Taking a Riba-based student loan does not affect consequent job

18-2-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

As salamu alaikum, i hv taken a loan for my graduation, will my job based on graduation be haraam & i work in a US based research company which deals in debt and my job profile also include finding terms and conditions of debt/ bonds, is anyone of the above cases is haraam???

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.

Taking a Riba-based loan to complete studying and graduation is something prohibited and one has to repent from it. As for the certificate, it is not prohibited due to that loan because the prohibition of Riba is related to you (as the person who got the loan), and not to the money itself or the benefits in which that money was spent. So, you can work with that certificate in all fields that Sharee‘ah (i.e. Islamic law) does not prohibit.  For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 93774.

As for your stated work, it is not permissible for the Muslim to help in any way in the matter of Riba nor any other matter Sharee‘ah has prohibited. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {But do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allaah; indeed, Allaah is severe in penalty.} [Quran 5:2] Jaabir  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him narrated: "The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, 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 (in sin)." [Muslim] An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said: "It prohibits helping in any evil matter."

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 103644 and 84317.

To conclude, the ruling is that you have to hasten to repent from such loan and to give up that work that is related to the Riba-based loans and there is no harm at all for you to work with your certificate in any job that is not Islamically prohibited.

Allaah Knows best.

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