Category: Riba, Loans and Working in Banks

There is no Sin on you due to your ignorance of the ruling

Question :

I work in Saudi Arabia and I transfer sums of money to my country, Sudan, by way of a person who gives me Saudi riyals, and I give him a piece of paper for my customer in Sudan so that he will give him in return Sudanese Junayhs. Thus, both of us benefit from the difference in the currencies. Then, I send the riyals to the National Bank in America and after that we transfer it to Sudan. By this method the dollar gets a return of two dollars. What should I do after finding out that this is forbidden, especially since I got married from this money and I have business projects and real estate properties from it?

Answer:

It is correct that this transaction is from those things that are prohibited, because from the condition of money exchange is that it must be hand to hand (i.e., paid up front). So, if you want to exchange Saudi riyals for Sudanese Junayhs and then send the Junayhs to Sudan, then you should take the riyals and give the Junayhs (on the spot), then send the riyals to the customer or you should send the riyals to Sudan and let them be exchanged for Sudanese Junayhs therewith on the spot exchange taking place. However, you take the riyals here and give a piece of paper (for payment later) to the customer, so mutual exchange is not achieved. Also, the price could change during this period of time. Also, there is the Riba transaction that occurs with the bank of the United States, which is one of the Riba banks, as you get a profitable increase in it (due to interest on the account), as mentioned in the question. There is no doubt that this increase is from the clearly forbidden Riba. However, with all of this, what is obligatory is that you repent from this action, leave it and replace it with permissible transactions in which there is no doubt or suspicion. In reference to the wealth that you earned by this method while you were ignorant of the ruling, there is no problem in acquiring it and you own whatever you got from it of real estate, payment of the bridal dowry and expenditures.

Source:
Ash-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 3 Pages 355-356