Q: Many people who receive benefits from the bank such as airport lounge access pay high bank charges or card fees e.g. Zaid’s bank charges are R300 000 for the year. After paying the bank so much in bank charges, why can he not take a R300 benefit from the bank by using the lounge facilities?
A: The bank charges are in lieu of the services which the bank renders for managing the account of the account holder. The other benefits which the bank offers e.g. the interest money that the bank gives to it’s depositors, eBucks benefits, lounge benefits are all in appreciation for depositing your money with them. Hence just as it is not permissible for one to benefit from the interest of the bank that is in cash form, it is not permissible to benefit from the interest of the bank that is in the form of kind or any other benefits (airport lounges, eBucks benefits, etc.) as all these benefits enter under the Shar’ee definition of riba.
The author of Hidaayah as well as other Hanafi jurists have defined interest in the following words:
الربا هو الفضل المستحق لأحد المتعاقدين في المعاوضة الخالي عن عوض شرط فيه
Interest is that excess devoid of any compensation which either of the transacting parties is entitled to due to it being a pre-condition in that transaction.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
الربا هو الفضل المستحق لأحد المتعاقدين في المعاوضة الخالي عن عوض شرط فيه (الهداية 3 / 78)
الربا فضل خال عن عوض شرط لأحد المتعاقدين في المعاوضة (فتح باب العناية بشرح النقاية 2/355)
باب الربا هو لغة: مطلق الزيادة وشرعا (فضل) ... (خال عن عوض) ... (بمعيار شرعي) ... (مشروط) ذلك الفضل (لأحد المتعاقدين) أي بائع أو مشتر ... (في المعاوضة)
قال الشامي: (قوله أي بائع أو مشتر) أي مثلا فمثلهما المقرضان والراهنان قهستاني قال: ويدخل فيه ما إذا شرط الانتفاع بالرهن كالاستخدام والركوب والزراعة واللبس وشرب اللبن وأكل الثمر فإن الكل ربا حرام كما في الجواهر والنتف. (رد المحتار مع الدر المختار 5/168-170)
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