Question
Here is my question about using interest money to pay mortgage interest. I am paying mortgage for my house in Canada. I have the principal amount and the interest to pay the mortgage.
My wife and myself, we have received NSF lump sum payment and that payment is the money we contributed plus interest.
Can we use the interest money of the NSF to pay the interest of the mortgage?
Please let us know.
Answer
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullāhi Wa-Barakātuh.
Firstly, it should be understood that taking or paying interest is prohibited in Islam. Therefore, entering into an interest-based mortgage is impermissible, and one should sincerely repent and make every reasonable effort to settle and exit the interest-bearing arrangement as soon as possible.[1] (You may consult Mufti Abrar Mirza of Darul Iftaa Chicago[1] or Mufti Mirza Zain Baig of Canadian Centre for Islamic Research and Iftaa[2] regarding a Halaal alternative that may help you exit the interest-based mortgage.)
Furthermore, the surplus amount included in the NSF lump sum payment (obligatory pension fund) paid under the name of interest is not considered interest. Therefore, the entire amount received is permissible.[2]
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best.
Abdour-Rahmaan Lim Voon Heek
Student Darul Iftaa
Port-louis, Mauritius
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Muhammad Zakariyya Desai.
https://iftaa.co.za/20001/using-nsf-payments-mauritius-to-pay-mortgage-interest-in-canada/
