He took a loan with riba to buy a house under pressure from his father
Question I am a person who repented from having taking any riba-based loans, but a short while ago my parents asked me to take out a riba-based loan to buy a house, because the house in which we were living did not belong to us and because the owner was insisting on taking the house…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
It is not permissible to
take out riba-based loans from the bank or elsewhere, even if that is to buy
a house to live in, because of the texts which state that riba is
emphatically forbidden, and the stern warning that is issued against it.
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]
Muslim (1598) narrated that
Haabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah 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.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: Every loan in which it is stipulated that more be
paid back is haraam, with no difference of scholarly opinion. Ibn al-Mundhir
said: They were unanimously agreed that if the lender stipulates that the
borrower must pay back an extra amount or give a gift, and he gives the loan
on that basis, this is riba. End quote from al-Mughni (6/436).
Buying a house is not an
excuse for committing this grave major sin. You could be content with
renting a house, as you said.
You made a mistake by
entering into this transaction, and you should have stuck to your guns even
if that led to your parents or your family getting angry, because there is
no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience towards the
Creator, and your objection was not enough when you went along with signing
for the loan or part of it being in your name.
What you have to do now –
and what everyone who has taken a riba-based loan must do – is repent to
Allaah and regret what has happened, and resolve firmly never to go to this
major sin again, concerning which such a stern warning has been issued that
is not mentioned with regard to any other sin. We ask Allaah to keep us safe
and sound.
But there is no sin on you
if you live in this house. The Standing Committee was asked about a man who
took a riba-based loan and built a house. Should he knock down the house or
what?
They replied:
If the situation is as
described, what you have done by taking out this loan is haraam because it
is riba, and you have to repent and ask forgiveness for that, regret what
you have done and resolve not to do it again. As for the house that you
built, do not knock it down, rather make use of it by living in it etc, and
we hope that Allaah will forgive you for what you have done. End quote from
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (13/411).
We ask Allaah to pardon us
and you, and to forgive us and you.
And Allaah knows best.
