Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
We do not know to what extent Al-baraka Bank is abiding by the Islamic jurisprudence in its dealings. However, we affirm that loans are of two kinds:
· A loan (good loan) without interest or usury, this is permissible and there is no problem about it.
· A loan with interest and usury, whether the interest or usury is a big amount or a small amount. This kind of loan is Haram without doubt.
Both the creditor and debtor are sinful, as Muslim reported from Jabir (Radiya Allahu Anhu) who said: “The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Allah has cursed the one who eats Riba (usury and interest) the one who provides others with it, its witness and its writer." [Al Tirmizi].
Allah knows best.