Renting out a building to a bank

Question

Question: I respectfully submit: is it permissible according to the Shari‘a to rent out a building to a bank or not? And will the rent be halal or not? For your information, banks are of two kinds: one is the kind in which most of the business is interest-based transactions, with some other business too, but less; the other is the bank in which mostly commercial dealings go on, and there are some interest-based transactions as well. Kindly write the ruling for both kinds of banks with regard to rent.

Answer

According to Imam A‘zam ﵀, renting out a building is correct; whatever work the tenant uses it for is his own act. According to the Sahibayn (the Imam’s two disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad) ﵏, renting out for impermissible work is makruh and prohibited. If the work is mixed, the predominant part is taken into account.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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