Fatwa #146822 November 2006India
I am the only son to my parents and my parents are too old to stay in my native place without me.So, I am planning to shift my parents also to Mumbai. For that I need to either get a flat on rent or purchase it.
Question
I am an Indian and working in Mumbai for a software company.
I am not basically from Mumbai but relocated to Mumbai for job purpose only.
I am the only son to my parents and my parents are too old to stay in my native place without me.So, I am planning to shift my parents also to Mumbai. For that I need to either get a flat on rent or purchase it.
Right now, I don’t have enough money to purchase a flat by cash but I can avail Interest-Bearing-Home-Loan and will try to repay it ASAP. I will try to pay 20% of flat rate by cash and will avail loan for remaining 80% of cost. I will try to purchase a resale flat to minimize the loan amount.Alhumdulillah, I am liable to repay the loan in designated tenure.
If I would avail Home-Loan then I will exempt from paying Income Tax (which we pay to Government unwillingly) and Monthly-Rent (which will be required to pay if I will get a flat on rent) which will compensate/offset my EMI. After some period I will owner of that flat.
I am not willingly planning to avail Interest-Bearing loan but my whole intention is to get exempted from Income Tax and to help my parents by shifting them to Mumbai ASAP.
Once I will purchase a flat I will plan to get married soon, InshaAllah.
Kindly issue me the ruling/fatwa for above mentioned question.
Answer
Muhtaram
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Interest is expressly prohibited (Haraam). A person engaged in interest bearing transaction is in war with Allah and His Rasul. Such a persons sin is equivalent to committing adultery with ones mother 36 times. There is no relaxation in Shariah for an expressly prohibited act without a desperate course. For example, if ones life is threatened if he/she does not utter words of Kufr, then he may utter words of kufr on condition he is firm on his imaan and belief. Even in this instance, it is better to exercise restraint and die. In your instance, you do not fall in the category of a desperate person. Your life is not threatened. You could rent a house. At most, you will not own a house. There is no cause for relaxing the prohibition of interest.
You rather rent a house and not be engaged in war with Allah and His Rasul. How would your conscience allow you to purchase a house and be at war with Allah and His Rasul?
And Allah Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai