What is the Ruling of Keeping Impermissible Money as a Trust?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Somebody has given me some money to keep as a trust. I came to find out that around 20% of this money is haram, whereas the other 80% is halal. When he transferred the money, it mixed into my wealth, but the money he gave me was way more than the wealth I had in my account. I then transferred all the money they gave me somewhere to keep it separate. They then told me that they wanted the money back but in monthly installments, which they thought I would be paying them monthly through my salary. However, I used to withdraw their money from the funds I kept separate for them. When I used to obtain their money every month, it used to go to my account, which sometimes used to mix into my wealth.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
It would be disliked for you to keep the money even though it is not yours, as it is akin to indirect assistance in sin. However, you came to know about it later after he had given it to you. You have now separated the money into a separate account, which is a good thing you have done. It would be best if you tried to return it sooner, the better, due to its dislikeness.
Allah Most High says: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.” [Quran, 5:2]
In the Hanafi school, the degrees of assisting another in sin are:
a. direct assistance in sin
b. indirect assistance in sin
c. possible cause for sin.
[IbnʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar; Nahlawi, Durar al-Mubaha; Usmani, Fiqh al-Buyu]
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
