Investing charity money in the bank

(Part No. 13; Page No. 359) Fatwa no. 6594 Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family and Companions. To continue, The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has read the question that has been sent from the Medical Manager to His Eminence the General Secretary numbered 50 on 11/01/1404 A.H. wording: I submit to your Eminence the inquiry of the Management of King Faysal Specialized Hospital regarding the money of the donation fund that exists in the hospital. This money is meant to help the patients and their attendants in cases of need. I inform your Eminence that the management of the social services administration in the hospital is in charge of offering financial aid, and giving them to every poor needy person and every patient who seeks help from the hospital. Our question is: Is it permissible to invest these sums in a bank provided that the interest or the investment rate returns to the original amount in the fund and is only used for needy patients and poor people? I hope that your Eminence would provide us with your Fatwa (Legal opinion issued by a qualified Muslim Scholar) in this regard.

The Committee answered as follows: It is impermissible to invest these sums whether they are donations or otherwise, even if the interest is intended to be distributed to the poor. However, it is permissible to invest them in a lawful way that does not include committing any prohibition such as dealing with Riba (usury/interest), gambling, corrupt invalid contracts and so on. It is impermissible to invest the sums collected (Part No. 13; Page No. 360) from Zakah (obligatory charity), and trade with them. Instead, they should be paid in the legal channels of spending Zakah as soon as possible. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.