Title: Making Purchases Through Mortgage Question: So, buying a car or house via bank/mortgage company etc., it is haraam ? I have run into a few people who say if this is the only way to buy a house or car, than the sin is on the persons collecting the Riba . Does this sound true? I have to buy a car, and soon we will need a bigger house. Should I just buy a used maybe even unreliable car and maybe rent a bigger apartment to stay away from Riba ? Answer: Purchasing goods on mortgage, as you have rightly pointed out, entails the payment of Riba . It is primarily because of this reason that questions pertaining to purchasing goods on mortgage are asked. However, a close look at the mechanism of such purchases shall show that besides the element of Riba , this transaction also includes the element of pledging, which, like Riba , is not allowed except in situations where a scribe or the desired witnesses for the debt transaction are not available ( Al-Baqarah 2: 283), due to any reason. Thus, purchasing goods on mortgage entails an even graver situation for the person or the institute providing the financing facility, as compared to installment purchase or any other financing facility entailing Riba . From the borrower's perspective, purchasing goods on mortgage is the same as financing one's needs through any other Riba -based mode of financing. I have already given my opinion regarding financing one's needs through such modes in my earlier responses to related questions. 7 th August 1999