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Is it permissible to borrow from the state with interest to pay off debts, along with deductions for transaction fees?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The amounts deducted from the loan as administrative fees, if they represent an actual wage for processing the transaction and the effort expended therein, then there is no objection to them. They are like the wage of the measurer and the weigh-master, as mentioned by Al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam. The Islamic Fiqh Academy has affirmed that fixed fees which are not tied to the loan amount or its duration, but are in exchange for a service, are not usurious interest. However, any increase beyond the actual services rendered is considered forbidden usury (riba). Therefore, the deducted amount should be considered: if it is an actual wage, the transaction is permissible; but if it is usurious interest tied to the loan amount, it is forbidden to proceed with it, and debts do not justify it.

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

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