May the peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be upon you, our honorable scholars:

Please explain the noble Shari`ah ruling on the matter of scholarships and interest-based loans for getting an education in this non-Muslim country since, where my husband and I live, if students want to get a scholarship to study at the university, which is like financial aid without interest, the student has to accept the loan that is about one-third of the scholarship, and this loan, of course, has interest, and it has to be paid back with interest six months after you finish your studies. The problem is, if I refuse the loan that comes with the scholarship, I won’t get the scholarship, and if I don’t study, I won’t be able to leave this non-Muslim country afterwards because decent work in an Arab country is very hard to find without higher education. My husband began a difficult major, and the subject he’s taking requires a lot more time than other majors, so he won’t be able to work and study at the same time. This is confusing us. I suggested to my husband: what if we take the scholarship and the loan and we don’t touch the loan money at all? What if we put it in a deposit and when his studies are over, we give it back? But I was afraid of doing that when I remembered the Saying of Allah Most High (interpretation of the meaning):

{Help ye one another in goodness and righteousness, but do not help one another in sin and transgression.}

[Surat al-Ma’idah 5:2] 

So, what is the Islamic ruling on this solution or the other and which is the safest ruling? Just to clarify, my husband’s studies, by Allah’s Leave, will give him better job opportunities, insha’Allah, than he would have now, and it is the only way to help us leave this country for a Muslim country because we are eager to raise our children in a Muslim country, insha’Allah. Please guide us, and may Allah grant you the best of all rewards and the best of all endings for our sake.

Your sister in Canada

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his household, his companions and those who have followed him. To proceed:

It is no secret that the basic ruling on interest is that it is prohibited, whether in small or large amounts, that no allowances can be made for borrowing money with interest except in cases of exigent need, that the Muslim is accountable before Allah for the estimation of his need, and that it is his responsibility to refer to the People of Knowledge to determine whether or not there exist such pressing circumstances. Then he must judge the extent of his need and take steps to eliminate it.

In regards to student loans in particular, this issue will be presented at AMJA’s upcoming annual convention to take a clear decision, by Allah’s Leave, since so many people are asking about it because some people [scholars] consider it to be the type of need that is so pervasive and widespread that it reaches the status of exigent needs in terms of [temporarily] permitting the prohibited; however, it is also undeniable that this interpretation is debatable. In any case, the issue will be studied at AMJA’s annual convention and we will reply with a clear resolution, by Allah’s Leave.

As for your situation in particular, if this interest-based loan is determined to be the only way to get the scholarship and the scholarship is determined to be the only way to pave the way and expedite your departure from this country and to establish residence in an Islamic country, and then you firmly resolve not to touch the loan money, and that it will remain with you in a safe place until it can be returned when it is due after graduation and before any interest is charged, then there does not appear to us to be anything wrong with that. It would be the same as the situation of credit cards, about which the People of Knowledge have stated that allowance can be made to use them in the West when there is a need for them, despite the fact that they involve invalid conditions in the contract, as long as whoever deals with them fulfills his obligations on time so that he does not subject himself to the consequences of these invalid conditions.

We ask Allah to increase you in prudent caution and piety.

And Allah Almighty is the Most High, and He knows best.