Are Student Loans Halal? // 6 Ways to Avoid Taking a Student Loan 

Allah subhanahu wa taala promised us that : “Whoever fears Allah, Allah will find a way out for him (from every difficulty) and he will provide for him from sources that he could never imagine ” Quran 65: 2-3. he May Allah grant us Taqwa!

Inshallah I'll start a 0% interest loan student for Muslim students

May Allah bless you brother, you have helped me a lot with this video. You always hear about whats haram but very rarely do you see someone actually offering halal alternatives

Jazakallah khair, this is sooo useful! I think this is the first time I have actually seen a actual video and thorough explanation to this topic.

Subhan Allah!! This is what should be our mindsets as Muslims. But unfortunately, the youth today doesn't take this matter seriously rather find arguments to get away with it. May Allah guide us all to the steadfast path. Alos my brother the fact that there are so low views on your video inspite being the truth scares me. Continue your good work brother and may Allah SWT grant u the rewards for spreading the truth. Aameen . Asalaamualekum warahmatullahi wabarakathu.

I rather avoid student loan, trust Allah and open a business. Insha'Allah . 90% of people who are going to Uni just want a good job because of the money. It comes back to wealth. If you want to be financially free business is the way not 9-5 contract jobs etc...

Well... I have no other option 😔.My parents just started a job last year since covid. I'm unable to work because i'm busy with school. May allah guide me . I think allah will understand my struggles.

This is a big issue, especially for those who come from a low income background. I think a good way to tackle this issue can be to initially get a degree apprenticeship in a field you're interested in. It may take 3 to 4 years or sometimes 6 years. Then, if you don't enjoy the course try to get qualified and save up money. Then if you're very academic, you can go back to the traditional uni route. It will take much longer but you may end up with a ton of experience and maybe 2 degrees. Let me know what you think guys

Great video. I think that the gap year point is smart as you can work that year to pay for tuition the following year.

Student loans is the biggest scam in America, most students had to take the loan to attend college and thats a massive riba', i think its better for countries with ridiculous college fees to study overseas where college fees aren't as intimidating.

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I SAW THIS VIDEO AFTER I MADE DUA TO ALLAH SWT AND NOW I FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT NOT TAKING THE LOAN!!! ALHAMDULILLAH

This is great explanation, thanks!

Walikum Aslam Wrb

Good naseehah (sincere advice) but the alternatives aren't open to the masses as there are only so many bursaries/ affluent parents around. Its a mindshift for most families and their children considering further education but ideally the community/shariah finance industry need to provide funding for the best candidates.

I'm sorry none of the 6 ways is realistic due to important reasons. You also mentioned for argument 2, that there are other loans that meet the same criteria as student loans, can you provide some examples? If not, this defense does not hold up. Student loans should be treated as a tax, as that's what they are in reality. I think in today's times, most people get bogged down with labels. The better approach will be to think about what the product is in reality. The flip side goes for Islamic mortgages. As long as the super-rich of the Muslim world does not provide assistance, they will be held responsible for these issues.

A specific topic like this requires scholars who specialise in fiqh and are qualified in economics. They can approach this issue holistically as they understand the concept of student loans. The solutions are not really practical to everyone especially with the increase in tuition fees, living costs& different circumstances. This topic requires in depth discussion to provide more clarity as opposed to just opinions.

Thanks for your video, may I ask; how did you manage to pay your tuition fees (I don't mean to come across harsh, but perhaps not everyone is eligible to receive large bursaries). I have a few other questions too, but, I'll wait for your response. Thanks!

You can take fast track degree like do level 5 apprentiship or you have level 2 and work your way up to level 3 or just take up course where you pay monthly or do internship and get placement right after that or work in 9-5 job rinse that out save the money and invest into business classes and do stock markets or halaal trading or create merchanidise or take gap year and save up the money for university and pay it off instead of taking the student loan

Jazakhallahun khayran.

Jazak allah khair

JazakAllahu kheiran

I’m not an expert in loans, so I’d like to know whether we know the reason for riba being haram. If it’s related to exploitation, couldn’t it be argued that student loans don’t really do this as you can pretty much never be in a situation where you’re struggling to survive because of student loan repayments? Thanks in advance

Assalamu alaikum wr wb, can you please please respond to this question. According to the student loan you take out for university in the UK, when you die the loan would be completely removed. So wouldn't this mean it is not haram because you don't have to pay it off anymore? JazakAllah Khair.

