Interest and Gambling

Q: How should interest money be disposed of?

1. Is tamleek (passing of ownership) necessary i.e. does it have to be given to an individual person or can it be given to madaaris or for digging of wells, etc.?

2. Can it be given to non Muslims?

3. How poor must a person be to give him interest money?

4. Can interest money be used to pay tax, fines, bank charges, etc.?

5. If a person has bank accounts at multiple banks, does he have to withdraw the interest from each bank separately or can he just give the amount in sadaqah from his cash on hand?

6. If a person is in debt, can he be given interest to help him settle his debts?

7. Is interest money regarded as dirty wealth for the recipient?

Q: I recently read an article which claims that it is permissible for a Muslim to take out a medical aid contract. The article explained that if a stipulated monthly fee is paid to the medical aid company in return for which they assume responsibility for the client’s hospitalization or medical expenses, it will be permissible.

The reason for this medical aid contract being permissible in Shari’ah is that it is regarded as an ijaarah contract (i.e. hiring of services) between the member and the medical aid scheme. The ijaarah works in this manner that the member pays a fixed and mutually agreed amount monthly, and in exchange, the scheme takes responsibility for his treatment and wellbeing.

The article also stated that the medical aid scheme can be compared to hiring the services of a barber and a wet nurse. In many villages of India, it is a common and well-known practice for a family to give the barber a stipulated amount of grain or cash at the time of harvest. In exchange, the barber takes responsibility to cut the hair of the family whenever they wish during the year. In this case, although the number of haircuts that he will give to the family is unknown, this ambiguity is tolerated and overlooked as it does not lead to any dispute.

Q: When giving a loan without interest, we charge a loan process amount. Is this haraam or not?

Q: A person wishes to take out third-party insurance. He claims that this form of insurance is permissible because the insurance company will not pay him anything in the event of an accident but will rather pay out the third party. Is third party insurance permissible?

Q: Is an income benefit/provider insurance policy allowed whereby one will receive an income if disabled and cannot work. At the age of retirement the policy will lapse with no benefit.

Q: An online store offers a discount, say 10%, if the buyer pays using a credit card. The discount is not available if the buyer pays using other means such as a debit card. Following are the questions:

1. Is it jaiz to avail this discount?

2. If it is not jaiz to avail this discount then what should the buyer do in case he has already availed this discount in the past?

3. If the only mode of payment offered by the store is credit card and a discount is being offered on a specific card, say VISA, then will it be jaiz to make payment using this credit card?

Q: I want to apply to study in Canada and for this purpose I need a GIC certificate. A GIC is an account which I will open in a Canadian bank to show that I can bear their living expenses. When I go to Canada, they will refund me my funds within a given period of time along with interest. As a Muslim, interest is completely prohibited in Islam. What should I do?

Q: My bank credits me every quarterly with interest money in my account. What can I do with this amount? Can I donate it to any Islamic madrasa? If not, can you please tell me about this issue.

Q: Please can you assist with the following questions?

1. I have a *hajj account* as well as a *cheque account* with Al Baraka bank. The amount grows as per the profits the bank makes. Is this acceptable according to shariat? Should I cancel all growth and just keep the amount as is?

2. I have opened up an account with FNB shariat compliant for my son. He was given a lot of gifts Alhamdulillah, therefore we have kept all his monetary wealth in an FNB shariat compliant account. The amount in the account will grow. Is this acceptable? Should I rather ask the bank to stop all growth and let the amount stay as is?

3. Do I have to pay zakaat considering the wealth in my hajj account also? 

Q: My question is about gambling. In my country, we have something called Big Sweep.

How to play:
1. Buy a ticket at $3 each.
2. Draws on every first Wednesday of each month at 6pm.

Results:
If your ticket number matches any of the 133 winning seven-digit numbers drawn, you win a prize of at least $1,000 and up to $2.3 million. If the last two digits of your ticket number match any of the nine winning two-digit numbers drawn, you win $6.

Is this considered gambling? Many of my Muslim friends are playing.