@Khalil yes, I got interviewed by the BBC about the Muslim student finance thing. It is essentially a way for Muslims to get loans without the interest part. It will be limited though, so not everyone can do it. It is like a pot of money that will be donated by many muslims, and those who graduated will also have the opportunity to add money until the money becomes enough to give to anyone who is muslim. I pray it actually gets accepted by government.
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As someone who believed the student loans were haram (I am specifically talking about the tuition fees here), I struggled quite a lot balancing work and studies. I had to make 9k by January and we start work in September, so it was a hard to get good grades and make that money, and we always miss the payment and are then rushed to get that money. It is extremely stressful! If I knew it was considered halal, I would have never worked so hard to get that money and become more successful on my grades⌠Although, I do recognise, I am not just using this as an excuse, I could have revised more and worked harder, however, a really high percentage of my time was taken working. My last year, you can clearly see the disparity in grades when I didnât work in 3rd year compared to my 2nd year. So it is a scope of discussion and if it is even worth it.
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The link is here (forgot to add).
Assalamualaikum. Baarakallahufeekum brother.
Whilst I differed with Sh. Haitham in terms of the fiqh strategy to our conclusion, our conclusions are the same. My article, which you have linked, outlines my process and strategy for the concluded ruling clearly, inShaAllah.
The UK orientation of the student loan is not simplistic and as such does not resemble a synthetic loan from a Shariah perspective, but is akin to a form of profit-sharing, given the stipulation of economic value creation before any payments become due on the student.
In fact, even from a contemporary economics perspective, the structure of a student loan is more aligned with a tax construct as opposed to a loan.
As such, the usage of the term âloanâ requires interpretation to for the sake of synergy between the title and the structure.
That said, entering into it still entails a financial decision, and every student should look into all the available options out there before making a decision to take the loan, as one would do before making a business or investment decision.
It does not mean that a stock, for example, is Shariah Compliant, that it makes a good business decision to invest in it.
So for the UK, the Student Loan discussion is more a âgood-business/strategyâ discussion than it is a shariah discussion.
And Allah knows best.
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This is so tough, I feel the difference of opinion can create a lot of disparity amongst muslim students. No wonder some students become so staunch and defensive in their opinion that student loans are haram - the struggle for them is so real.
Whether they are halal or haram, the fact that you chose to take the other opinion out of fear of Allah and struggled because of it, Allah will never let that go uncompensated.
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I have a friend who was a straight A student. She took out 2 years to work to avoid the student loan. Made herself sick in the process, (still mentally and physically recovering from the strain) Still wasnt able to save enough. Decided to opt for the open university option. Sacrified going to a top universoty to avoid riba. Still has an open and compassionate opinion in regard to those who chose to take out the loan! Surely such effort will never go uncompensated.
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This is a bit off topic but as citizens of this country (uk), Muslim students should not have to go through such angst every year just to gain a higher education. Feeling like they have to compromise either their education or their faith. The halal alternative should already have been implemented. Itâs been drafted since 2014, made permissible by law since 2017.
I have friends whoâve taken out the loan but are riddled with guilt and get cold-feet everytime they have to reapply. The goverment needs to do more to care for itâs Muslim citizens. And we need to put more pressure on them.
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I can understand the pain, especially those who work immensely hard to get the results in their prior studies.
I believe there was a petition sent out a while back but I donât think there was any action taken on it.
Agreed it is genuinely a joke that it has taken this long. However, if you read Shaykh Sajidâs article above which was posted by Brother @MotaharMalik it outlines that these loans are not haram, and thus your friends do not need to feel guilty.
I think it would also be great if the Muslim community would come together to help encourage people to study, especially those who donât want to take out loans.
I know thereâs initiatives like Aziz Foundation who provide scholarships for Muslim students but thatâs based upon on your application etc and not every Muslim will receive it
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Iâve told them, but I think pressure from those who believe the opposite opinion makes them doubt this one. But youâre right, they did istikharah, made an informed decision and took out the loan. They need to rest their case in the end.
Just came across this comment on the thread, agree I feel like as a community perhaps we should have/should come together to offer alternative solutions to this on-going problem. Atleast maybe this way people who donât want to take out the loan will still see alternatives / positive about the future instead of the negative emotions they may associating with taking or not taking the loan out.
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Absolutely. Life would be a lot easier if we had some kind of fund or help available to Muslims wanting to pursue higher education and not get into debt. The other problem is, not everyone gets into jobs which pay well either after graduating eg NHS, the loans are more than they earn and it can put alot of mental strain on a person financially
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Definitely. Just think we need better strategies - seeing as this is a on-going issue and not just one we can forget about, it will keep resurfacing. Many arenât even in employment constantly due to varying factors i.e becoming mothers, or ill-health, so these breaks also cause financial strain + add to an individuals on-going burden. Sad really
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The thing is itâs hard to a get a good paying job without a degree these days so itâs hard to avoid taking out student loans to study. A lot of Muslims in certain areas of the UK come from working class families so a lot of them donât have the financial aid from parents. Welcome to the forum by the way!
Salaam. This is an interesting topic. There was a period in my where I was thinking about taking a student loan out to study at University. I applied and then declined due to the daunting thoughts of taking it such a large loan and not being able to pay it back. I feel as though itâs really hard anyway to be successful and have more opportunities career wise as a Muslim further without an undergraduate/graduate degree. To this day I still consider time to time whether I should pursue one via SFE or be debt free. I know people who have taken years to pay off their loans and I donât want to be in that position.
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I agree with Hassan, student loans should definitely be abolished for Muslims through some means as many people become confused between the different opinions surrounding student loans, and many have to settle for apprenticeships or getting ordinary jobs
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Waâalaykum assalaam. Sadly this is the case for many Muslims who contemplate studying. A lot of Muslims choose not to study due to having debt hanging over them. There are many scholars who encourage Muslims to study and approve taking out student loans to study. I guess itâs down to the individual
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Unfortunately, whether itâs due to outside pressure on the difference of opinions itâs become common for a large amount of Muslims to not pursue studying due to debt. on the other hand, recently there are a lot of Muslims taking out student loans to study. Itâs important for our community to consist of successful Muslims. We need more Muslims in every sector.
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Salam, welcome to the community 
If you take the opinion that student loans are permissible I think you should still go for it!
The repayment process is tolerable imo. You only repay once you start earning above ÂŁ27,296 and even then its 9% of the amount that is above ÂŁ27,296. If youâre not earning you dont have to repay. Also it cancels out after 30 years or if the person dies
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