Interest money

Q: I had around $48.5 of interest money in my Australian bank account. I wanted to get rid of it by giving it to a poor person. A few days back, in my office, there was a collection for a bushfire relief fund and it required staff to buy some raffle tickets which the company was giving a gift to the winner. I thought of giving that interest money as a donation so I told them that I am happy to contribute $50 but won’t take any raffle tickets. They requested a lot so I took the raffle ticket but Alhamdulillah I didn’t win any prize.

Now my question is, was my niyat of getting rid of the interest money fulfilled or not? Do I still need to give that $48.5 to a poor person or will the amount of $50 which I gave in charity suffice?

Q: Can someone who is sick and needs money for surgery take interest money credited in his account by the bank for such purposes?

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

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: Person A has a bond on his home (home loan). Person B has interest money. Can person B give this interest money to person A to pay off his bond.

Q: Is lending money by a Muslim for a standard service fee halaal? If not, what is the permissible way of a Muslim lending money?

Q: I have a savings account in a bank in India. Every 3 to 6 months different amounts of interest money is credited to my account.

1. Can I give this money to a poor man without seeking thawab?

2. Can I give it to repair or maintain the toilets in a masjid?

3. Can I use it for maintaining or cleaning the road infront of my house?

4. Can I use the interest money to maintain the minimum balance in my account?

5. Can I use the money to pay the annual bill collected for using the debit cards?

Q: I would like to query the issue below:

I am part of a body corporate of a complex based. The body corporate has been in place for about +/- 12 years and it has been run by the Muslim men of the complex. The complex comprises of various owners, Muslim and non-Muslim.

We have recently moved our banking over to FNB Islamic banking. Prior to this, we have accumulated an amount of +/- R22 000 interest money which we had kept aside after the move to Islamic banking. The body corporate is non-profit and we only act in the best interest and upkeep of the complex.

We as the body corporate would like to query if it is permissible or not to use this interest money as this money belongs to the complex which comprises of Muslim and non Muslim owners. We as the body corporate are held liable for the money of the complex.

The investment account which the interest was accumulated from was only opened as this is a law according to the CSOS act which is government regulated.

Please advise the correct manner/s in which this interest money should be dealt as we would like to make the correct decision going forward.