Borrowing money from a non-Muslim or from a Muslim who gains money unlawfully

17-12-2009 | IslamWeb

Question:

Salam moe’alaikoem brothers and sisters in Faith,
Now that i know that a Moslim is not allowed to live in an non-Muslim country i have decided to make hijra to my birth-country. To generate a source of income I have decided to start my own business. However, I don’t have the money to finance the business. Lending money with riba is of course not an option. In my birth-country (Morocco) there is no Islamic bank, very strange for a country that says to be an Islamic state.
I am still looking for an Islamic bank who is willing to finance the business, insha’allah soon Allah will find me a solution.
There are also 2 other options and that is why I am asking for your religious verdict.
I know 2 persons who might want to help me finance the business.
One is a kafir who doesn’t believe in anything but is wealthy enough to lend me some money.
The other one is a Muslim and is also wealthy but his wealth is partly based on forbidden trade.
Is it permissible to borrow money from these kind of people?
PS: If anyone who reads this knows an Islamic bank/institution or a Muslim who is willing to finance a brother in faith, please contact me.
May Allah forgive us for our ignorance.
Wa salam moe’alaikoem wa rahmatullah.

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Answer:

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 is His slave and Messenger.

 

It is permissible for a Muslim to deal with a non-Muslim and borrow from him as long as the transaction is free from religious prohibitions and far from flattery at the expense of religion. Also, it is permissible to borrow from a Muslim who has part of his money from forbidden sources, on the condition that the dealing is not in the very ill-gotten money in both cases.

Allaah Knows best.