Fatwa No : 84952
Is It Permissible to Take Interest-Based Loans in Non-Muslim Countries?

Is It Permissible to Take Interest-Based Loans in Non-Muslim Countries?

Those who live with their families in Western countries or in Canada and America, here it is extremely difficult to save money and buy a personal house, because their prices are so high that an ordinary person might not be able to save the required amount in his whole life. For this reason, perhaps the method here is common that instead of living in a rented house, people take a loan from the bank and buy a house, and the amount that has to be paid monthly as rent is almost the same amount paid monthly in installments to the bank. In this way, in 20 to 25 years, you can become the owner of a house, while if you keep paying rent your whole life, you cannot become the owner. Since the entire system of the bank is based on interest, therefore the money that the bank gives you, it takes back from you with interest. Is there any possibility for those living in America and other Western countries that they may take a loan from the bank and buy their own house? Or should they remain limited to a rented house their whole life? Kindly provide me a solution to this problem and give me a chance to thank you? (Zafar Iqbal Cheema)

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

Even in non-Muslim countries, taking an interest-bearing loan from a bank or financial institution is not permissible. However, if the difficulties in buying a house are as described in the question, the following method for acquiring a house through a bank may be adopted: a representative of the bank should first purchase the house in cash and take possession of it. The bank then totals the original purchase price together with the profit it would otherwise have charged (often labelled as “interest”) and treats that sum as the sale price. The bank sells the house to the client on installments at that agreed total price, and the client repays the installments from the first until the last accordingly — i.e., the house’s overall price is fixed up front. Adopting this arrangement will avoid riba (interest) while enabling the client to become the owner of the house.

مأخَذُ الفَتوی

کما في مشكاة المصابيح: عن جابر رضي الله عنه قال: لعن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكل الربا وموكله وكاتبه وشاهديه وقال: «هم سواء» . رواه مسلم اھ (2/ 855)
و في حاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار): (قوله كل قرض جر نفعا حرام) أي إذا كان مشروطا كما علم مما نقله عن البحر، وعن الخلاصة و في الذخيرة وإن لم يكن النفع مشروطا في القرض، فعلى قول الكرخي لا بأس به ويأتي تمامه (قوله فكره للمرتهن إلخ) الذي في رهن الأشباه يكره للمرتهن الانتفاع بالرهن إلا بإذن الراهن اهـ. (5/ 166) والله اعلم بالصواب