Loans

Paying back more than the loaned amount

Q: Say, suppose, I had borrowed some money from a certain person (not specific) about few years back. When I return the money to him, do I return the exact amount or should I include some extra amount accounting for the inflation that would have occurred during the years. Would including the extra amount mean I am giving interest and would it be a haram?

Taking a loan from the bank to purchase a house

Q: I am from India. We are three bothers and we have only one home. With the grace of Allah (Ta'ala) coming year I will get married. So, I was thinking of buying a home. As I don't have enough money. I need to take a loan. But here in India we don't have Islamic banking. And I don't have other means to get that required amount. What is best for me? As there is Riba involved if I want to buy a flat from the banks which follow non-islamic banking.

Avoiding interest when paying off a loan

Q: I would like to perform hajj in the near future so I need to pay off two loans. I have student loans from over a decade ago that I would like to pay off in full. However, I don’t want to pay the interest that has accumulated on these loans. If I can settle to pay just the amount of the original loan, will that be permissible? Also, I have an outstanding loan from a certain company. If the company agrees to let me pay just a percentage to have the entire loan forgiven, is that permissible?

Taking the money owed to one by one's father from his money

Q: My dad owes me some money, however he thinks that whatever money I give him, he doesn't have to pay me back. However I am the one that looks after his money fully. He keeps his savings with me also. Would it be permissible for me to take my money without telling him, he will not realise that I have taken my money as it is a very little amount. If I ask for my money back he may get upset and offended.

Interest bearing loan

Q: I wanted to find out something regarding interest. I'm currently in an unstable financial situation, I find it very difficult to pay my expenses, I'm currently working and have tried many things to make additional income with no success. I've been working on a business plan and submitted to government, would it be permissible for me to take a loan from them? The loan will have interest payable. I cannot go to any Islamic bank etc because of my financial record. I have no other options, please advise.

Selling an item to a person who requires a loan

Q: One of my colleagues asked me to lend him some money like 10 thousand which he wanted to use for his personal use. He said he would give me back 12 thousand in one month. I rejected his offer saying it is haraam. He asked me to buy him something like a computer for 10 thousand and he was ready to buy it from me at 12 thousand. But he would give me after 1 month. If he pays early, no discount and if he pays late, no extra money he will give but I can demand my money after 1 month. He purchased from me and he sold it in the market and got cash to satisfy his needs. Later after one month he gave me 12 thousand. Is the profit of 2 thousand haraam?

Helping someone set up a business

Q: Please assist help me understand the concept of helping someone to set up a business.

Scenario A:

Person A helps person B by lending the person R 10 000 for a business. Person A wants R 15 000 after 3 years (R 10 000 as capital and R 5 000 as profit). This is purely money lent to another person. Is this ribah?

Scenario B:

Person A buys a business for R 10 000 person B and then Person B pays off the R 10 000 (capital) + R 5000 (Profit) over 3 years. A business is bought and sold back to Person A. Is this Halaal?