Is the 4% on my credit card in this situation an interest?
Question
I am trying to purchase a house for my family and I am 20,000 $ short of buying it cash to avoid a loan through the bank. My credit card company is offering me the option to get 20,000 $ cash advance with 1 year 0 % interest, after one year interest goes up to 14 %, there is also a one-time fee they call it ‘transaction fee’ and it is 4 % one-time fee. Is this is concerned Riba or is it Halal if I intend to pay the 20,000 $ during the 0 % period?
I am also concerned about the 4 %, is it Riba or not?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykumwa-rahmatullāhiwa-barakātuh.
May Allah make all our tasks easy and grant all of us Halaal income. Ameen
In principle, it is impermissible to enter a contract which has a condition of interest upon default.
If one has entered in such a contract then he has to pay back the amount before the interest starts to accumulate on the loan.
According to our understanding, the 4% charged is a service fee. If this is the case then it is permissible to pay the 4 %.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Hussein Issa,
Mozambique
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
- Answered by
- Mufti Hussein Issa
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue
For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.
Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/19783
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-19783
People also ask
Is using a credit card permissible?
“The monthly fee which the bank charges the credit card holder is not permissible. This amount is riba (interest). One is paying the bank this monthly fee in order to keep this credit facility open to him to qualify for credit…”
Mufti Online · 121 fatawa from 6 Darul Iftas on this
What the Darul Iftas say