A persons
sister is a C.A. She's been
employed at a bank for the last 10 years. In these 10
years she has managed to purchase her house and has her own car and
obviously surplus funds. 

Question is
that her brother has heard that her funds are haraam , so he is in
a quandary. 

Is her
house  car and all funds haraam or what is her status actually? Whats the
suggested way forward for such a lady who is now about 42 and divorced? 

Answer: 

The funds earned by bank employees are Haraam since their salaries are earned from interest funds. However, the Ulama have permitted a bank employee to continue with his occupation until he finds another suitable occupation as there exists the possibility of such a person engaging in worse forms of Haraam (in order to earn one’s livelihood particularly when faced with hardship).

Re:- Fataawa Faridiyya Pg.194 / 212 Vol.7

Now coming to your question, the assets and cash acquired by the person in question are tainted with Haraam as a result of her impermissible employment. She should look for an alternate occupation which is Halaal if no one is available to support her, especially now that she is divorced. Being a CA it will be easy for her to get a job Insha’Allah and it is also possible for her to engage in her occupation whilst remaining within the confines of her home as many accountants work from home.

As she earns money from her Halaal occupation (in the future), she should offset the money acquired in salaries from the bank over the years by giving it in charity (ideally to recipients of Zakaat without any intention of reward). The funds do not have to be given at once but can be discharged gradually over a period of time. This is one way of cleansing and purifying the funds and acquired assets.

AND ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST

ANSWERED BY: Mufti Mohammed Desai 

CHECKED AND APPROVED BY: Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B 

Date: 04 Safar 1441 

English Date: 03 October 2019