السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
- The opinion that permits the payment of traffic fine with interest is based upon the contention that the levying of traffic fines is an injustice.
- We do not agree with this view. In our view, traffic fines are not inherently unjust.
- Any motorised society requires rules to govern conduct and protect lives on public roads; and the successful implementation of any set of rules hinges upon punitive measures being imposed on violation.
- The preservation of life, which is one of the chief objectives of traffic rules, is one of the higher purposes (maqāṣid) of the Sharīʿah.
- Interest, and all other types of ḥarām funds that have come into one’s possession should be disposed of in the following manner:
- When the rightful owner is known, it should returned to him.
- Where the rightful owner is not known, it should be given in charity on behalf of the rightful owner, either to a public institution, or to a poor person.
- Using interest funds to pay one’s traffic fines amounts to utilising ḥarām funds to one’s own personal benefit. This is not permissible.
والله تعالى أعلم
And Allah knows best.
