Working in a usurious bank just to gain experience

19-12-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it permissible to work in an interest based bank just for experience purposes, not with an object to earn money and spend the salaries received from the bank on the poor and in fare? Now a days it is very difficult to get a job without any experience. So, if a person can get a job in a bank without experience, why should he not join that bank?

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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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

A bank worker is either writing Ribaa (interest and / or usury), or calculating it, or witnessing it, or helping in it by any form. All of this is forbidden, whether he does it in return for wages, voluntarily, or for any other purpose.

Allaah Says (what means): {…but do not help one another in sin and transgression.}[Quran 5:2]. There is no doubt that Ribaa is one of the grave major sins. Furthermore, it is reported that the Prophet said: "Allaah has cursed the one who consumes Ribaa (i.e. usury or interest), the one who gives it to others, the one who writes it down and the one who witnesses it." He said: "All of them are equal in sin." [Muslim]

An-Nawawi said: "The above narration is evidence that it is forbidden to write down a sale contract between two people that deals with Ribaa, or to witness it, and it is also evidence that it is prohibited to help in sin.”

Based on the above grounds, it is forbidden to work in a bank which deals with Ribaa as it includes helping in Ribaa. Taking wages from this work or not taking wages does not change the ruling as the work is forbidden in principle.

If you want to gain experience, then you should look for a bank which abides by religious rulings and train there.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 89765.

Allaah Knows best.