Is a Charge Card Permissible?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: Assalam aleykum

Is a charge card permissible?

It is paid off monthly and has rewards associated with making transactions with it. If you do not pay on time there is a fee charged.

If it intend to pay it off monthly, is this ok to use as there are no interest charges in the contract?

Answer: assalamu alaykum

A charge card is permissible to use just like a credit card if you are confident of paying off the balance before any additional charges accrue.

Unlike credit cards, a charge card does not have an interest rate associated with it although there are fees for late payments, which, for the most part, is akin to charging interest and is impermissible in the shariah.

Finally, you should note that the benefits you earn through using your card are valid to redeem. They are treated as a gift from the bank.

[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas  graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman where he spent five years studying Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford and continues his traditional studies with scholars in the United Kingdom.