MAKKAH: A number of Islamic scholars have warned people who pay government fees electronically on behalf of others in lieu of certain charges that they are guilty of dealing in Riba (usury).
Many citizens have established offices near government departments — such as the offices of the Passport Department, the Traffic Police and Civil Affairs — to pay government fees electronically on behalf of other people against fees of up to SR20. These offices make daily net profits ranging between SR300 and SR500 for the work they do.
They pay fees via ATMs, the telephone and Internet sites. Their income usually increases during summer when more people come to government offices to complete their paperwork.
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Masoudi, a lecturer in Fiqh (jurisprudence) and a member of the Committee on Awareness and Ifta (ruling) in the Grand Mosque, said such monetary dealings are not permissible under Islamic teachings. “They will be buying money for more than its actual value which is not correct.”
He said the extra charge these offices ask for in order to pay the government fees for other people is not justified and is pure usury.
Sheikh Al-Masoudi said the people who pay government fees on behalf of others for extra charge have turned the ATMs into something similar to the black market, which we usually witness before an important soccer match or a concert. “They gather around the ATMs to hunt anyone who wants to pay government fees… against a certain amount of money which ranges between SR10 and SR50,” he said.
Sheikh Al-Masoudi warned citizens who pay government fees for others against a certain amount of money that they are violating Islamic rules, whatever name they give to this process whether it be service charge or paperwork.
