A charity accepting a commercial bank's support in return for thanking it in posts

A question about a charity accepting support from a commercial bank in return for thanking it in posts, videos and advertisements, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that donations from interest-based banks may be accepted if no promotion is required, that thanks given orally or by letter are fine, and that thanks through advertisements and posts are forbidden because they amount to promotion. ¹

A charity that helps the poor and needy asked whether it may receive support from a commercial bank in return for thanking the bank by mentioning it in its videos, posts and advertisements, as appreciation rather than advertising. ¹

The Department answered that promoting and advertising banks and financial institutions that deal in usury is forbidden, because it is assisting in what is forbidden. ¹ It said there is no objection to dealing with someone whose wealth is mixed between lawful and unlawful, or even mostly unlawful, so his gift or donation may be accepted unless the specific money given is known to be unlawful, provided this is not tied to promoting the donor; it quoted Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's answer in al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyya al-Kubra that dealing with someone most of whose wealth is unlawful is disliked unless the unlawful item itself is known. ¹ It distinguished ways of thanking a supporting bank: oral thanks to its management, or a letter of thanks, are unobjectionable; thanks published in advertisements and videos are not permitted, because they amount to promotion. ¹ It concluded that donations from interest-based banks may be accepted if they do not require promotion, but are forbidden if given in return for promotional work, such as thanks in posts and advertisements. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3995, dated 13 August 2025. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.