Using bank interest for masjid cleaning materials

Question

Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

Myself Syed Abdul Bari living Makkah Al Mukarammah, Arab Shareef basically from Hyderabad, India.

Hazrat I wanted to ask can we use the interest money received from Banks to buy cleaning material for Masjid without expecting any reward from it.

— Syed Abdul Bari, Makkah (originally Hyderabad, India)

Answer

Wa `Alaykum al-Salām wa Raḥmah-Allāh wa Barakātuh

If interest is received from a Muslim or a Muslim bank, he must return it to the rightful owner. If the rightful owner is unknown and they have exhausted all effort in finding the rightful owner, they must offer it as ṣadaqah to a needy Muslim (faqīr) without the intention of reward. It is not permissible to spend impure wealth on a Masjid.

أنه إن علم أرباب الأموال وجب رده عليهم وإلا فإن علم عين الحرام لا يحل له ويتصدق به بنية صاحبه

“Certainly, if one is aware of the rightful owners of the [ḥarām] wealth, returning it is obligatory, if not, but the nature of the ḥarām [wealth] is clear, it is not permissible for him, and he must offer it in ṣadaqah with the intention of benefiting the true owner.” [Radd al-Muḥtār: Vol. 5, Pg. 220]

If, however, the interest is received from a non-Muslim or a non-Muslim bank, it will not be classified as ribā (ḥarām interest), and one may utilize it as they see fit. It has come in a ḥadīth,

لا ربا بين المسلم والحربي في دار الحرب

“There is no ribā between a Muslim and a ḥarbī [kāfir] in dār al-ḥarb.” [al-Bināyah, Kitāb al-Buyū`]. The part, "in dār al-ḥarb" is not a condition according to the Hanafi Jurists, it is mentioned because the Harbi non-Muslims are generally found in dār al-ḥarb. A Harbi is any non-Muslim that is neither a Zimmi nor a musta'min and Allāh Ta`ālā knows best.

Faqīr Sayyid 'Asad al-Qādirī · (may he be forgiven) · Dhū al-Ḥijjah 6, 1445

Verified by Muftī Zāhid Ḥussain al-Qādirī