Bahith Ruling on interest Q1.The money that I have been maintaining in a bank account in India gets periodical interest. What should be done with the interest? A1. Muslims should stay away from Riba because it is one of the major sins. Allah, the Exalted warns believers from dealing with Riba and declared war against one who consumed it. He said, “O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from Riba (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums).” (Qur'an, 2:278-279) If the bank has an option of checking account then you should use of that, and stay away from all other types of accounts that give interest. However, if they add interest to your money, then don't leave the interest in your account. Take that money and give it to Islamic charitable organizations or poor and needy Muslims with the intention of getting rid of it. Possessed by evil spirits Q2. A person prays regularly and lives a proper Islamic life, but then later gets possessed by evil and dies due to it. What will be his/her Aakhirah? – Mohammed Talib A2. Those who get possessed by Jins or evil spirits to such an extent that they are not aware of what they are doing are not accountable for their actions toward Allah. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated, that the Prophet (peace be upon him ) said, “The pen has been lifted for three: the insane until he regains his sanity, the child until he reaches puberty, and the sleeper until he wakes up.” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, and Ibn Majah) By the grace of Allah, a Muslim will get a reward for fulfilling all his obligations toward Allah when he was healthy and sane. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him ) said, “When a slave falls ill or travels, then he will get a reward similar to that he gets for good deeds practiced at home when in good health.” (Bukhari) Muslims should protect themselves by doing Dhikr (remembering Allah) like reciting Ayat-ul-Kursi (Qur'an, 2:225) and the last three Surahs of the Qur'an every morning and evening. Claiming damage Q3. I recently went through my dental surgery and one of my nerve got damaged during operation. I lost my taste sensation. Can I claim this type of damage from my doctor? Is it allowed according to Islamic Law? – Qaisar A3. Yes, it is allowed if you think that the person who did it was careless and did not specialize in his field. The ‘Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' in Saudi Arabia stated in fatwa number 10890 that “if a doctor performs what is required from him and he is skillful in his work, knows the exact condition of the patient he is operating on, and does not go beyond the condition at hand, no compensation is required if he commits a mistake. He will also not be liable for resulting death or physical disability, because he has performed what he is authorized to do so according to the Shari‘ah. However, if the doctor is not skillful it is not permissible for him to perform the surgery; it is even forbidden. If he carries it out then he must pay compensation for any error and will be liable for ensuing harm. The same will be the case if he is skillful, but he oversteps the limits of the operation, or has used an inappropriate instrument that causes great pain, or has chosen a wrong time for surgery, or has operated on another organ, and so on. Doctors must pay compensation in these cases and will be liable for ensuing harm, because it is not permissible, rather it is forbidden for them to perform it.” And Allah knows best. __
