Should I Strive to Pay Off My Interest-Based Student Loan Sooner?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Should I continue with the automatic deductions on my interest-based student loan, given it will be canceled after 30 years or upon death, or should I strive to pay it off sooner?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is incumbent upon the Muslim to avoid taking or giving interest/usury. If one has fallen into an interest-based loan, one should strive to finish off that loan as soon as possible without putting themselves into undue difficulty.
At the least, you should pay as much of it off as quickly as possible. If you can take a non-interest loan from a family member/trusted friend to pay a large sum or all of it, this would be best.
Consider this Islamic organization that is a non-profit setup to help people with student loans.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
