Question
I live in Australia, is it permissible for me to buy a house through usurious banks, especially given the current situation where there is a crisis in real estate and there are no good houses for living? I apply for rental properties and the response is rejection because my job is considered unstable and my income is limited, and I have children. They prefer to accept high-income individuals and small families for their homes. Now I have less than a month to vacate my house because the landlord has sold it. I have heard fatwas saying that if you are in dire need, you can buy with usury. What is the degree to which I can consider myself in dire need? Is it only when I am on the street with my children that I would be considered in this situation?
Answer
I say, and with God's guidance: If there is an unbearable harm in your country, it is permissible, and it requires an estimation by a mufti from your state whom you trust in his knowledge and piety. Sometimes, it is possible to follow the opinion of Abu Hanifa on the matter in non-Muslim countries, and God knows best.