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Is it permissible to pay taxes, insurance, and customs duties, for which Allah has sent down no authority, with usurious money (bank interest) for the purpose of fulfilling the obligation of Zakat?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible for a Muslim to voluntarily pay unjust taxes, customs, or commercial insurance. It is permissible to use stratagem to avoid or reduce them. However, paying them with usurious money differs in ruling depending on the condition of the payer: If he is wealthy, he must dispose of the usurious money by spending it on general Muslim interests or giving it to the poor and needy. It is not permissible for him to pay it for his own benefit in taxes and customs, and he must repent. But if he is poor, he may spend from it on himself to the extent of his need, while repentance is obligatory, and knowing that paying these monies does not exempt him from paying Zakat.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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