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Is it permissible to borrow from banks when there is a necessity and fear of accumulating debts and losses?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Usury is one of the gravest sins, and it is forbidden to engage in it except in cases of lawful necessity. This refers to a state of extreme danger or severe hardship where there is fear of harm to oneself, one's limbs, honor, intellect, or wealth, and it permits committing a forbidden act to avert harm. If knowledgeable and pious scholars issue a fatwa (religious edict) permitting usurious dealings due to your necessity, then there is no blame upon you for following their fatwa, as the ignorant person is excused for imitating a trustworthy scholar. One must seek out what is lawful and state the true reality of their situation when asking, for the mufti's fatwa does not make the forbidden permissible if the reality differs from what the questioner stated. If you still have a doubt, consult a pious and specialized scholar.

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

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