Assalamu Alaykom Wa Rahmatu Allah
Introductions to the ruling on the student loans
The purpose of this research is to explain the Sharee‘ah ruling on these loans,
but before that we need a clear perception of the essence of these loans and
the need for them on the light of the research conclusions and a set of facts
about the US Muslims. Surely, a man cannot judge something unless he forms a
clear perception of it. This perception will be given in points:
Point 1: University education is very important for hundreds of thousand
Muslims in the United States in the present time and people living in these
countries badly need it. Therefore, university education is a public need in
the Fiqhi sense at least.
Point 2: University study in the United States is very expensive and the study
fees go higher than prices of other things. Increase in the university study
fees deprived 50% of the qualified high school graduates of joining the
universities at the level of the States. Even 20% of the high school graduates
do not go to colleges despite their relatively low costs when compared to the
universities.
Point 3: Study-funding resources broadly vary in a way that makes them compete
with borrowing should a student better use them. Scholarships are not exclusive
to the American nationals, and being a legal resident is enough to make the
student eligible for it. Moreover, they are awarded based on the student's
academic excellence and distinction. Some grants offered to students based on
their financial need include the citizens, residents, and international
students, and sometimes grants are awarded to illegal immigrants. These grants
sufficiently cover 50% of the study fees. The same thing applies to the
university-introduced Labor program which is considered a supplementary source
for funding the study since the student earns some money from it.
Point 4: Availability of the study-funding resources in general – apart from
borrowing – does not mean that they are always available, nor do they satisfy
all the needs when available. The reality and questions of students who are
studying testify that the need for borrowing is still pressing and that the
government subsidized loans sometimes fall short to the extent that a student
cannot find any alternative except the Riba-based unsubsidized loans. This
takes place particularly with students studying in the high-priced private
universities or those majored in different medical specialties whose fees
burden a body of strong men. For that reason, over 60% of the university
students in the US are forced to borrow. Not only do fulltime students resort
to borrowing, but also 50% of the working students do.
Point 5: Borrowing generally in the United States is not always connected with
the need in its Fiqhi sense, because funding through taking loans and long-term
settlement have become part of the culture of the American people – Muslims are
of course part of it – and a living style that both needy and wealthy people
resort to. In fact, it is an outcome of the capitalist system which is built on
Riba (usury) and borrowing. More than that, obtaining grants (which are offered
to the needy students only) does not reflect the need in the concept of the
Sharee‘ah. That is because living below the poverty line that the federal
government determines every year is not necessarily associated with poverty,
and permitting begging or taking from the money of Zakaah is contingent on
necessity. Another reason why living below the poverty line is not necessarily
associated with the need is that some people do not report their annual income
entirely when they file their taxes. Consequently, they look needy and of
low-income, but the reality is otherwise. The government determines the needy
individuals based on the data recorded in the tax form that people themselves
file.
Dr.Main Al-Qudah
Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies
Imam, MAS Katy Center
Member, AMJA Fatwa Committee
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سياسة النشر في المجموعة:
ترك ما عارض أهل السنة والجماعة... الاكتفاء بأمور ذات علاقة بالاقتصاد الإسلامي
وعلومه ولو بالشيء البسيط، ويستثنى من هذا مايتعلق بالشأن العام على مستوى الأمة
كحدث غزة مثلا... عدم ذكر ما يتعلق بشخص طبيعي أو اعتباري بعينه باستثناء الأمر
العام الذي يهم عامة المسلمين... تمرير بعض الأشياء الخفيفة المسلية ضمن قواعد
الأدب وخاصة منها التي تأتي من أعضاء لا يشاركون عادة، والقصد من ذلك تشجيعهم على
التفاعل الإيجابي... ترك المديح الشخصي...إن كل المقالات والآراء المنشورة تُعبر
عن رأي أصحابها، ولا تعبّر عن رأي إدارة المجموعة بالضرورة.
