Repenting from taking a riba-based loan

Repenting from taking a riba-based loan

I took out a loan from the bank, due to difficult circumstances, because I wanted to prepare an apartment to get married. Please note that there is nothing luxurious in this flat at all, and it is a very simple flat. I am a teacher and my salary is transferred to the bank and a sum of money will be deducted from it each month for five years, until the loan ends. Two and a half years have passed, and I have decided to go to the bank and stop this loan, because I feel that anything that happens is because of this loan. But I found out that the amount that should be paid is more than I can afford. In addition to that, I was intending to do ‘Umrah this year, myself, my wife and my son and daughter. Is it permissible for me to travel for Umrah, hoping that Allaah will heal my sick son and then come back to stop this loan next November in sha Allaah, or what should I do?.

From Quran Blog 

And important note that we want to discuss and share with you its is about reading Quran and Reciting Holy Quran to understand it, Ramadan is the month when the beautiful the Holy Quran has been revealed.  A miracle by the creator of the worlds, Allah (SWT)  Should we not glorify him by reading the gift he has sent down for us and learn Arabic Quran by heart  to feel the power of it and learn is with translation to understand it and let our heart fill will tears of glory and wash away our sins  “Will they not meditate on the Quran, or are there locks on the hearts”, read Holy Quran, Surah Muhammad, Verse 24.

End from holy Quran reciter blog

 

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible to take out riba-based loans, from the
bank or elsewhere, even if that is to prepare a house for marriage, because
of the definite prohibition on riba and the stern warning against it. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah and give up what
remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really)
believers.

279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war
from Allaah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital
sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you
shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums)”

[al-Baqarah 2:278-279] 

Muslim (1598) narrated
that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes
riba, the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who
witness it, and he said: “They are all the same.” 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: Every loan in which it is stipulated that something
extra be paid is haraam, and there is no difference of opinion on this
point. Ibn al-Mundhir said: They were unanimously agreed that if the lender
stipulates that the borrower must pay extra or give him a gift, and he gives
the loan on the basis that he will take an additional payment for that, it
is riba.  

End quote from al-Mughni, 6/436 

What the one who has taken out a riba-based loan has to do is
repent to Allaah and regret what he has done, and he has to resolve firmly
not to go back to this great sin and serious crime, concerning which there
is narrated a warning such as has not been narrated concerning any other
sin. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. 

Moreover, according to Islam you are not obliged to pay back
any more than the capital; as for the haraam interest, you are not obliged
to pay it and it is not permissible for the lender to take it from you,
because Allaah says: “but if you repent, you shall have your capital
sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you
shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums)”. 

But if you fear harm and problems if you do not pay the
interest, then pay it, and repent to Allaah and feel dislike towards this
great evil. 

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) was asked:
I borrowed one hundred pounds from one of my friends on the basis that I
would pay him back one hundred and fifty. When the time to pay it back came,
I tried to give him one hundred only, but he insisted on taking the extra
amount of fifty pounds in return for the laon. What is the ruling on this
extra amount? If that comes under the heading of riba, is there any sin on
me, and how can I rid myself of that, knowing that the money that I borrowed
from him has become mixed with my own money. What do I have to do? 

He replied: Allaah has forbidden riba and has issued a stern
warning against it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of
Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan
(Satan) leading him to insanity…

O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah and give up what
remains (due to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really)
believers.

And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from
Allaah and His Messenger”

[al-Baqarah 2:275, 278-279] 

There are many forms and types of riba. What you mention in
the question is a loan with interest. The kind of loan that is allowed in
Islam is al-qard al-hasan (a goodly loan) in which you lend something to
your brother so that he may benefit from the loan, then he pays you back
without any additional payment being stipulated and without paying less.
This is the goodly loan. As for the loan which brings a benefit or the loan
which is intended to bring a payment of interest, this is haraam according
to the consensus of the Muslims. It is haraam according to the Qur’aan and
Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslims, and a stern warning is issued to
the one who does that. What should be done is to repay the amount that was
borrowed; as for the additional payment which has been stipulated and taken
from you, this is haraam and is riba. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays
it, the two who witness it and the one who writes it down. He (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also cursed the one who consumes riba
and the one who helps him to consume it. So what you have done is haraam and
is a major sin, and you have to repent to Allaah. He has to give this
interest that he took back to you, because it is not permissible for him.
You committed a haraam action by giving him the interest. What you should
have done is to refrain from paying interest. 

What you have done is blatant riba, so you both have to
repent to Allaah and not do any such transaction again. The other person has
to return the interest that he took. And Allaah knows best. 

End quote from al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Shaykh al-Fawzaan,
5/210 

Remember that the more
quickly you get rid of this loan, the better it will be, so that you may rid
yourself of riba and its effects. 

So it is better for you to hasten to pay it off and to use
the money that you were going to use for ‘Umrah to rid yourself of this
debt. 

We ask Allaah to heal your son and to relieve your distress,
and make you independent of means from halaal sources so that you will have
no need of anything haraam. 

And Allaah knows best.

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