Fatwa

Buying a house with a loan involving interest in Western countries The European Council for Fatwa and Research issued a fatwa permitting the purchase of a house in the West with a loan involving interest if the Muslim is unable to purchase it with halal (lawful) money. This means that anyone who cannot afford to buy a house outright can benefit from this fatwa, even if they can afford to rent. The fatwa aims to transition Muslims from renting to ownership. In the concluding statement of its fourth regular session held from 18-22 Rajab 1420 AH (corresponding to 31 October 1999 CE), the European Council for Fatwa and Research stated: The council deliberated on the widespread issue in Europe and the West as a whole, concerning houses being purchased through loans involving interest from conventional banks. The council received several papers on the topic, both in favor and against, which were read and extensively discussed by all members. Following the discussion, the council concluded with the majority of its members agreeing to the following points: 1. The council reaffirms the consensus of the Muslim community on the prohibition of usury (riba), considering it among the major sins that warrant punishment from God and His messenger. It confirms the stance of Islamic jurisprudential assemblies that bank interests are prohibited usury. 2. The council urges Muslims in the West to exert efforts in finding Sharia-compliant alternatives that are free from doubt, such as Islamic financing methods like murabaha (cost-plus sale) utilized by Islamic banks, and establishing Islamic companies to construct such houses with affordable and feasible conditions for the Muslim community, among other solutions. 3. The council also calls upon Islamic communities in Europe to negotiate with conventional European banks to transform such transactions into Sharia-compliant forms, such as installment sales where the price increases with the extension of the term. This will attract Muslim clients who will engage with them based on these principles. This approach is already being practiced in some European countries, and we have witnessed major Western banks opening branches in Arab countries operating in accordance with Islamic law, as seen in Bahrain and elsewhere. The council can assist in this matter by sending an appeal to these banks to amend their behavior towards Muslims. 4. If neither the aforementioned solutions are feasible at present, the council, based on evidence, principles, and Sharia considerations, sees no harm in resorting to this means, namely, taking a loan involving interest to purchase a house that a Muslim and his family need for residence, provided that he does not own another house that would suffice, and it serves as his primary residence. Additionally, he should not possess surplus money that would enable him to purchase a house through other means. The council's fatwa is based on two fundamental principles: The first principle: "Necessities permit prohibitions." This principle, derived from Quranic texts in five instances, including the verse: "He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced by necessity, neither desiring it nor transgressing its limit - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (Quran 6:119), and after mentioning prohibited foods in the same chapter: "He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (Quran 6:145). Scholars have concluded here that necessity can reach the level of imperative, whether it is specific or general. Necessity is that without which a Muslim would face hardship even if they can still survive, unlike the necessity without which survival is impossible. Allah has alleviated hardship for this Ummah (community) through Quranic verses, as in Surah Al-Hajj: "He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty." (Quran 22:78), and in Surah Al-Ma'idah: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship." (Quran 5:6). Residence is what alleviates the Muslim's hardship; it is a suitable dwelling in its location and facilities, providing true shelter. While the council has relied on the principle of necessity or a necessity equivalent to it, it has not overlooked the other controlling and complementary principle, which is "what is permitted due to necessity is assessed according to its extent." Thus, owning houses for trade purposes and the like is not permissible. Residence is undoubtedly a necessity for the individual Muslim and the Muslim family. Allah has blessed His servants with it, as He said: "And Allah has made for you from your homes a place of rest" (Quran 16:80). The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, considered spacious living quarters as one of the elements of the four or three components of happiness. A rented residence does not fulfill all the needs of a Muslim, nor does it provide a sense of security, even if it costs the Muslim a significant amount paid to a non-Muslim landlord for years on end without owning a single stone. Despite this, the Muslim remains vulnerable to eviction from this residence if his family grows or if his guests increase. Furthermore, if his age advances, his income decreases, or if his income ceases, he becomes susceptible to being cast aside. Owning a residence alleviates this concern for the Muslim. Moreover, it allows him to choose a residence close to the mosque, Islamic center, and Islamic school, creating an opportunity for the Muslim community to converge in their residences, perhaps establishing a small Islamic community within the larger society. This fosters familiarity among their children, strengthens their bonds, and allows them to cooperate in living according to Islamic concepts and values. Additionally, ownership of a residence enables the Muslim to prepare and arrange his home to meet his religious and social needs as long as it is owned by him. In addition to this individual need for each Muslim, there is a general need for the Muslim community living as a minority outside the Islamic lands. This need entails improving their living conditions so that their standard of living rises, enabling them to belong to the best nation brought forth for mankind and become a shining example of Islam to non-Muslims. It also involves freeing them from economic pressures so they can fulfill their duty of spreading the message and contributing to building the general society. This necessitates that the Muslim does not spend his entire life struggling to pay rent and living expenses, depriving him of the opportunity to serve his community or propagate his faith. The second fundamental principle, complementary to the first, is the view held by Abu Hanifa, his student Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (the preferred opinion in the Hanafi school), Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, and a narration from Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, preferred by Ibn Taymiyyah and some Hanbali scholars, which permits dealing with interest among Muslims and non-Muslims outside the Islamic lands. Adherence to this view is supported by several considerations: 1. A Muslim is not religiously obligated to enforce civil, financial, and political laws or any other general system in a society that does not believe in Islam because it is beyond his capacity. Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity, and the prohibition of usury pertains to societal identity, the philosophy of the state, and its social and economic direction. The Muslim demands the establishment of laws pertaining to him individually, such as worship, dietary laws, clothing regulations, marriage, divorce, return, waiting period, inheritance, and other personal matters. If he finds himself constrained in these matters and cannot practice his religion, it is obligatory for him to migrate to the spacious land of Allah, provided he finds a way to do so. 2. If a Muslim refrains from engaging in these corrupt contracts, including usurious contracts, in the lands of others, it will economically weaken him, leading to financial loss. Islam is supposed to strengthen, enrich, benefit, and not impoverish the Muslim. Some scholars of the Salaf argued for the permissibility of a Muslim inheriting from a non-Muslim based on the hadith: "Islam raises and does not decrease," meaning Islam raises the Muslim and does not decrease him. Similarly, "Islam prevails, it is not prevailed upon." If the Muslim refrains from these contracts agreed upon among them, he will be compelled to give without receiving, executing these laws and contracts only in matters where he incurs losses, not where he profits. Thus, he remains perpetually oppressed financially due to his adherence to Islam. Islam never intends for the Muslim to be oppressed by his adherence to it or to leave him, in lands other than the Islamic ones, to benefit others at his expense while he is deprived of benefiting from non-Muslim transactions in return, according to the prevailing contracts recognized by them. It is well-known that consuming forbidden usury is not permissible under any circumstance. However, giving it (i.e., giving interest) is permissible due to necessity. The scholars have explicitly stated this, permitting borrowing with interest for necessity if lawful means are blocked. One of the famous principles here is that what is prohibited for its essence is only permitted for necessity, and what is prohibited to prevent a means is permitted for necessity.