The Diyanet's High Board of Religious Affairs (Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu) is Turkey's official fatwa body, and its published answers on kurul.diyanet.gov.tr draw a consistent line. Interest from a conventional bank is riba and forbidden. Profit share (kâr payı) from a participation account is permitted when the bank trades and shares real profit. Almost every grey-area question the Board receives, from salary promotions to late fees to cheque discounting, turns on whether money is being exchanged for more money over time. This guide collects the Board's rulings on bank accounts, promotions, instalments, credit cards, cheques, short selling and inflation-adjusted debts, as published on 19 September 2026, and explains what each one means for a Turkish household.
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Who issues Diyanet fatwas and how to read them
The Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı) answers religious questions through its High Board, a committee of scholars whose decisions and answers are published on a dedicated site, kurul.diyanet.gov.tr, under topic headings that include trade, interest and banking. Each answer is dated, and the Board updates its positions as new products appear; the two most recent banking answers we read were dated 14 January 2026 and 24 June 2026. The rulings are not law. Turkish banking law is written by the BDDK and the TCMB, and participation banks are supervised on Shariah matters by their own advisory committees under the TKBB standard, which our piece on who checks the banks describes. The Board's role is to tell an individual what is permitted.
Reading the answers well means noticing the reasoning, not only the verdict. The Board nearly always asks the same two questions: is there a loan, and does the lender get back more than was lent because of the time elapsed? If yes to both, the extra is riba, whatever it is called. If the extra comes from a genuine sale, a service, or a gift unconnected to a loan, the Board generally permits it. Keep that frame in mind and most of the rulings below become predictable. Our is it halal hub applies the same frame to products the Board has not addressed directly.
Bank interest, participation profit share and what to do with interest already earned
The Board's answer on bank deposits is unambiguous: interest paid on a deposit at a conventional bank is riba, because the depositor lends money and receives a guaranteed increase on it. The Board treats the amount of the increase and the rate of inflation as irrelevant to the ruling. Where someone has already received interest, the Board's published guidance is to dispose of it by giving it to the poor without the intention of earning reward, since it is not the recipient's lawful property, rather than keeping it or returning it to the bank.
On participation accounts the Board's position is permissive but conditional. Profit share paid by a participation bank is permitted provided the bank actually uses the funds in trade and partnership contracts such as murabaha, and shares the resulting profit or loss with depositors rather than guaranteeing a return. The Board does not audit individual banks, and it says so; the permission rests on the bank operating as described under its advisory committee. Our explainer on kâr payı versus interest sets out why the two numbers can look similar on a statement while being different in contract.
Salary promotions: why the Board says yes
The maaş promosyonu, a lump sum a bank pays to employees when their employer routes payroll through that bank, is one of the most searched Diyanet questions in Turkey, and the Board's answer is that accepting it is permissible. The reasoning follows the frame above. The employee has not lent the bank anything; the payment is a commercial inducement from the bank to win the payroll contract, agreed between the bank and the employer. Because no loan and no time-based increase are involved, the payment is not riba. The Board does not distinguish between a conventional and a participation bank on this point, although many pious employees prefer to receive salaries through a participation bank where the current account itself earns nothing.
There is a practical edge the Board's answer implies but does not spell out. The promotion is clean; what the salary does afterwards is a separate question. Money left in a conventional current account earns nothing and raises no issue, but anyone who accepts the promotion and then opens an interest-bearing deposit at the same bank has crossed the line the Board draws. Participation banks compete for payroll contracts for exactly this reason, and the participation bank fees guide shows that holding the salary account at one costs nothing.
Instalments, price differences, credit cards and late fees
The Board permits a seller to charge a higher price for deferred payment than for cash, the vade farkı, as long as the deferred price is fixed when the contract is made. The buyer knows the total at signing, the seller carries the risk of the goods until delivery, and the extra is the price of a sale, not the price of time on a loan. What the Board forbids is any additional sum charged because payment is late; that is a time-based increase on a debt and is riba, whether it is called gecikme cezası or anything else. The same ruling is why participation banks fix the murabaha price at signing and treat late charges as amounts they do not keep as income.
Credit cards follow directly. The Board's published view is that using a card is permissible provided the holder pays the full statement on time, so that no interest accrues, and that instalment purchases at no extra cost are a form of fixed deferred sale. Paying the minimum and carrying a balance at interest is not permitted, and cash advances that carry interest from day one fall under the same prohibition. Our guide to participation bank credit cards explains how Kuveyt Türk and others structure cards so that the holder cannot carry an interest-bearing balance at all.
