Assalamalikum, Mufti Sahab, I want to ask you a question. To get the shares allotted, we have to sign the interest-based documents. Is it correct? Is such a transaction valid with a "Harbi". Please give the reply to this.

Answer:

The guidelines given by the Fiqh Hanafi are that a transaction in which a Muslim deals with a non-Muslim in a non-Islamic country and receives extra money without any kind of cheating is not considered as interest. However, in an Islamic country as the government is responsible for the safety of the non-Muslims as well, that kind of transaction becomes an interest-based transaction, which is Haraam. As given in Hidayah, Vol. 3, Pg. No. 86. Now that it is clear that in a non-Islamic country, a transaction between a non-Muslim and a Muslim in which without any cheating the Muslim will get extra money is not considered as interest. So, if signing documents relating to interest-based transactions is in an Islamic country, then it is not allowed. But if in an non-Islamic country, signing of such documents is necessary, then provided there is no cheating involved and the Muslim will benefit from it, then as per the guideline of Fiqh Hanafi, as it is not an interest-based transaction, it is allowed.