Thank you so much for this sincere advice

I am in such a dilemma. So I’m going to do medicine in a sort of far University. - I can’t take a gap year because it just extends uni more than the long 5 years it is. - I can’t live at home because it is far and there is no medical school in my city - I can’t rely on my parents on any family members/ rely on bursaries - I can’t do a job which covers costs since medicine is tough as it is and needs a lot of time I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and wallahi I would be willing to give it up completely if I knew that it is not pleasing to Allah. However it is so hard to actually understand if it’s a safe thing to do and I don’t have any clear black and white answer. Should I take out loans for university- yes or no? If no, what on earth do I do. Thank you so much for any help/ Muslim scholarship pages you can refer me to.

Excellent work as always. I don't quite follow the argument against the second point. Can you give some details on some conventional loans which have the same characteristics of the borrower not getting qabd over the money and having an expiry date (death or 20 years for student loans I believe) as well as conditional repayment (only if you make above a certain sum annually). I really like the last bit, turning the argument on its head and making the point (bit bluntly lol) about the standard approach of going to university straight away after A levels and doing the degree in one hit.

Great video, MashAllah. A good summary and practical tips.

JezakumuLlah

Asalam aleykum warahmatu Llah wa barakaatuhuu. Jazakumu Llaahu khairan for your help. Please can you list areas students can get bursaries or scholarships? Shukraan

I have completed two years of university and now I don’t know if I should complete my course after watching this video.

Well i cant decide. My father is forcing me. No matter how many istikhara and tahajjud ive done and crying to my father explaining to such depths how it should be avoided and i wouldnt want to risk my akhirah etc. There came a point where i payed off my first semester and he said if i did it again he would control my bank account. So now what. I feel like Allah is angry at me cus no matter how much ive done dua and my parents have made it harder for me to avoid the loan.

Salam, can you please clarify which student loans are you specifically talking about? The one that I had (based in Canada, OSAP loan) was on different terms and of a different structure, don't think this applies there.

How about traditional Mortgage ? Even so called sharia compliant mortgage as it’s linked to BoE base rate ?

What does he mean ”gap year during uni”? As in take a gap year before uni, or when you finish your first year for example you take one gap year and when you finish your second year, you take a second gap year and so on???

Salaam The new student loans is RPI only Is this ok?

Asalam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. Brother. I took student loan 15 years ago. Am not sure how much I owe from 15 years ago. However the monet accumulated to $15,000 if I use settlement and make one payment of 10,000 to settlement my old loan is this acceptable in Islam or do I need to pay the full amount even though I have an option to make a large lamsum to pay 10,000 to settle and close this account right away? JazakaAllah kheir.

Is apprenticeship a student loan free route? Does your employer pay the tuition fees? If so, this is the best alternative by far. Probably a better option even if the student loan / full time study was deemed halal.

If a loan has interest only adjusted for inflation does it make it halal?

A student want to be a dentist. So according to you, he should not go to the university and be an uber driver instead

I don't know if someone will reply to this or not. However what if one takes a loan based on gold and pays it back in gold?

Brother say I want a 5 year masters in pharmacy I can gap year during the uni like 1year on 1year off and how would we continue studying after the gap year would we resume where we left of or what can u explain akhi

Hi, u said in Ur video that u got a bursary, how would I go about doing this and how would I know if I'm eligible? Thanks

Here is the thing with me. I want to become an engineer. I will be going to the a community college this year. The college offered me $5500 however it is with interest. I still havent found job yet because of COVID, and my dad has to support our family of 5 by himself. I dont think my father will allow me to take a gap year. Also I did not get any scholarships at all. what shall I do?

I’m your no1 fan

Instead of trying find ways to make loan legal & invite wrath of ALLAH subhanawat'ala. Riba is Haram in any form. If you have altenative arrangements of borrowing money then do it than Loan or else drop the idea of higher education atleast not at the cost of Aakhira 🔥

I think you are very naive to Talk about this matter just by the fact that u said u "dont need to go to university" I am sure u think you are doing a Good Job but infact u are missleading younger generation to not study just because of student loans. This is not wise and please Dont preach it.

A modernist scholar would find this an odd question. (S)he would ask: is there evidence of exploitation and unfairness? No - the opposite is (usually) true with government programs - student loans assist students with interest free periods, a concessional rate of interest supported by government backing, and sometimes a grant portion tied to the loan package. Of course the borrower needs to assess whether (s)he can reasonable pay off the loan when they are working.

What should i do then 😞

In your video the loan promo video add is came,

Assalamu Alaikum. Brother how could I contact you privately??

Please lend me 10000 pounds