There is a man who has an amount of money which he deposited in the bank so as to pay the rent of his apartment from the interest that it accrues. He does not have any other resource. Is this lawful?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The bank interest that is based on Ribaa (interest or usury) is not permissible for a Muslim to benefit from, because this money is unlawful to consume. It was reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “One dirham (a unit of currency) from Ribaa is graver in the sight of Allaah than thirty acts of fornication that are committed in Islam.” [Ahmad] A version narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn Hanthalah reads: “thirty-six” instead of 30. [At-Daaraqutni]

As such, the Muslim is first required to repent to Allaah The Almighty, because Ribaa is deadly and Allaah has declared war on those who consume it, Saying (what means): {O you who have believed, fear Allaah and give up what remains [due to you] of Ribaa, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allaah and His Messenger.} [Quran 2:278-279] Part of this repentance would be to take the capital (original or principal sum) and dispose of the rest of the money by returning it to its due claimant. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {But if you repent, you may have your principal - [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.} [Quran 2:279] If there is no due claimant, then the interest should be given to the poor and needy. It is not permissible to channel it into building a mosque and the like, because Allaah The Almighty is good and only accepts what is good, as indicated by an authentic Hadeeth. Therefore, the interest should be donated to the public benefit, such as giving it to the poor or to Mujaahids (those who fight in the way of Allaah), but not for the sake of building mosques and the like, as we have mentioned.

Finally, it is also impermissible to pay the rent of one’s apartment from interest money, because by doing so, the person would have drawn benefit from it, and this is the very opposite of disposing of the forbidden money.

Allaah Knows best.