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Is it permissible to benefit from the free advantages of a credit card issued by an interest-based (ribawi) bank due to travel and work circumstances, such as access to airport lounges or discounts in stores?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The limit of necessity that permits committing what is forbidden is that which makes it highly probable for a person to fall into perdition if they do not commit the forbidden act, or if they suffer unbearable hardship because of it, or if they are unable to achieve the minimum standard of life for the poor. Necessity, when proven, must be limited to its specific context and not exceed it, because necessity is measured by its extent, as Allah Almighty says: "But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him." {Al-Baqarah: 173}. Accordingly, it is not permissible to benefit from a prohibited credit card except within the limits of necessity. This does not include the advantages and incentives offered to its holder, because these incentives are given in exchange for something prohibited, and they might tempt the cardholder to always hold onto it.

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

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