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Her parents are paying for her education by taking a usurious loan

Question

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu,I am a college student who is almost graduating. I am only going to college because my parents won't allow me to leave. They are paying for my education by taking out a loan in which they will not owe any interest unless they fail to pay it back by a specified time. They want to pay it back on time and avoid the interest, but I still do not believe that such a loan is permissible. I have tried to explain this to my parents, but they still say that I'm not allowed to stop going to college. What should I do?JazakAllah Khair.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

It is impermissible for a Muslim to partake in any transaction involving Riba (usury/interest) even if one intends to repay it before the specified time so as not to pay interest, because it is impermissible for a Muslim to enter a prohibited contract in the first place as highlighted in Fataawa 88473 and 98959.

You are advised to explain this to your parents so that they terminate that loan. However, if they did not and they paid your tuition fees from this usurious loan, you bear no sin for that and they are the ones who bear the sin for it.

Allaah Knows best.

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