Is It Halal to Work in a Conventional Bank? What Scholars Say

Scholars disagree. Many, including Saudi Arabia’s senior fatwa committee, hold that working in a bank whose business is lending at interest is not permitted, because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cursed those who record and witness interest as well as those who take and pay it. Others, including Jordan’s official fatwa authority, are more lenient toward jobs that do not directly involve interest.

This article was first published in July 2023. It has been updated with named fatwa sources, the original Arabic of the relevant verses and hadith with full references, current Islamic finance industry data and a comparison of roles. Arabic in the earlier version has been replaced with text copied from Quran.com.

Reviewed by Hafiz Maqsood Ahmed.

The question affects a large number of people. Conventional banks are among the biggest employers of graduates in many Muslim-majority countries, and Islamic banks, though growing, remain a minority of the banking system in most of them. The Islamic financial services industry held about $4.4 trillion in assets in 2025, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board, a fraction of global banking assets.

The Halal Times does not issue religious rulings. This article sets out the positions of recognized scholars and fatwa bodies; readers should consult a qualified scholar about their own circumstances.

The basis: the prohibition of riba

Riba, usually translated as interest or usury, is forbidden in the Quran. The best-known verse draws a line between trade and interest:

وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟

“But Allāh has permitted trade and has forbidden interest.” (part of the verse) (Surah Al-Baqarah (2), Verse 275)

The question of employment turns on a hadith narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, which extends blame beyond the lender and borrower:

لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم آكِلَ الرِّبَا وَمُوكِلَهُ وَكَاتِبَهُ وَشَاهِدَيْهِ وَقَالَ هُمْ سَوَاءٌ ‏.‏

“Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) cursed the accepter of interest and its payer, and one who records it, and the two witnesses, and he said: They are all equal.”

Reference: Sahih Muslim, The Book of Musaqah (Kitab al-Musaqah), Hadith 1598 (in-book reference: Book 22, Hadith 132). Sunnah.com. Hadith numbers follow the Sunnah.com numbering, so anyone can look up each hadith there; printed editions sometimes number them differently.

Scholars who forbid bank work point to the inclusion of the scribe and the witnesses: people who do not take or pay interest themselves, but whose work makes the transaction possible. They also cite a verse that forbids cooperation in wrongdoing:

وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (part of the verse) (Surah Al-Ma’idah (5), Verse 2)

For the wider framework of what Islam treats as lawful and forbidden, see our guide to halal and haram in Islam.

What scholars say

Not permitted. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia has ruled that working in banks that deal in interest is not permitted, because it involves helping in a forbidden transaction, according to fatwas cited by IslamQA, the site run by the scholar Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid. Scholars who hold this view generally apply it to all roles, on the ground that the bank’s main business is interest.

Depends on the role. Jordan’s General Iftaa’ Department, in Fatwa No. 369, issued in 2009, took a more lenient view of jobs that do not directly help in interest-based transactions, while advising those whose work directly involves interest to look for other employment. Many scholars in Muslim-minority countries take a similar approach, distinguishing between a loan officer and, for example, a security guard or a software engineer.

Necessity. Some scholars allow a person to keep such a job temporarily when they have no other means of support, applying the principle of darurah, or necessity, drawn from the Quran’s exception for those “forced by necessity” in Surah Al-Baqarah (2), Verse 173. They usually add that the person should keep looking for lawful work.

A dissenting view on bank interest itself. Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy in Cairo issued a fatwa in 2002, endorsed by its then grand imam, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, holding that a fixed return on deposits invested by a bank as the depositor’s agent was permissible, according to Gulf News. The fatwa was widely criticized by Islamic finance scholars and is not followed by Islamic banks or by most fatwa councils.

Roles and how scholars tend to view them

The table summarizes how the positions above are commonly applied; it is not a ruling. Individual scholars draw the lines differently.

The alternatives

The growth of Islamic finance has created more options than existed a generation ago. Islamic banks, takaful insurers, sukuk arrangers, Shariah advisory firms and Islamic fintech companies all hire people with banking skills. Our analysis of whether Islamic finance is a good career path looks at where the jobs are.

Products that once pushed Muslims toward conventional banks have Shariah-compliant equivalents in many markets, including halal home financing.

Islamic insurance is another. Its structure is explained in our guide to how takaful works.

Frequently asked questions

Is the salary from a conventional bank haram?

Scholars who forbid the job generally treat its income as unlawful earnings and advise leaving the job. Scholars who allow indirect roles do not. Those who worked in such jobs in the past are generally told by scholars that what they earned before learning the ruling is forgiven, based on Surah Al-Baqarah (2), Verse 275, which says that whoever stops after receiving the admonition “may have what is past.”

Does it matter if I live in a non-Muslim country?

Many scholars in Muslim-minority countries take the availability of alternatives into account, which is one reason their rulings are often more lenient than those of fatwa councils in the Gulf.