Bank interest credited compulsorily: how to dispose of it

Question

Question: If a person is not willing to take bank interest, the government gives it compulsorily all the same. Is it necessary to take it according to the laws of the government or not? What should be done in this case, and how is it to be disposed of?

Answer

The interest amount received from a government bank should be given back to the government itself towards an unwarranted tax, or else given to the needy poor without intending reward (thus in “Radd al-Muhtar”: Kitab al-Zakat, Kitab al-Buyu‘, Kitab al-Ghasb and Kitab al-Hazr wa-l-Ibaha).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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