Debt and Loan: Ruling on Involvement in Ribā Transactions by Accountants and Auditors

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Debt and Loan: Ruling on Involvement in Ribā Transactions by Accountants and Auditors

English:

Question #1762:

Ali takes a ribā-bearing loan from Muhammad. A third person writes down the deed and its terms. A fourth one keeps the accounts. Is the accountant considered as the accessory to the fulfillment of the ribā-bearing loan so that his job and the compensation he gets for it are ḥarām as well? Also, there is a fifth person, the auditor, to check the account book to see whether there has been a mistake in the ribā-bearing transaction to inform the accountant without writing down anything or transferring anything to the account book.

Answer #1762:

The work that contributes, in any way, to a ribā-bearing loan, such as finalising the transaction, collecting the ribā from the borrower, is ḥarām; and the worker is not entitled to a wage for such work.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Debt and Loan