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Is the supplementary income grant, the source of which is fines for delayed implementation imposed on taxpayers, considered usury?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If taxes are legitimate, and the state is in dire need of them and spends them on public projects, then the ruler may punish those who delay paying them by taking money from them as a ta'zeer (discretionary punishment). This is the view of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his student, who cited rulings of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. As for the majority of scholars, they prohibit ta'zeer with money. Therefore, it is not permissible to accept the complementary grant from this money. However, according to the view that permits it, there is no harm, although piety dictates avoiding it. As for commingled funds, if the majority of them are permissible, it is permissible for a worker to take their salary and grant from them, just as scholars accepted gifts from oppressive rulers, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, accepted gifts from disbelievers.

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

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