Is depositing money into a bank account that imposes a "negative interest rate" (deducting a fixed percentage of the deposited money annually) in addition to banking fees considered usury, given that the Hadith mentioned the prohibition of interest, and the bank refers to this deduction as "interest"?

Depositing money in a bank takes three forms:

1. Depositing in a current account: This is a loan from the client to the bank. The bank does not pay interest on it; rather, it charges annual fees for services. There is no usury (riba) in this, because the interest is paid by the lender.

2. Depositing in a savings or investment account for a percentage of the capital or a known amount paid by the bank: This is a usurious loan and is prohibited. In this case, the lender is the client, and the borrower is the bank that pays the interest.

3. Depositing in an investment account according to a Sharia-compliant contract: This involves an agreement on a known percentage of the profit, not the capital, and the money is invested in a permissible field without guaranteeing the principal. This is a legitimate partnership (musharakah).

The negative interest is a fee for safeguarding money and services. It is not usury because it is paid by the lender, not the borrower. The decisive factor is the Sharia classification, not the name.