Can I Accept Repayment From Someone Who Took an Interest Loan?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is it permissible to accept repayment from a family member who pays back money borrowed from a bank, involving interest?

Answer

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

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

It is permissible to accept repayment from a family member, even if the money they use comes from a loan involving interest. The sin and responsibility of engaging in interest-based transactions lies with the person who takes the loan, not the one who receives repayment, provided that the money returned to you is not increased unlawfully and is your rightful due.

Allah (Most High) says:

“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest.” [Quran, 2:275]

The obligation to avoid interest lies primarily on the one who borrows or lends money with interest. If your relative has taken an interest-bearing loan to repay you, they bear that responsibility before Allah. You, however, are simply receiving the due amount to which you are entitled.

Ideally, one should advise family members to avoid interest-based borrowing and seek lawful alternatives, but accepting repayment itself does not make you complicit in the sin.

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.