He Bought His Apartment With Riba; How
Can He Repent From His Action? Repenting From Taking A
Riba-based Loan
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
I bought an apartment two years ago through a
riba-based bank. I paid five thousand Jordanian dinars
(JD) and the rest was paid by the bank. The price of
the apartment was 27 thousand dinars. The agreement
was that I would pay monthly instalments for 92
months, and the amount of one instalment is 208 JD.
Now I want to get rid of the bank and repent to Allaah.
Please note that the instalments paid to date add up
to 13,000 JD. What is the best solution to rid myself
of this sin? Please note that I cannot afford to pay
the rest of the price of the apartment, and that the
prices of apartments are going up in Jordan nowadays,
i.e. if I were to put my apartment up for sale I would
get double the price for it.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We ask Allaah to enable you to repent from dealing
with riba, because riba is a major sin and dealing in
it means that one is subject to a stern warning.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Fear Allaah and give up what
remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if
you are (really) believers.
279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of
war from Allaah and His Messenger but if you repent,
you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly
(by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall
not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than
your capital sums)"
[al-Baqarah 2:278-279]
It was narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who
consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who
writes it down and the two who witness it, and he
said: they are all the same. Narrated by Muslim
(1598).
Secondly:
Part of repentance is getting rid of the interest that
you are paying to the bank. If this interest can be
waived in full or in part, then you should hasten to
pay the instalments even if that means selling your
house. But if you are obliged to pay the interest and
you cannot get out of it or reduce it, there is no sin
if you make use of the house, either by living in it
or by renting it out, etc.
We ask Allaah to accept your repentance and help you
to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allaah knows best.
Repenting from taking a riba-based
loan
I took out a loan from the bank, due to
difficult circumstances, because I wanted to prepare
an apartment to get married. Please note that there is
nothing luxurious in this flat at all, and it is a
very simple flat. I am a teacher and my salary is
transferred to the bank and a sum of money will be
deducted from it each month for five years, until the
loan ends. Two and a half years have passed, and I
have decided to go to the bank and stop this loan,
because I feel that anything that happens is because
of this loan. But I found out that the amount that
should be paid is more than I can afford. In addition
to that, I was intending to do ‘Umrah this year,
myself, my wife and my son and daughter. Is it
permissible for me to travel for Umrah, hoping that
Allaah will heal my sick son and then come back to
stop this loan next November in sha Allaah, or what
should I do?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible to take out riba-based loans,
from the bank or elsewhere, even if that is to prepare
a house for marriage, because of the definite
prohibition on riba and the stern warning against it.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah and give up
what remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward)
if you are (really) believers.
279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of
war from Allaah and His Messenger but if you repent,
you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly
(by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall
not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than
your capital sums)"
[al-Baqarah 2:278-279]
Muslim (1598) narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one
who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the one who
writes it down and the two who witness it, and he
said: "They are all the same."
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Every loan in which it is stipulated that something
extra be paid is haraam, and there is no difference of
opinion on this point. Ibn al-Mundhir said: They were
unanimously agreed that if the lender stipulates that
the borrower must pay extra or give him a gift, and he
gives the loan on the basis that he will take an
additional payment for that, it is riba.
End quote from al-Mughni, 6/436
What the one who has taken out a riba-based loan has
to do is repent to Allaah and regret what he has done,
and he has to resolve firmly not to go back to this
great sin and serious crime, concerning which there is
narrated a warning such as has not been narrated
concerning any other sin. We ask Allaah to keep us
safe and sound.
Moreover, according to Islam you are not obliged to
pay back any more than the capital; as for the haraam
interest, you are not obliged to pay it and it is not
permissible for the lender to take it from you,
because Allaah says: "but if you repent, you shall
have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking
more than your capital sums), and you shall not be
dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your
capital sums)".
But if you fear harm and problems if you do not pay
the interest, then pay it, and repent to Allaah and
feel dislike towards this great evil.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) was
asked: I borrowed one hundred pounds from one of my
friends on the basis that I would pay him back one
hundred and fifty. When the time to pay it back came,
I tried to give him one hundred only, but he insisted
on taking the extra amount of fifty pounds in return
for the laon. What is the ruling on this extra amount?
If that comes under the heading of riba, is there any
sin on me, and how can I rid myself of that, knowing
that the money that I borrowed from him has become
mixed with my own money. What do I have to do?
He replied: Allaah has forbidden riba and has issued a
stern warning against it. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
"Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of
Resurrection) except like the standing of a person
beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity…
O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah and give up
what remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward)
if you are (really) believers.
And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war
from Allaah and His Messenger"
[al-Baqarah 2:275, 278-279]
There are many forms and types of riba. What you
mention in the question is a loan with interest. The
kind of loan that is allowed in Islam is al-qard al-hasan
(a goodly loan) in which you lend something to your
brother so that he may benefit from the loan, then he
pays you back without any additional payment being
stipulated and without paying less. This is the goodly
loan. As for the loan which brings a benefit or the
loan which is intended to bring a payment of interest,
this is haraam according to the consensus of the
Muslims. It is haraam according to the Qur'aan and
Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslims, and a stern
warning is issued to the one who does that. What
should be done is to repay the amount that was
borrowed; as for the additional payment which has been
stipulated and taken from you, this is haraam and is
riba. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one
who pays it, the two who witness it and the one who
writes it down. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) also cursed the one who consumes riba and
the one who helps him to consume it. So what you have
done is haraam and is a major sin, and you have to
repent to Allaah. He has to give this interest that he
took back to you, because it is not permissible for
him. You committed a haraam action by giving him the
interest. What you should have done is to refrain from
paying interest.
What you have done is blatant riba, so you both have
to repent to Allaah and not do any such transaction
again. The other person has to return the interest
that he took. And Allaah knows best.
End quote from al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Shaykh al-Fawzaan,
5/210
Remember that the more quickly you get rid of this
loan, the better it will be, so that you may rid
yourself of riba and its effects.
So it is better for you to hasten to pay it off and to
use the money that you were going to use for ‘Umrah to
rid yourself of this debt.
We ask Allaah to heal your son and to relieve your
distress, and make you independent of means from
halaal sources so that you will have no need of
anything haraam.
And Allaah knows best.
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