Receiving a cash gift from the bank
QUESTION:
A bank that we have an account with recently held a promotion (link to which is posted below). We were unaware of such a promotion, but fulfilled the requirements to qualify for it, and hence received the specified cash offer. Will this money be permissible to keep? If not, how should we dispose of it?
https://personal.nedbank.co.za/legal/terms-and-conditions/salary-switch-R1000-offer.html (Nedbank salary switch promotion)
ANSWER:
In our understanding the promotion will not be Shariah compliant due to the following reasons:
In the queried scenario, you are required to open a bank account wherein your monthly salary will be deposited. The funds are used by the bank while it remains in the account, hence the funds will be considered as a loan to the bank. The Hadith states that every loan which attracts benefit is considered as Riba, hence it will not be permissible to take the gift, as this is tantamount to benefitting from the loan afforded to the bank. It will therefore be best to give the ‘gift’ to some poor Muslim that qualifies as a recipient of Zakaat, or to a poor non-Muslim.
However, if you were already an existing account holder and the bank gifts you the R1000.00, then it would have been permissible to utilize the funds if the funds were Halaal. In our understanding, majority of the bank’s income is from interest-based transactions, hence the funds should be given out in charity as explained above.
من اكتسب مالا بغير حق …ففي جميع الأحوال المال الحاصل حرام عليه و لكن إن أخذه من غير عقد لم يملكه و يجب عليه أن يرده على مالكه إن وجد المالك و إلا ففي جميع الصور يجب عليه أن يتصدق بمثل تلك الأموال على الفقراء (بذل المجهود 1/37)
وقد نهى الرسول – عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ – عن قرض جر نفعا ش: الحديث رواه علي – رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ – ولفظه: قال رسول الله – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -: كل قرض جر نفعا فهو ربا (البناية ص493 ج8)
Re: – Kitaab-un-Nawaazil Vol.27 Pg.572
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Maulana Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: – 22 Safar 1445 / 08 September 2023
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb