Assalamu alaikum Shaykh, I was hoping to get your advice on a mortgage/riba situation involving my family. I generally follow the Hanafi madhhab, but I would also appreciate knowing if there are materially different views among other Sunni scholars. My parents and brothers collectively own three…

Contributing to family’s conventional mortgage
Assalamu alaikum Shaykh, I was hoping to get your advice on a mortgage/riba situation involving my family. I generally follow the Hanafi madhhab, but I would also appreciate knowing if there are materially different views among other Sunni scholars. My parents and brothers collectively own three homes, all currently financed through conventional interest-bearing mortgages. My name is not on the title or mortgage of any of them. We function financially as one family unit: my parents, brothers, and I each contribute toward the family's overall housing and living expenses. At present, my wife and I live in the basement of one of the family homes ("Pringle"). My parents and one brother's family live upstairs, while another brother lives in a second home. The third property ("Stonecutter") is currently rented out and roughly pays for itself. My wife and I are now expecting a child, and my parents would like us to move into Stonecutter. We would take over the upstairs, while the basement would likely remain rented to tenants. Doing so would increase the family's housing costs because we would lose the upstairs rental income, and I would contribute substantially more each month toward the family's expenses. My main concern is that Stonecutter would still have a conventional mortgage. I have always personally tried to avoid taking or signing an interest-bearing loan. Since I am not a borrower, owner, guarantor, or party to the mortgage contract, would I nevertheless be sinful for living there and contributing money to my family while knowing that some of that money is ultimately being used to service the mortgage? Is this meaningfully different from my current situation of living in my parents' mortgaged home and contributing toward family expenses, simply because Stonecutter would effectively become my own household? A related concern is that I may eventually inherit a share of these properties. Does the fact that I may ultimately benefit from the equity in a conventionally financed property change the ruling on what I should do now, or create an issue with the inheritance itself? I have also looked into Islamic financing alternatives in Canada. Manzil appears to use fully Shariah-compliant funding but is significantly more expensive. Aya Financial uses a structure intended to create a Shariah-compliant purchase/financing contract, but its underlying funding comes from a credit union. Since I am not presently a party to the existing mortgage anyway, am I Islamically required or strongly encouraged to have my family refinance Stonecutter through something like Aya before I move in? Or would that impose a major financial burden without changing my own responsibility for the original riba contract? If changing the financing were required, it could potentially make keeping Stonecutter financially impractical and require us to sell the property and separate some of our family's finances, which would create significant difficulty for everyone. I do not want financial inconvenience to become an excuse for something haram, but I also do not want to impose obligations on myself that the Shariah does not actually require. So, in short, I would especially appreciate guidance on: 1. Whether I am personally sinful for living in Stonecutter and contributing toward family expenses while its mortgage remains conventional, despite not being a party to the loan. 2. Whether moving into Stonecutter is different Islamically from my present arrangement in Pringle. 3. Whether my potential future inheritance/benefit from the property changes the ruling. 4. Whether I should insist on refinancing through an Islamic financing provider such as Aya or Manzil before moving in. 5. Even if I am not technically sinful, whether there is a legitimate concern about benefiting from riba affecting the barakah of my wealth/home that should lead me to avoid the arrangement. JazakAllahu khayran for your time and guidance.
الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما
In principle, the sin of riba attaches to those who are party to the interest-bearing contract. Consider the following hadith:
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the one who records it, and its two witnesses, and said, “They are all equal.”
(Muslim)
The individuals mentioned in the hadith are those directly involved in the contract. Thus, a person who is not a borrower, guarantor, or signatory to a conventional mortgage would not be sinful for living in the property or contributing to the household’s general expenses provided that he does not make the interest payments to the lender himself. However, he would remain responsible for advising his family, with respect and wisdom, to exit the conventional mortgage. Accordingly, the answers to your questions are as follows:
- You would not be sinful for living in Stonecutter or contributing to the family’s expenses, since you are not a party to the loan.
- There would be no difference between Stonecutter and Pringle. The ruling depends on whether one is party to the contract, not on which home one lives in or how much one contributes.
- A potential inheritance would not affect the ruling. The sin attaches to the loan, while the property itself is validly owned and may be inherited.
- You should advise your family to pay off the mortgage or refinance through a reliable Islamic financing provider as soon as possible, whether or not you move in. However, refinancing is not a precondition for you to move in, and once you have advised them sincerely, you would have fulfilled your responsibility. As for which Islamic financing providers are reliable, the Darul Iftaa itself has not verified any financing provider. However, we are aware of reliable scholars who have certified Manzil and Eqraz.
- Another person’s riba contract would not remove the barakah of your home. Nonetheless, it would be best to keep making du‘a for your family and to encourage them, when the opportunity arises, to free themselves of the mortgage.
And Allāh Ta’ala Knows Best
References
في فصول العلامي: إذا رأى منكرا من والديه يأمرهما مرة، فإن قبلا فبها، وإن كرها سكت عنهما واشتغل بالدعاء والاستغفار لهما فإن الله تعالى يكفيه ما أهمه من أمرهما.
(حاشية رد المحتار على الدر المختار: ٧٨/٤، شركة مكتبة ومطبعة مصطفى البابي الحلبي وأولاده بمصر)
قال: (ولا بأس ببيع العصير ممن يعلم أنه يتخذه خمرا) لأن المعصية لا تقوم بعينه بل بعد تغيره. قال: (ومن حمل خمرا لذمي طاب له الأجر) وقالا: يكره لأنه أعانه على المعصية. وفي الحديث: «لعن الله في الخمر عشرا “ وعد منهم “ حاملها» وله أن المعصية شربها، وليس من ضرورات الحمل وهو فعل فاعل مختار، ومحمل الحديث الحمل لقصد المعصية حتى لو حملها يريقها أو ليخللها جاز، وعلى هذا الخلاف إذا آجر بيتا ليتخذه بيت نار أو بيعة أو كنيسة في السواد. لهما أنه أعانه على المعصية، وله أن العقد ورد على منفعة البيت حتى وجبت الأجرة بالتسليم وليس بمعصية، والمعصية فعل المستأجر وهو مختار في ذلك.
(الاختيار لتعليل المختار: ١٦٢/٤، مطبعة الحلبي)

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