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Can I Use Money Sent by My Father Who Uses Credit Cards?

05 October, 2026
Q I have a question regarding Riba. My father lives in the USA; he is a taxi driver. He is a very hardworking person. It’s been four years since the USA introduced a credit system for taxi drivers. It depends on the passenger whether he wants to pay through credit or not. My father sends money earned through cash to Pakistan. But he uses money earned through the credit system for his grocery expenses. [My sister also lives there with my father. She has a student loan. She wants to get rid of it. I really didn’t have any idea that they were involved in Riba. I talked to my sister about it. She said that she has two credit cards and wants to leave them both. She knows it’s haram, and she will not take interest again, as she said that. My father and sister are both breadwinners of our family living in Pakistan (me, my two other siblings, and my mother). How can we use that money? [I read an article about Riba in which it said that family members can use money if it comes from Riba, but only for necessary purposes. In our case, my father doesn’t send interest-based money to us, and my sister works in a hospital, but she got involved in the credit system through a student loan. And they know it’s haram. What are we supposed to do? I mean, the money they send us is not haram, right? What should my father do with interest-based money?

Answer

Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf
05 October, 2026

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:

Money received from a father who accepts credit card payments is not considered Riba when he simply receives the agreed payment for his services. Riba arises when interest is charged on a debt, such as when a credit card balance is not paid within the grace period or through an interest-based student loan. Therefore, the ruling distinguishes between lawful earnings and actual interest payments.

Responding to your question, Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf, Professor of Islamic Finance & Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey, states:

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You need to please understand what Riba is and what the credit card system is. Riba is any increase in a debt or loan through time that is because of a time period between taking a loan and paying it. I do not see any Riba in what you described except the student loan, which I will come to discuss.

  1. Credit cards: This is a card issued by a bank. When you use it, the bank pays on your behalf to the seller. The seller gets its money as the price of the sale, and this has no Riba. When your father accepts credit card payment, all that means is: the bank pays your father instead of the passenger. It is the exact amount, with no Riba involved at all.
  2. Now for the passenger and similarly your sister, who has two credit cards, the issue is a little different: at the end of each month, the bank sends a bill to her for all the amounts she asked it to pay on her behalf. If she pays the bank within a certain time called the “grace period,” she will not be charged any Riba. This means that as long as your sister pays the bank’s bill every month on time, she does not have to pay any Riba.
  3. If the passenger (or your sister, for a similar reason) delays payment of the bill beyond the grace period, then they have to pay interest to the bank. That is Riba, and too bad.
  4. 1.1 and 2 above mean that whatever you receive from your father and sister has no Riba at all; it is the pure earning of their hard work as a driver and as a hospital worker. It does not matter whether your father sends you money from cash payments or from credit card payments from his passengers. Both are Halal and have no interest elements at all. The same is what you get from the salary of your sister, as long as she does her job with honesty.
  5. The student loan that your sister has is certainly interest-based. May Allah forgive her; she made a mistake by taking it. BUT WAIT A MINUTE, she may have a good reason for that. Allah knows, and we do not judge people. DO NOT PASS A JUDGMENT ON HER. She should try to pay it as soon as she can.
  6. Just be thankful to Allah that He gave you such a good father who cares (because he sent you money from the cash, not from the credit card earnings, as he was under the impression that there was doubt about it. In fact, there is no doubt at all about that because he only receives the price of the ride; there is no difference between cash and credit card payments). And also because He gave you a good sister who cares and sends you money from her work. And be also thankful to them both, your father and sister.

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Almighty Allah knows best.

About Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf
Dr. Monzer Kahf is a professor and consultant/trainer on Islamic banking, finance, Zakah, Awqaf, Islamic Inheritance, Islamic estate planning, Islamic family law, and other aspects of Islamic economics, finance, Islamic transactions (Mu'amalat). Dr. Monzer Kahf is currently Professor of Islamic Finance & Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey