Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 348
Malfuzat - English translation of Urdu Volume 7 348 is spent purely for the cause of propagating religion, there is no harm, especially given the situation that Islam has become very weak. And then another problem is that people do not even give Zak a t. I see that two calamities are taking place at this time, and two prohibitions are being violated. Firstly, Zak a t, which had to be given, is not being given, and interest, which was not to be taken, is being taken. That is, the right of God Almighty is not being given, and that which was not a man’s right is being taken. 1 When this is the situation, and Islam is suffering from a dangerous weakness, I deliver the fatwa [religious edict] that such monies received from the bank as interest should at once be spent on the propagation of religion. The fatwa I have given is not of general applicability; otherwise, both the taking and the giving of interest are forbidden. But in this age of the weak- ness of Islam, when the means of financial growth have not come into being and Muslims are not paying attention [to such needs], it is not forbidden to employ such money in the work of Islam. According to the meaning of the Holy Quran, what is for- bidden is the interest spent for one’s own benefit. Remember that just as taking interest is not permissible, giving it to others is also not allowed. However, handing over such money to God Almighty is correct, and the only way to do this is for it to be spent on the propagation of Islam. An example of this is when jihad is taking place, and the ammunition and gunpow- der are with an evil-doer; at that time, it is not right to refrain from its use thinking that this ammunition and gunpowder 1. From Badr: They take what was not their right and do not give what was the right of God either, and in this become guilty of committing two sins simul- taneously. ( Badr, vol. 1, no. 26, p. 4, dated 29 September 1905)