What is the halal alternative?

An Islamic savings account or Islamic cash ISA, which pays an expected profit rate from permissible trade and investment instead of interest (UK providers include Al Rayan Bank and Gatehouse Bank). If interest has already been paid to you, the common scholarly advice is to give it away to charity without expecting reward, rather than keep it.

Is interest on a savings account halal?

Haram. Interest (riba) is prohibited in the Qur'an (2:275 to 279). The OIC International Islamic Fiqh Academy (1985) and AAOIFI both hold that bank interest is riba, so earning it from a savings account or cash ISA is not permissible.

Haram · Money and investing · From the Halal or Not? rulebook, checked 28 September 2026

Halal alternatives

An Islamic savings account or Islamic cash ISA, which pays an expected profit rate from permissible trade and investment instead of interest (UK providers include Al Rayan Bank and Gatehouse Bank).
If interest has already been paid to you, the common scholarly advice is to give it away to charity without expecting reward, rather than keep it.

Quick answers

Is interest on a savings account halal?: Haram. Interest (riba) is prohibited in the Qur'an (2:275 to 279). The OIC International Islamic Fiqh Academy (1985) and AAOIFI both hold that bank interest is riba, so earning it from a savings account or cash ISA is not permissible.
What is the halal alternative?: An Islamic savings account or Islamic cash ISA, which pays an expected profit rate from permissible trade and investment instead of interest (UK providers include Al Rayan Bank and Gatehouse Bank). If interest has already been paid to you, the common scholarly advice is to give it away to charity without expecting reward, rather than keep it.

Sources

Halal or Not? rulebook topic “Savings accounts and interest”, live answer (checked 28 September 2026)

Information, not a fatwa. Where scholars differ, this shows the main views so you can follow the one you already follow or ask a scholar you trust.

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Is interest on a savings account halal?

Halal alternatives

Quick answers

Sources

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