Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
If you are working away from the areas of writing, tying, checking or signing the interest contracts, that is not prohibited.
In his response to your question, Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf, Professor of Islamic Finance and Economics at Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, states:
The Hadith you referred to in your question is authentically reported by Imam Muslim.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Allah the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And verily Allah has commanded the believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said: “O (you) Messengers! Eat of the tayyibat [all kinds of halal (legal) foods], and perform righteous deeds.” (Al-Mu’minun 23:51) and the Almighty has said: “O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you.” (Al-Baqarah 2:172)” Then he (peace be upon him) mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky saying “O Lord! O Lord!,” while his food is haram (unlawful), his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished with haram, so how can [his supplications] be answered?
Each one of us must be keen to make our source of income pure and clean from any non-permissible tint.
Working in a conventional bank in areas that require you to write, type, check or sign a riba (interest)-based contract is forbidden.
However, working in other areas in a bank is not haram although not the best job in the world as it helps the haram institution itself.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.