Over the years since the departure of our beloved Prophet, it seems Islam has evolved a lot. Many of the restrictions that existed when the deen was revealed have been abrogated by the necessities of modern life, or so some of us would lead others of us to believe. In the recent past, one of these so-called necessities truly amazes me. Muslims have become convinced that it is not possible to survive without a credit card. I have heard the excuses, "I can not rent a car if I do not have a credit card; (As if it were an absolute necessity of life to have the ability to rent a car!), or, "It is a simple convenience so that I do not have to carry as much cash on me; carrying cash is too dangerous." or "I have no intention of paying interest. I will pay the balance off every month." I have seen many fetwas from scholars I respect, saying this is alright, but I have seen just as many from other scholars I respect who are able to see that it can never be OK. When I analyze it myself, using the evidences available, I have a hard time accepting it as halal.

Let's begin with the basics: Interest (Riba) is haram. There is no doubt about this. Allah says:

Those who eat riba will not stand (on the day of Resuurection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaitan leading him to insanity. This is because they say, "Trading is only like riba." whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden riba. So whosoever receives admonition from his Lord and stops eating riba shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah; but whoever returns (to riba), such are the dwellers of the hellfire - they will abide therein.) Allah will destroy riba and will give increase for sadaqa and Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners. (2:275-276)

And

O you ho believe! Be aware of Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from riba (from now onwards) if you are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of WAR from Allah, and His messenger, but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums) and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums). (2: 278-279)

Second, it is not just haram in itself, all of its trappings are haram. Rasool Allah has warned us that the one who takes, the one who receives, the one who witnesses the transaction and the scribe are all equal in sin.

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the one who accepted usury, the one who paid it, the witness to it, and the one who recorded it. Sunan Abu Dawood: Book 22, Number 3327.

Third, not only is it a sin, it is a major sin. Rasool Allah warned us of the severity it as a sin by comparing it to other sins which we have no doubt are major:

Abdullah, son of Hazala, who was washed by the angels, reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "A dirham which a man knowingly receives in usury is more serious than 36 acts of adultery. (Ahmad, Baihaqi,and Daraqutni - sahih)

And

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "Usury has seventy parts, the least important being that a man should marry his mother." Ibin Majah and Baihaqi - sahih)

Interest is no small matter. Look to what the sin is equal to: 36 acts of adultery or marriage to one's mother!

Now, knowing this, what if we have an intention to never pay the interest? What if we are planning to pay off the balance at the end of each month so that there will be no interest? Can we say it is halal then? After all, deeds are by intention. This looks like an acceptable principle, on the surface, but the problem that I see is that in order to have the card, it is necessary to sign a contract that says that if we do not pay, we are going to pay the interest. We are agreeing to commit a major sin, under certain circumstances, which we can not guarantee will not happen, and which are not improbable.

Few people who use credit cards have been able to 100% stick to paying it off every month. Life happens. Factors enter into our lives from forgetfulness to inability to pay off the whole balance at the end of the month due to an unforeseen change in circumstances. We take a huge gamble when we make this contract, and we promise to commit a haram act.

I often wonder, if the contract said either, "If I do not pay the balance, I will commit 36 acts of adultery for every dirham's worth of what I would have paid of interest at a 10% rate or I will marry my mother." how many people would sign? How many scholars would consider it halal? How many would consider the card a necessity? Yet, when we agree to pay interest, under whatever circumstances, we are agreeing to a sin of the same magnitude. Why is it seen as less when the prophet told us it is equal? Does societal saturation change the perception or make it less haram?

I know that it seems like an insignificant thing, since we have no intention of ever having to pay this money, but in Islam, we can not promise to commit a sin under any circumstances. We can not be so sure of what the future holds. We can not say, "I will eat a pork sandwich if my brother fails this test." even if we are 100% convinced that he has no chance to fail. The knowledge of the future is with Allah, alone. We can not guarantee that we will not be unable to pay at some point, therefore, we can not place ourselves, intentionally, into a situation where we will be forced to commit a major sin under any circumstance, however remote.

If you look only to the payment itself, and the intention, it seems like it would be allowable, but the wording of the contract is important. Remember, in this sin, the contract is highly important, so much so that the one who witnesses and the scribe in a riba contract are equal in sin to the ones actually involved in the riba transaction.

Because I want you all to really reflect on this issue, I will stop here, making it the shortest class I have ever written, because I consider it an important issue, and I want you all to think about the severity of this matter, while it seems insignificant. While it is true, and I recognize that Muslims are being slaughtered world-wide, Muslims are committing shirk, Muslims are not praying...the list goes on, but this is no excuse for us to avoid talking about any matter which is part of our deen, especially when it is a major sin that is treated so insignificantly. May Allah guide us and protect our words - keeping us from speaking from our desires and speaking without knowledge.