Loans & Debts

Taking a loan from a bank

Q: There is a bank here which is offering me personal loan. I was not interested in taking that because it is haram as they will get more money in return of the money they gave me. However the bank showed me a stamp of their personal loan option from the sharia council. So can I rely on that stamp fully and avail this option. I do not know about the minor details like will they charge more if my instalment is delayed or etc but it has been approved by the sharia council so is it allowed in islam?

Islamic banks

Q: I live in UAE and is it possible to get a loan from an Islamic bank. What is the difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking because both are offering same kind of products.

Giving money to the musjid with the intention of settling one's debt

Q: I have a debt with my friend. He payed for a bowling event and I was supposed to pay him back. I've been wanting to pay him back but everytime I tried to pay him back he said that we will talk about it next time. However he did not say he will forgive my debt. How am I supposed to deal with this? I know that having a debt and not paying it can be a hurdle for me to enter heaven. If I donate it to the mosque will it considered as done? My previous teacher told me that as long as the person is still alive, I have to pay him. Its been a year already.

Subsidizing a loan sanction by the government

Q: I want to know about subsidizing loan sanction by the government under some scheme to minorities. It is the scheme run by the government on certain sectors. The scheme is:

25% amount of the scheme will be paid by the government and 75% of the loan will be directed to any bank to pay on interest. If we calculate the interest repayment it comes to nearly 25% which is already paid by the government. It means we get a loan with no interest and we have to pay only the principle amount. This type of loan scheme is only for particular sectors and eligibility criteria. As these types of schemes are particularly for minority community and many Muslims involve in it. Can this be halal? Please enlighten to us.