format_quote Originally Posted by
anonymous
salam,
I will cut to the main points:
My parents are in copious amounts of debt, personal debt from family and relatives as well as from interest bearing loans of which our family struggles to make the payments.
I have 2 brothers and 1 sister whom hold credit card and my parents have had to result to them out of necessasity and as of right now they are maxed out and my brother and sister are working retail jobs to pay them of.
Mashallah, My eldest brother is working a very well paying job in the states and he is doing all he can to assist us in our financial woes.
Now the problem is, I have always been a bit reluctant to lend over my credit card to my dad because I know the situation and poor credit score my other brother/sister now have because of them letting him use it. I do not want the same thing for my credit cards to be maxed out and then spend the next several years paying it of WITH INTEREST. I am only in college and am not working so it is not beffiting for me to take on such large amounts of debt.
Now, today my dad asked me to increase my credit limit and I know where he is going with this- he going to ask me to lend it to him- and for what purpose you ask? For personal pleasure/luxory. My Dad's sister son is getting married in pakistan this coming summer and flight tickets are quite expensive (in the thousands/ per person) and we are a big family.
Although, we have not visited pakistan for a long time and seen all our relatives (for over 14 years) I do not see the benefit of taking on MORE debt than we already and paying INTEREST upon Interest on these loans just to go see our family in Pakistan.
This is called living beyond our means and I am sure this is not what Allah would want, to live luxuriously in a big house and big family and goign to see our family in pakistan but all by means of HARAM Interest BEARING loans!
What is the best advice in this case? My dad has been telling me - LOOK beta, how your brothers and sister are so open about there financial situation and willing to give up there credit cards, and he says since I don't I am being neglectful or a bad son...
I know the consequences and why would I want to go down that path? Is this really being disrespectful if I don't fulfill my dads wishes. ie. to pass over my credit cards to him?
What is the best advice, how can I tell my dad its wrong or show him that I do not want to bear this loans under my name solely due to the interest factor and that it is haram, no other reason.
Asalaamu Alaikum, jazakallahu khayr for sharing yuor situation with us. Firstly we must realise that we should obey our parents on permissable matters but we should not obey them on matters which are not permissable. Therefore on this particular matter where your father is asking for use of your credit card which will result in further debt and interest then you should refuse to comply with such demands but obviously in a most delicate manner possible as he is your father and our parents deserve the best of respect and honour from us at all times even if they are treating us with injustice and harshness.
A lot of the times a person knows the consequances but becomes blind to that and only thinks about they they need to do to get themselves out of the situation they are in but you need to explain to your father or get an elder to explain to him (which would have more weight) that taking out interest is totally forbidden and Allah sees it as a war against him. That is how severe it is in his eyes.
The issue is you having credit cards in the first place at such an age and without even having a job. It is far better if you terminated your credit card accounts as you should not have them nor do you need them as having credit cards when you already have little or no income will tempt one to use money that is not yours. Hence eventually make one fall into interest. That is how debt begins and then it piles up more and more until it becomes unmanagable.
So i would recommend that you terminate your accounts and if your father asks then tell him you have cancelled your cards as you did not want to pay any interest or risk paying any interest as it is a major sin and seen as a "war against Allah".
May Allah save us from ever getting into war with him. Ameen