Opening an Interest based bank account to use it for the poor
| Fatwa #2231 | Category: Business & Trade | Country: Zambia | Date: 10th February 2026 |
| Fatwa #2231 | Date: 10th February 2026 |
| Category: Business & Trade | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Hope mufti saab is well.
Muftisaab is it appropriate and right to ask interest money that has been accumulated in a bank account thinking that if I don’t request the interest money and if its not given to me the bank will use it for further transactions and dealings based on interest. Whereas if its given to me I’m going to distribute the money among the needy and poor.
Kindly advise.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is not permissible to enter into an interest-based transaction due to the clear prohibitions found in the Quran and Hadith. Opening an interest-based bank account is not permissible for the same reason.
Interest is filth and Haram. Your duty as a Muslim is to avoid filth and Haram, not to think how filth can be used for poor people. Give your pure earnings instead. Allah will not ask you why you did not take interest for the poor, rather, He will ask you why you dared to enter into an interest-based transaction when He explicitly prohibited it.
The ruling of interest funds is that it must be returned to its rightful owners. Interest received from a bank belongs to the bank. Therefore, if possible, it is to be returned to them. However, usually banks will not do so due to financial regulations. Therefore, the interest must be withdrawn and disposed of by giving it to the poor and needy, Muslim or non-Muslim. Furthermore, if possible, one ought to switch off interest on one’s bank account. It would not be permissible to keep earning interest despite having the option to switch it off, even if the intention is to assist the poor. Almighty Allah says,
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا (التحريم: 6)
Translation: “O Believers, save yourselves (firstly) and your family from the Fire.”
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia