Interest and Gambling

Q: I checked my bank statement and I realized that I consumed interest money unconsciously. What should I do to expiate it?

Q: Our company has a pension fund that has various portfolios options of which one is a shariah compliant option. The problem is that the fund is loosing so much on my money monthly. Do you continue loosing money or place it in a safe interest bearing portfolio?

Q: Sending this on behalf of someone: If I buy a property and the bank finances it and I pay a set amount plus interest every month to the bank, is it halaal or haraam?

Q: Vodacom (mobile service provider) introduced something called Play Everyday. It involves playing a game at a cost of R1, wherein you can win different sorts of prizes like airtime or mobile data. Whether you win or not is randomly calculated. Is this permissible or is it a form of gambling?

Q: Is it permissible to take out riba in order to avoid becoming homeless? I am a revert muslimah that quit college to avoid taking out more riba but I have yet to find a job and will soon be homeless since there is no family or friends I can stay with. My student loans were large enough to support me the entire semester with a part time job but since im not in school I have no job (it was a student job) and no more money. The Qur'an is very clear on riba but what else do I do? I already asked for money from my local musjid.

Q: My husband took a loan. The loan was taken with interest. He bought a phone with that money. Can I use his phone for a online shopping? Is it haaram?

Q: My husband took a loan few months ago. Then he bought a mobile phone with those rupees. Can I use his phone? Is it halaal for me?

Q: There are many needy people in my area. I am helping them in whatever way I can with my hard-earned money. However, this is not enough as the needy people are too many. Can I buy a lottery ticket every month with the intention that if I get lucky enough to win, I will help them with the prize money? I won’t touch a single penny from that amount for my personal use.

Q: EFU is offering takaful insurance. Kindly let us know is it Haraam or halaal as we are very confused about the takaful policy.

Q: If we deposit some of our savings in a bank account for our children and years later we get that back with profit, is that profit permissible and how does is differ between a boy and a girl?