Is it permissible to buy a house in installments from a bank that deals in usury (riba), where a small down payment is made and the house is received immediately, then the installments are paid over 20 years, knowing that ownership does not transfer until all installments are paid?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The discussion on this issue is twofold: Purchasing a house by installments from its owner is permissible if it adheres to Islamic guidelines, and for the transfer of ownership to be valid, the house must not remain under the bank's ownership until the completion of all installment payments. As for the ruling on conducting a permissible transaction with an interest-based bank: The default is prohibition, except in cases of necessity or urgent need. However, some scholars deem permissible transactions with interest-based banks to be lawful even without necessity.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/176495
Where this answer came from
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 176495
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy