[*charisma*]

Assalamu Alaikum

A year and a half ago, I took out a subsidized loan to pay for my school. From my understanding at the time, I didn't have to pay any interest while I was in school.

The subsidized loan doesn't have interest until you begin your "repayment" period. There is also a "grace" period of 6 months after graduation. So basically, if I don't go back to school for whatever reason, I have 6 months to repay the loan without interest, but when the repayment period begins, interest will begin to accumulate.

I got really sick the last semester I was in uni and had to drop all my classes. I assumed I'd be going back the next semester, but Allah's plans for me differed and I got married. So the 6 months I would have had to repay them back without interest were over, and I'm currently in the repayment period because I didn't return to school.

I honestly did not know that I would have to pay interest at all the time I took out the loan due to my own misunderstandings and ignorance at the time. The way I found out is when they sent me the bill in the mail to begin paying it back and I noticed I had to start paying a small fee of interest, so now I don't know what to do.

When I make my payments online, I believe it gives me the option to pay the interest separate from the actual loan which is what I've been doing. Do you think if I wrote to them and explained my issues it would make a difference?? Do I have any other ways of dealing with this?

fi aman Allah
w'salaam

 

[Abdul Fattah]

Aselam aleykum,

If you owe them the money then there's no getting out of that. What's done is done and you need to honor your agreeement.

Also I don't see how paying it seperate makes any diffrence. In the end your givin gthem that money as part of an agreement on the loan. So even if you pay it sepearatly it's still intrest.

If you really want another option, perhaps you'll have to pay less interest if you pay back everything at once? But I assume to do that you would need a new loan for that? And obviously it's not that easy to find an interest-free loan.

There's no point in trying to change the past, accept what happened, learn your lesson, seek forgiveness and move on. I know it feels like hell, but that's really all you can do at this point.

 

[*charisma*]

Wa'alaikum Assalam

Jazak allahu khair for your reply. What I meant when I said that they give us the option to pay interest separately was that I have not payed any interest yet and have just been paying the money that goes towards the loan I took out. Maybe I should just pay the whole thing at one time..

fi aman allah
w'salaam