Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.
Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
To proceed:
There is no doubt that this is not permissible because it is taking a loan without meeting the requirements. Obviously, a person may say: I will pay pack the money, so where is the problem?
The response to that is: If you, the one who is asking had put conditions for borrowing and said: you only lend a person who meets your conditions. Would you be pleased to lend someone who comes and deceives you? Certainly you would not. If you were not going to be pleased with it, then know that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: “none of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”
The fact that a person is in need does not justify what was done because it involves lying. When his uncle goes to the bank he will be forced to lie and say: I am in need when he is not in need. Moreover he might have to add lies such as, he wants to renovate, build or marry when all this is not real.
This issue is based on a mistake and a transaction that is not permissible, consequently it does not grant the privileges enjoyed by the borrower if he dies. Therefore this person should give back the bank all the money he took. I hope that if he did this, he will clear his name of all the lies he did before. I ask Allah to forgive me and forgive him. It is incumbent for a Muslim to search for what is permissible. Some people regard as permissible whatever they get no matter which way they got it, this is wrong and contrary to the Quran and Sunnah which instructs us to look at the purity of money. The safest thing to do for your heart, religion and life is to avoid money that comes from a doubtful source. This is because Allah deprives interest of all blessings but will give increase on deeds of charity. How many people took this path but did not achieve what they wanted, or maybe they got the opposite of what they wanted and their debts increased and their affairs floundered and they drew sin on themselves if they did not repent. Therefore the advice that I give to myself and my brothers is that we should avoid this as it is a sign of adherence to the Sunnah. In this regard, Fadhil Ibn ‘Iyadh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The people of Sunnah are those who avoid eating prohibited things, and this shows that the issue of correct and true path is not just theoretical, but it is also practical. We visualize that the way of the people of Sunnah is related to the oneness of Allah in His Lordship, names and qualities. Scientific and theoretical issues similar to this are fundamentals and basics, but the matter goes beyond this and addresses ethical and behavioral issues which a believer should take heed of. This is because they are the hallmarks of adherence to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him).
Your brother,
Dr. Khalid al-Mosleh
