Issue No.2416- If it is reasonably probable that silence may lead to an evil act becoming a good act or a good act becoming an evil one, it is obligatory upon all Muslims in general and scholars in particular to express and declare the truth, and silence is not permissible.
Issue No.2419- There are different stages of enjoining good deeds and forbidding from bad acts some of which do not require the permission of the Mujtahid or his representative and some do. That which does not require the Mujtahid’s permission is enjoining good deeds with the tongue and heart, and by way of giving advice or turning away one’s attention to the person concerned and cutting off relations with him, and if it does not help, it is permitted to stop the sinner with harsh and rough words which are devoid of sin and it would also be permissible to use force or take away from him the means of committing sins. However, enjoining good deeds and forbidding from bad ones may require a person to resort to beating and wounding or destroying properties or doing acts worse than that, in this case, permission of the Mujtahid or his representative is necessary; no one is allowed to take such actions without his permission. In fact, the action itself, the extent, and limits of it should be ascertained by the verdict of the Mujtahid or his representative.
Issue No. 2420- The money which is deposited by people as current account with banks has the form of an interest-free loan (qarzul hasanah) to banks in which they may withdraw their savings in the bank whenever they wish to. However, it would be haraam to lay down a condition for interest while depositing the money and in that case, the loan is void too and the bank does not have the right of disposal over it.
Issue No. 2421- People’s short term and long term deposits with banks and the interest which is given to them by the banks will be halal provided that it has been in accordance with the Islamic criteria and through Islamic contracts and agreements e.g. Muzaribah, partnership etc., and that the depositor should be sure or should consider it highly probable that, as an agent of the client, the bank carries out these agreements in an Islamic manner. However, if he is sure that these are only formal procedures and it is only on paper, that interest is haraam.
Issue No. 2422- What people get from banks as loan etc. and repay an additional amount to them will be halal if the transaction has taken place in an Islamic way and if it is not based on interest.
Issue No. 2424- There is no harm in receiving interest from foreign and non-Muslim banks. However, it is haraam to get it from Muslim Banks.
Issue No. 2429- The promissory note or bill of exchange, which is current among the businessmen, is not real money and does not carry any value by itself, but it is used as a sort of evidence of loan. Hence, a transaction does not take place with it, and it is of two kinds: 1- The real promissory note that a debtor gives to the creditor against his debt. 2. The friendly promissory note that a person gives to another person, without having any debts against it, and he means that the second person can give the promissory note to a third person and after deducting some, he can get the rest as cash. Also, a cheque is of two kinds like a promissory note: 1- Real cheque which can be cashed within a period of time and it is used in exchange for a commodity. However, a cheque which is payable at maturity time can be sold back to the debtor or to a third person for a lesser price. 2 – Friendly cheque which is not in exchange for a debt, in which case, there is harm in selling it.
Issue No. 2430- If a person exchanges “the real promissory note” for an amount less than that, for example, a $100.00 promissory note which is for a period of three months, he exchanges it for $90.00 cash, in other words, if a creditor sells a $100.00 note, which he has to realize from the debtor, for $90.00 in cash, there is no harm in this sort of transaction of promissory note and it is termed as ‘discount of the promissory note’. However, transaction on the friendly promissory note is not free of problem (harm), because no real debt is involved in it, and none of the ways suggested to solve this problem are free of problems.
Issue No. 2431- One can refer to the person whose signature is on the promissory note. That is, if the promissory note giver does not repay his debts in due time, the creditor has the right to demand his dues from those whose signature appears on the promissory note. In fact, those who have signed the promissory note are the guarantors of the debtor. That is, if the debtor fails to repay his debt, the guarantors are under the obligation to pay it. (This sort of surety is technically termed as “addition of an obligation to another”, and as it was said in the rules regarding surety (Zamanat), it is in order.)
Issue No. 2432- It is permissible to have foreign currency exchange transactions, i.e. one can exchange English pounds for American dollars, or French franc for German mark, etc., and there is no harm if it is less or more. However, if a person lends some money to another person whether it is in dollars or other currencies, he can ask him for the repayment of the same, and if he asks for more than that amount, it will be usury and haraam. And if someone lends a person some foreign currency, for example, some 100.00 German marks, and if he is forced to receive the money, for example, in Canadian dollars, then it should be calculated at the common and usual rate of the market. However, if the creditor himself consents to receiving less than that, there would be no problem.
Issue No. 2433- Key money is the right of priority that a tenant gets on the property against the money that he pays to the landlord at the beginning. As per this transaction, the tenant who has paid key money in renting that property has the priority over others. Key money did not exist in the past but nowadays it is a common practice and it is in order under the following circumstances: The amount of key money should be known and the parties involved should perform the transaction on their own volition and accord. They should be adult, sane and mature, and they should know the meaning of key money and its necessities.
Issue No. 2434- The landlord can lease his property to a person and in addition to the rent, he can take key money from him. In this case, he cannot lease the rented property to someone else, even though the period of the lease may have expired. However, if the first tenant who has paid key money agrees, the landlord can lease it to someone else. However, the first tenant has the right to transfer the key money of that property to someone else, and he may charge from the person to whom he hands it over, key money equal to or more or less than that which he has paid himself.
