Title: Payment of Interest on a Loan Contracted Before Conversion to Islam Question: Before I embraced Islam a contract was established to pay monthly notes on a car, which involves interest. If I break the contract I will end up with bad credit and be in debt. I have a year and a half to go yet. I now know that it is haraam to pay interest but am I in sin now even though this happened before I embraced Islam? I embraced Islam 2 years ago. Answer: Before answering your specific question, I would like to point out that according to the Qur'an, fulfillment of promises and contracts with others, is one of the basic qualities desired in a Muslim. A Muslim must fulfill all the obligations that arise out of any contract that he may have entered. This principle also holds good for all such contracts, which are contracted by a person before his conversion to Islam. The only exception are those contracts, which are against the established moral standards of the society. For instance, if a person has contracted to kill another person for consideration of money. Keeping the foregoing explanation in perspective, it should be obvious that, in my opinion, you must - not that you may - fulfill your side of the contract. You must make the payment as contracted and without any deviations on your part. However, if you hold the payment of interest to be haraam and, therefore, a sin, you may consider the retirement of the borrowed amounts immediately, if it is possible for you. In other words, if it be financially possible for you to repay the whole amount immediately or in bigger installments, rather than in the contracted installments, you may consider doing so. This would, obviously, not only reduce the amount of interest that you will have to pay, but would also free you from the obligation of the contract at an earlier date - and doing so, can in no way be considered as breaking a contract. January 12, 2001