Riyad Bank presented to me some valuable stationery as gifts offered to clients. Is it permissible to use such gifts? And if not, what must I do? May Allah guide you to goodness.

First, to be on the safe side, the questioner’s account must be in a non-usurious bank.

Second, as a precaution, it is better to give away the stationery to someone who needs them or as a charity. Anyway, you can keep it, according to a well-founded opinion of some Muslim scholars (such as Ibn Mas`ud and others) that it is ok to accept gifts from a usurer.

Greetings. I need your opinion on a matter that worries me a lot. I work as a maintenance technician, and I want to buy a computer to help me in my work, but I do not have enough cash, as my salary is not enough and I am already repaying a debt. So, I am thinking of buying it by installments, but this means I will pay more than its current price. Is this extra sum a form of usury if both parties (the seller and I) are accepting this?

Another point: I want a standard definition for usury, to apply it to different cases I come across in my life. For example, I want to furnish my home to get married, but I cannot afford this in cash, and no furniture seller would accept to sell something by installments at the same original price. I am also thinking of taking a bank loan to start my own business, build a house for marriage, etc. Kindly clarify the ruling to me soon on the urgent question of buying a computer. May Allah reward you with good.

The question includes three points, as follows:

1. Purchasing a computer by installments that cover the price and an interest margin: This sale is permissible, and there is no impediment to it in Shari`ah, as judged by majority of Muslim scholars. Allah says, {But Allah permits commerce and forbids usury}. In deferred sale, there is no difference between delaying the whole payment and paying it in installments.

2. Definition of usury: Usury have several types, as `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said. Scholars differed on whether it refers to “every invalid sale” or “any interest charged on loans (Riba An-Nasi’ah) or the extra value incurred when exchanging two things of the same kinds (Riba Al-Fadl). The most common type of usury these days is the interests charged on bank loans, by which the principal generates an extra with no goods or services transacted in between, which is impermissible in Shari`ah. This also answers your third question about your intention to borrow an interest-laden sum of money from a bank.

Kindly advise us about the Shar`i ruling on trading on currencies online via the Forex system. I am well trained in it and can use it to make money, but I fear being involved in something haram. Please answer me, may Allah confer Mercy and guidance upon you.

Trading on different foreign currencies, such as exchanging dollars for riyals, is permissible, provided that it is interest-free. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “But the types (of transacted goods) are different, then trade as you like as long as it is a hand-to-hand exchange”.

And Allah knows best.

Someone took a loan from a Western bank and then defaulted on repayments due to the annual interest. How can he repent? And what is the ruling on the property of non-Muslims?

Regarding the first question, even though he cannot pay back such debts, they remain payables to be fulfilled by him. He must ask Allah for forgiveness, regret his deed, and never do it again.

As for the second question, it is impermissible to transgress against property of non-Muslims by cheating, deception, stealth, or whatever. Your entry visa to a certain territory is like a “covenant of security”, which is incompatible with taking others’ property illegally. If you obtain something from a non-Muslim as a free gift or by purchase or some form of transaction, there is no impediment to this. But to appropriate others’ property or swindle them because they are non-Muslims is impermissible in Shari`ah.

I live in France, and I am married to a French Muslim. She could not get pregnant, and we are thinking of adoption as a way to relieve our longing for having a baby. French laws prohibit bringing children from abroad for this purpose. So, is it permissible for us to adopt a kid here and give him our family name while our family and the child himself know that he is not our kin?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and prayer be upon the Messenger of Allah.

We really sympathize with the questioner, but we would like to inform him that adoption is expressly prohibited in the Glorious Qur’an. Allah, Exalted be He, says, {Call them (i.e., adoptees) by (the names of) their fathers. That is more just in the Sight of Allah} [Al-Ahzab: 5]. He also says, {Nor has He made your adoptees your own children. That is but your saying with your mouths. But Allah says the truth, and only He guides to the (Right) Way} [Al-Ahzab: 4].

Adoption was a practice of Jahiliyyah (i.e., pre-Islamic periods of ignorance), and it has been invalidated by Islam. Child adoption leads to confusion of lineage and many consequent problems. It establishes a relation of kinship that cannot be established except by the Lawgiver (i.e., Allah), Who has specified forms and purposes of kinship and affinity. Accordingly, I advise the questioner and his wife to submit themselves to the indisputable Commands of Allah. In fact, Islam means submission to the Lord. Allah says, {When his Lord said to him, “Submit (i.e. be a Muslim)!” He said, “I have submitted myself (as a Muslim) to the Lord of the worlds”} [Al-Baqarah: 131].

It is important to note that fostering can be a better solution if relevant Shar`i guidelines are observed. A foster parent can bequeath a portion of his property to the fosterling and should treat him kindly and bring him up properly, as a foster, not biological, child. I think this may well be sufficient for the questioner instead of adoption, which is unquestionably prohibited by Shari`ah. And Allah knows best.