Can Children Use Money Earned Unlawfully by Their Parents?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

According to the Hanafi school, is it permissible to use money earned by one’s parents through unlawful means such as interest dealings, considering the principle of ease in the Shari‘a?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is strictly prohibited (haram) to transact or spend money that was acquired unlawfully. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Can It Be Spent?

That said, in the case that your parents give you wealth, then the following must be taken into consideration:

Mixed Wealth

If your parents’ earnings are permissible but have some illicit wealth, such as usury mixed in, if they give you money that does not exceed the amount of their wealth that was acquired in a permissible way, you may spend that wealth. [‘Usmani, Fiqh al-Buyu‘]

This is because you can assume that the wealth given to you was from the permissible portion and not from the portion that was from usury. [Ibid.]

If the amount they give you surpasses the percentage of their wealth that is lawful, then to the extent that it exceeds the lawful, you may not spend of it. [Ibid.]

Completely Unlawful Wealth

Both of these scenarios assume that your parents have mixed wealth: some lawful and some unlawful. [Ibid.]

If the wealth itself is entirely of unlawful sources, it is impermissible to use it at all. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.