Leaving the permissibility aspect to the side for now I would still argue that students should try to pay for tuition fees themselves. Partly because it makes one uni a bit more seriously, at least in my experience and from a few friends I’ve spoken to.
Yeah I agree. If someone can pay themselves or get a loan from family or even fund it themselves with a side job then that would be best. Not just from a nobility perspective but even from a perspective of avoiding long term debt.
I also think that not taking a loan gives one financial responsibility from a relatively young age (in many instances), hence leading to being less frivolous with finances and not being wasteful with money/resources is clearly a recommended quality in our deen.
The obvious caveat to this would be students who don’t live close to the university they want to study at and feel they have to get a loan (or wait at least a few years) to go to university. The matter would be more tricky in that instance.
Given a looming recession, I don’t think it is realistic to expect people to be able to make £9k+ a year. Especially, when most Muslims comes from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I agree people should definitely, seek alternatives. However, I think it is the job of early parents to begin preparing for university fees. Getting a part job is highly unlikely to be able to keep up with the fees and be able to perform well in their degree.
It is definitely not an easy task and without the help of parents, it could be nearly impossible. However, from the people I know who’ve successfully managed some took a year out before or during uni. Doing so makes the process much more feasible and adds experience to one’s CV (which only helps down the line).
That’s a fair consideration. I’m aware the 3 options I mentioned were certainly privileges that perhaps most don’t have access to.
@HassanTariq point though about taking a year out to work and also add experience to one’s CV is actually a very good solution though. So many people I know with degrees struggle to get job’s because they graduated with a degree and no experience
I think if Muslims don’t have the means to pay the fees outright, and there are no supporting mechanisms in place by family members, then Muslims should take these loans. The benefits far outweigh the harms associated with these loans.
I suppose that can help in some cases, but what about the initial payment for the first year? Plus when you factor in job prospects and then work costs and living costs. It is highly unlikely a person will be able to amount 9-18k in a gap year.
Hmmm I would disagree. I think it is possible. If someone is working a standard full time working week of about 38 hours and is being paid London living wage of 11.05 then that amounts to about 18k after tax. And that could cover at least one year or uni costs even accounting for other expenses. And one can supplement that with part time work during uni. But I’m getting self conscious that this might be burdensome
Does anyone know if the scholars who allow student loans, if they allow only the tuition fee loan or is it both tuition fee and maintenance?
I feel like the maintenance is excessive as it’s not going to the uni for fees and it’s literally just facilitating interest based payments without a necessity.
@Khalil I believe sheikh Haythem allows both maintenance loans and tuition fee loan, they don’t fall under the term riba. I will link two articles if they have not been linked yet.
This is sheikh Haithem’s fatwa on student loans and its permissibility. I will also link another scholar in finance on the same website (islam21c) who backs it and explains it fully too.
This is sheikh sajid umar’s fatwa on student loans. Both are worth a read and make sure to know, that this is simplified so that the general public can understand, I am sure you can sit down or even call the sheikhs and get a breakdown of his opinions and why and what usool points they use, I for one, agree with it all, however, I didn’t take the student loans or tuition, I worked a couple of jobs and used the grants and bursaries to fund myself. Was very difficult and my grades got affected, but alhamdulillah I can say I did it!!
JazakAllahu Khayra for sending the articles. I see Subhaan Allah I didn’t know they were both permissible.
Also if someone of the calibre or Sheikh Haitham is saying it’s permissible then that’s very significant. He’s an expert in Islamic finance and is quite strict in his views generally e.g. he considers Crypto to be Haram. So his verdict on this matter is quite profound
I think for those that can afford the privileges I mentioned above, I still think the best move for them would be to avoid the student loan however for those that don’t it’s encouraging to know that they can take it.
Btw I was hearing that there was a campaign to get the government to introduce Halal student loans for Muslims. Does anyone know what’s the status of that?
So apparently there will be a lifelong loan entitlement for students from 2025 as part of which the gov will consider if and how to implement alternative sources of financing.