Title: Teaching finance education to students

Question: (1) I am the owner of a Canadian company where we provide educational software to Canadian schools which teach basic financial education to school students Like: How to open a bank current/saving account? How does current/saving account work? What's interest? How is interest calculated? How does car financing work? How can you apply for car financing? What's loan? It's approximately same as some finance or accounting teacher teaching these things to his students. My only concern was "is my income halal by Islamic point of view? (2) Another question has been asked by my friend. He is independent brokerage agent in Canada. He refers his clients to different banks for different products of banks like (Car Loan, Personal Loan, Credit Card) and in-return bank gives him the commission. Is his income halal?

Answer ID: 155674Posted on: Sep 1, 2020

Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim !

(Fatwa: 180/309/SN=3/1439)

(1) The teaching of interest calculation and interest based dealings such as taking loan, opening saving account) likewise the teaching of finance and account related matters does not involve ‘practice’. Also sometimes such education helps in refuting and avoiding the interest based system, which is lawful act. Hence in the question mentioned above, it is allowable to develop software with these features and sell them but it is makrooh and its income shall not be termed as haram. However, instead of developing software which are based on interest and its teachings you should gradually divert your business towards developing and supplying software which are based upon lawful things so that there is no promotion of unlawful things from your end. (Benefited from Imdad al-Fatawa, vol. 4, p. 174, pub. Karachi, Imdad al-Ahkam, vol. 3, p. 483, Kitab al-Ijarah, pub. Maktabah, Darul Uloom Karachi, etc.)

(2) According to Shariah, it is not lawful to take interest based loan, it is haram, and it is also unlawful to provide customers to bank for this purpose. Hence in the question mentioned above, it is not lawful for your friend to provide customers for loan and similar interest based dealings to the bank and take commission on it.