Q. My bank pays me interest on my deposits. I realize that I should not take that money because it is not permissible. I would like to know if it is appropriate to use such interest to buy some articles of clothing and giving them to poor non-Muslim people with no intention of having reward for that? If not, what to do with such interest?
Z.A. Ahmed
A. The first thing that caught my attention is the emphasis the reader gives to his pursuit of no reward for using the bank interest to relieve the poverty of some non-Muslims. If you realize that your action is a good one and benefits other people, why do you make it a condition that you seek no reward? Why not leave it to God, and He rewards you according to your intention? If He determines that your action is motivated by the goodness of your heart, He will surely reward you, if He so pleases, even though the money you used to accomplish it with is interest.
You certainly can use the bank interest for the purpose you have mentioned, and you can also give it to poor Muslims, or use it for purposes that benefit the community. What you must not do is to leave the interest to the bank or destroy it or use it for your own benefit. The proper way is to give it to deserving people enduring poverty.
