have capital, if they believe in God and the Day of Judgment, must not put it in the banks of the oppressors, but must do one of the following works:
1 . Relying on God, they make efforts and circulate their capital in legitimate and non-governmental businesses.
2 . Deposit it to those of their pious friends, relatives and neighbors who have legitimate and non-governmental businesses in order to work with that in the form of Mudharabah and similar to that, and participate in its benefits and losses justly.
3 . Deposit it to other Muslims who have legitimate and non-governmental businesses and get a handwritten or guarantee from them to work with it in the form of Mudharabah and similar to that, and participate in its benefits and losses justly.
4 . Keep it by themselves in a safe place until God open a door for them toward one of the above works, and of course spend from it in the way of God and His caliph, so that in this world and the hereafter, it will be returned to them seventy times, if God will.
Just as it is proper for them, with the cooperation of their pious friends, relatives and neighbors, to open a box among themselves in order to pay rate-free interest loans to each other in accordance with God’s laws, and be free of need from the dirty and suspicious loans of the banks; As God has said: ﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ﴾[2]; “Cooperate in piety and Godwariness, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution”!
Indeed, whoever is wary of God, He will make a way for him, and from where that he does not reckon, He will provide him; since He has promised clearly, and said: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ ۚ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا﴾[3]; “And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Indeed Allah carries through His command, Allah has set a measure for everything”.
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Sub-questions & answers
What is the law of my salary that I am working in a unit of a bank, and superficially the activities of the bank are related to Islamic contracts and are public benefit, and the mentioned unit has a staff and research aspect and not an executive one?
Currently, the bank’s activities are unrelated to Islamic contracts and are conducted in accordance with the global and non-Islamic economic system; because taking people’s deposits and occupy them, which is the basis of the bank’s activities, if it is done out of “debt”, it cannot bring profit for the people; considering that “debt” has not been legislated in Islam for making profit, but has been legislated for helping Muslims to each other, and with this description, any profit resulting from “debt” is taking wealth through falsehood; Just as taking people’s deposits and occupy them, if it is done out of “deposit”, cannot bring profit for the bank; considering that “deposit” has not been legislated in Islam for making profit, but for helping Muslims to each other, and with this description, any profit resulting from “deposit” is taking wealth through falsehood; Just as taking people’s deposits and occupy them, if it is done out of “Mudharabah”, cannot bring a definite and conditional benefit for the people; considering that the profit from "Mudharabah" is not definite and conditional, but it varies depending on the quality of business and market conditions, and with this description any kind of definite and conditional profit in it, is taking wealth through falsehood, while God has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ﴾[1]; “O you who believed! Do not take each other’s wealth among yourselves through falsehood”, and with this description any cooperation with the bank in the current structure, especially with regard to its connection to the global banking network, which is often at the service of evil powers, is an example of cooperation in sin and aggression, while God has prohibited from cooperation in sin and aggression, and has said: ﴿وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ﴾[2]; “but do not cooperate in sin and aggression, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution”.
Therefore, it is proper for a believer to choose a purer job for himself and to not be afraid of poverty; because God is the Merciful Provider, and for someone who abandon a forbidden out of fearing from Him, will open a door toward lawful, and will provide him from where that he does not reckon, as has promised in His book and said: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ ۚ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا﴾[3]; “And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Indeed Allah carries through His command, Allah has set a measure for everything”.
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What is the law on the expense that the Qarz al-Hasna banks[1] charge people for paying loans in the name of commissions? This amount is about 4% and they receive it with justifications such as expenses related to administrative procedures, manpower salaries and depreciation related to the bank’s properties.
Giving loan, provided that the borrower returns a definite percentage more than the amount he has actually taken, is usury and forbidden, even if it is in the name of a commission; because changing the name does not change the essence and the actions are upon the intention. The rate-free interest loan is that the loan be given without the condition of larger repayment and without the condition of late fine payment, and such a loan is not given in the banks; because banks are looking for profit not Thawab[2], and they are not doing activities that are not profitable for them. Therefore, Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani may God protect him warned against referring to the banks and recommended that the believers refer to each other instead of the banks; because referring to the banks is either throwing ourselves in obvious forbidden or throwing ourselves in suspicion, while throwing ourselves in suspicion is not the right thing to do too; As it is stated in a narration from the Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his household: «الحَلاَلُ بَیّنٌ و الحَرامُ بَیّنٌ و بَینَهُما مُشْتَبِهاتٌ لا یَعلَمُها كَثِیرٌ مِنَ النّاسِ فَمَنِ اتَّقَی الشُّبَهاتِ اسْتَبرَأَ لِدینِهِ وَ عِرضِهِ وَ مَن وَقَعَ في الشُّبَهاتِ وَقَعَ في الحَرامِ كَالرّاعي يَرْعَى حَولَ الْحِمَى فَیُوشِكُ أَنْ یُواقِعَهُ وَ إنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمیً وَ إِنَّ حِمَی اللّهِ مَحارِمُهُ»[3]; “Lawful is obvious and forbidden is obvious, and there are suspicious things between them that many people do not know them (their essence), so whoever avoids suspicious things will protect his honor and his religion, and whoever falls into suspicious things, is gone in forbidden, similar to a shepherd who pastures (his sheep) in the frontage of a forbidden place, so it will be soon that he will be there, and indeed there is a forbidden place for every ruler, and the forbidden place of God is His forbidden things”.
↑[1] . Translator note: the term “Qarz al-Hasna banks” refers to the banks which pays loans with interest rate-free or interest rate-low.
↑[2] . Translator note: the term “Thawab” refers to spiritual merit or reward that accrues from the performance of good deeds and piety.
↑[3] . Musnad Ahmad, Vol. 4, p. 270; Sunan al-Darmi, Vol. 2, p. 249; Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, p. 19; Sahih Muslim, Vol. 5, p. 50; Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 2, p. 1318; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Vol. 2, p. 340; Kafi Lilkulayni, Vol. 1, p. 68; Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih, li ibn Babawayh, Vol. 3, p. 10; Tahdhib al-Ahkam Liltusi, Vol. 6, p. 302 with different words.
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