“DO you think that work in the banking sector is halal?” (religiously approved) “Is the money invested or deposited in a bank halal?” Such are the questions many of us have heard from friends or family members who are looking for jobs or considering various bank transactions. Somehow you will find that there is a general sentiment that looks at work and dealing with banks with skepticism and suspicion. That feeling comes from different religious “fatwas” (edicts) which have stressed that interest given by banks is haram (forbidden) and that people should find a way of avoiding it, either as clients or employees
There has been a long-running debate among several Muslim scholars on this very issue and it has yet to be resolved. It is thus not surprising that people are confused about a great deal of bank-related business. This issue has become part of our lives to the extent that whenever we open a savings account, the first question the bank clerk asks is whether you want to receive interest.
In most cases, people refuse the interest. A friend once told me that when she opened an account, the clerk at the women’s section asked her this very question. As it was my friends’ first experience in banking, she looked vaguely at the bank clerk, wondering what the question meant and what her answer should be. Her confusion, however, did not last long since the clerk quickly said, “Most people refuse to take interest since they believe it is haram.” Predictably of course, my friend refused to take the interest, just as many others before her have done. And this is the way people abandon their interest to the bank instead of troubling themselves with money that is “haram.” As far as general knowledge about banking is concerned, we need a great many clarifications about what banks do, what is allowed and what is not. Banks here obviously work within the country’s legal system but there is uncertainty about what is legal and what is not — and on what basis is legality decided. The reason for this confusion is that we do not have a system. People are torn between what they believe and what is offered as legal services but they need to have some sort of assurance that their transactions are compatible with what they believe is right. This is of course not only a job for bankers but is also one for religious scholars who need at least to study the whole issue again and try to reach some sort of agreement so that people will not be confused and uncertain.
In Al-Watan paper a few days ago, an article explored what economic experts think of this confusion. The major demand was that, when it comes to matters of investments, too many fatwas are confusing and hence people are not sure of what to do. The experts who were interviewed gave an example of two companies which are traded on the Saudi stock exchange. According to a fatwa by a recognized scholar, the purchase of those stocks are Islamically forbidden — in his opinion, that is. The experts noted that after the fatwa, the stocks fell dramatically and it was only after people sought other opinions and found scholars who said it was all right to buy the stocks that the prices rose again. Most of the experts said that issuing such fatwas should be done by experts who have studied both economics and religion and can therefore come up with a fair and knowledgeable decision. They warned that otherwise there would be a negative impact on the economy. Another economist suggested that economic experts should work as consultants to senior scholars so that their judgments are made as a result of serious study and comprehensive knowledge. This seems to me to be a fair request.
As I was writing this piece, I remembered a recent development in our society. Ordinary, normal citizens who have not studied a certain subject and who lack any experience in dealing with it suddenly assume the role of scholars and pronounce judgments. The word “forbidden” is always bestowed quickly and freely on anything that those uninformed individuals happen to feel is wrong. On a general level, this coincides with how some people are quick to offer judgments and opinions on anything without studying the subject or knowing anything about it. Such people normally have no religious training or experience that qualifies them to issue fatwas. Just look at any social gathering where there are always many laymen ready to offer an expert opinion on whatever subject is being discussed that day.
Most of the time, those self-appointed judges have no religious background that qualify them to enter in the field of fatwas. Just look around at social gatherings where there are always many laymen ready to offer an expert view of any topic discussed on that day. They feel sure that they know and understand everything. How lucky we are to have them!
Children’s Games
In a story from the German Press Agency, the Iraqi government allegedly reported that American forces had asked the people in an Iraqi village to turn in five children who were seen on TV holding clothes belonging to dead American soldiers. The soldiers were killed in an ambush in the area and later, American soldiers surrounded the village and asked the locals to turn in both the insurgents and the children. The residents refused to turn in the children, saying that as small children, they were not accountable for their actions. Indeed! The unfortunate children have grown up more or less in a war zone; instead of playing war games as children in other countries do, they were caught in a real war. Should we blame them for what their country is going through?
