Any interest money received should be given in charity without hoping or intending reward. MB Trust uses interest money in two recognised areas:
Essential community welfare
Communal toilets, sanitation facilities, roads, bridges and other projects that provide a genuine public benefit.
Supporting the poor and needy
Interest money may be given to individuals eligible to receive Zakāt. Once received, it is permissible for them to use because they were not involved in the unlawful transaction.
By entrusting your interest money to MB Trust, you can ensure that it is distributed responsibly and only through appropriate Sharīʿah-compliant channels.
References from the madhhabs
Ḥanafī madhhab
- Imam al-Zaylaʿī states that unlawful earnings should be given away.
Reference: al-Zaylaʿī, Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqāʾiq, vol. 6, p. 27. - Imam Ibn ʿĀbidīn similarly states that where the unlawful wealth must be given away on behalf of its owner.
Reference: Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār, vol. 5, p. 99. - The Ḥanafī jurist Imam al-Shurunbulālī explains that the giver should not intend to obtain reward from the money itself:
لَا يَقْصِدُ بِهِ تَحْصِيلَ الثَّوَابِ، بَلْ تَفْرِيغَ الذِّمَّةِ
“He should not intend to acquire reward through it; rather, he intends to discharge his liability.”
Mālikī madhhab
- Imam al-Qurṭubī writes concerning money obtained through ribā that it should be given away in charity.
Reference: Imam al-Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, pp. 366 to 367, commentary on Qurʾān 2:278. - Further Mālikī references include:
- Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, Fatāwā Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, p. 632.
- Al-Wansharīsī, Al-Miʿyār al-Muʿrib, vol. 9, p. 551.
Shāfiʿī madhhab
- Imam al-Nawawī mentions regarding ḥarām wealth (interest), it may be spent upon public Muslim interests, mentioning bridges and public facilities as examples. Otherwise, it should be given to one or more poor people.
- He also explicitly states:
وَإِذَا دَفَعَهُ إِلَى الْفَقِيرِ لَا يَكُونُ حَرَامًا عَلَى الْفَقِيرِ، بَلْ يَكُونُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا
“When it is given to a poor person, it is not unlawful for the poor person; rather, it becomes lawful and wholesome for them.”
- Imam al-Nawawī then confirms that other Shāfiʿī jurists mentioned the same position and approved it.
Reference: Imam al-Nawawī, Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, vol. 9, pp. 428 to 429.
Ḥanbalī madhhab
- Imam Ibn Mufliḥ records that unlawful money should not be personally used. It shall be spent on the welfare and interests of the Muslim community. He also states that when it is given away, a poor person may lawfully consume and benefit from it.
Reference: Ibn Mufliḥ, Al-Furūʿ, vol. 11, p. 141; pagination may vary between editions. - Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah explains that such funds may be used for public benefit and may also be given to people who qualify for Zakāt, including the poor, needy, indebted and stranded traveller.
References: Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, vol. 30, p. 328 and vol. 29, pp. 263 and 321.