SHARJAH — Sharjah Islamic Bank, or SIB, has announced the launch of 0% profit financing service for Hajj
under the theme “Perform Hajj this year and pay it off over the year with no profit”.
The first-of-its-kind service offered by an Islamic bank in the UAE will enable a lot of people to perform Hajj and pay back the cost via easy and affordable monthly installments for one year without any profit, fees or extra costs.
Jassem Mohammed Al Baloushi, Head of SIB’s Retail Banking Group, said: “The launch of an Islamic financing service for Hajj without any profit or fee is part of our commitment to catering to the consumer’s demand for Islamic products, and of our role as a national Islamic bank committed to community development by launching products that serve the social, health, educational and spiritual aspects of
society.”
Source : http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=%2Fdata%2Fuaebusiness%2F2010%2FOctober%2Fuaebusiness_October33.xml§ion=uaebusiness&col= -Oct 24, 2010
HAJ - LOAN - Now here is an interesting dilemma - shared by my dear friend Joy :
ReplyDelete(1) Is it allowed to take up that "financing" and then of course : (2) is it obligatory to take up that offer (since every Muslim is to make the Haj and the loan would allow him to go)
The offer for a "financing" to perform the Haj appears to be "shocking" at first - so let us evaluate the setting before turning to the question
We will consider the nature of the financing itself as permissible, since we do not have access to the contract itself
First of all, the financing is offered in SHARJAJ - Emirates - so the amount of the financing is probably small as compared to the Indonesian Haj
Secondly, the standard of living there is much higher, so for most Emirates citizens, this is probably only a simple "payment facility" and not a real debt that weighs on their financial position
Thirdly, let us go to Indonesia now and evaluate :
For most Indonesian citizens, the HAJ is a very costly journey and payment for this requires long savings - to take up a financing for this could really constitute an obligation and distress
- a Muslim should shy away from debt (so it is not an obligation at all to take up the offer)
- it does not differ whether or not the debt is meant for the Haj - the Haj does not constitute a special exception
- it would be better to liquidate some assets and pay the Haj cash
- at last : it would be advised to draft a will and to foresee how the debt will be settled in the eventuality of decease, so the dependents and the estate of the deceased do not get distressed by the eventuality of death during the Haj
one should be "debt free" when performing the Haj - is this an absolute rule ?
if the debt is owed to a "wealthy" person and that person waives immediate debt settlement for a later date knowing that one will perform the Haj, then such is acceptable
any comments or remarks welcome