Question: I have been confused on the issue of
Mosques collecting interest money for distribution. Many people believe
this money can be collected and donated for the use of toilets in a public
place, but I have always been under the impression that this money is
filthy and should be destroyed or buried. Is it permissible to collect
interest money in the Mosque?
Answer: In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Interest transactions are totally Haram (unlawful) and thus whosoever
deals with interest money in any way or form will be sinful. There are
grave warnings promised in the Qur'an and Sunnah for the one who deals
with interest.
Giving and taking interest are both decisively impressible in Islam.
Similarly, it is impressible to consume unlawfully-earned money.
The ruling in the Hanafi School with regards to Haram and wrongly-acquired
money is that the money must be returned to its owner(s). If it is not
possible to return it to its owners, such as bank Interest, then one must
give it away to the poor with the intention of removing the burden and
getting rid of this unlawful filthy money (See Radd al-Muhtar, al-Fatawa
al-Hindiyya and Ahsan al-Fatawa).
Therefore, if the collection of interest money in the Masjid is
distributed on poor people, then this is permissible, otherwise
impermissible.
It should also be remembered here that, this ruling is in the situation
when one already has interest money in their ownership. To actually open
an interest bearing account for the purpose of distributing it on poor
people, and publicizing it, is unlawful.
And Allah Knows Best
Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester, UK
Article taken (with Thanks) from Darul Iftaa
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