The 2026 answers: cheque discounting and selling to a buyer on interest-based credit
The Board's answer dated 14 January 2026 addresses çek kırdırma, the practice of selling a post-dated cheque to a third party for less than its face value to get cash now. The Board rules it impermissible, because the discount is a return for advancing money against a debt, which is riba in substance. The ruling matters for small traders in Turkey who rely on post-dated cheques; the Board's implied alternative is to sell goods on deferred terms at a price agreed in advance, or to use a participation bank's trade finance, rather than to discount paper.
The answer dated 24 June 2026 concerns a seller whose buyer pays with money borrowed at interest from a conventional bank. The Board holds that the sale itself is valid and the seller's income lawful, because the sale contract is separate from the buyer's loan contract; the sin of the interest-bearing loan rests with the parties to that loan. This is a relief for tradespeople and property sellers, who cannot control how buyers raise funds. It also fits the Board's long-standing position on TOKİ and similar schemes, which our article on whether TOKİ housing is halal covers.
Short selling, shares and inflation-adjusted debts
The Board rules short selling (açığa satış) impermissible, on the classical ground that a person may not sell what they do not own, and because the transaction is a wager on price with no transfer of a real asset. Buying ordinary shares is permitted when the company's main activity is lawful, which is the premise behind the BIST participation indices described in our BIST stock screening guide. The Board's position on cryptoassets, covered separately in our crypto article, is more cautious.
Inflation produced the Board's most debated financial ruling. The classical rule is that a debt is repaid in the same nominal amount. The Board, drawing on the opinion of Imam Abu Yusuf that fiat money may be valued by its purchasing power, has published the view that where inflation has substantially eroded the value of money, a debt may be repaid with an adjustment for the loss of purchasing power without this counting as riba, because the lender is receiving back the value lent rather than an increase. The ruling applies to loans between individuals, to deferred mehir and to similar debts. It does not license a lender to charge a return above inflation, and the Board warns against using it as a pretext.
| Question put to the Board | Published answer | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Interest on a conventional deposit | Riba, not permitted | Move savings to a participation account; give any interest received to the poor |
| Profit share from a participation account | Permitted if the bank trades and shares real profit | Choose a bank with a functioning advisory committee |
| Accepting a salary promotion | Permitted | The payment is a commercial inducement, not a loan return |
| Fixed price difference for deferred payment | Permitted if fixed at contract | Instalment prices are fine; late charges are not |
| Discounting a post-dated cheque | Not permitted (14 Jan 2026) | Use deferred sale or participation trade finance |
| Selling to a buyer using an interest-based loan | Sale valid, income lawful (24 Jun 2026) | The buyer's loan is the buyer's responsibility |
| Short selling shares | Not permitted | Buy and hold screened shares only |
| Repaying a debt adjusted for inflation | Permitted where inflation has eroded value | Adjustment restores value; it is not a return |
How to use the Diyanet fatwa service yourself
- Search kurul.diyanet.gov.tr first, because most banking questions already have a dated answer and the Board rarely changes a settled position.
- Read the reasoning paragraph as well as the verdict, since the Board's answers often hinge on a condition such as the price being fixed at signing.
- Submit a new question through the Board's online form or the Alo 190 line if your case differs materially, describing the contract rather than the brand name.
- Remember that the Board answers for individuals and does not certify banks or funds; for a product, read the bank's advisory committee decision as well.
- Keep the dated answer with your own records, as the Board sometimes revisits topics when products change, as it did with the 2026 cheque and credit answers.
Our view
A Turkish household that follows the Board's published rulings ends up in a clear place: salary and savings at a participation bank, a credit card paid in full each month or a participation card that cannot carry interest, deferred purchases only where the price is fixed on day one, and no discounting of cheques or short positions in shares. The salary promotion is yours to take. If you lend to family, write down the amount and agree in advance how inflation will be handled, because the Board permits restoring purchasing power but not a return on top. The Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı profile on this site links to the fatwa service and the Board's related guidance.
Treat the rulings as the floor rather than the ceiling. The Board does not inspect banks, so the permission for participation accounts is conditional on the bank behaving as described, and it is worth reading your bank's advisory committee reports once a year. Where the Board has not spoken, apply its own test: is there a loan, and does time alone make it grow? Facts checked against kurul.diyanet.gov.tr on 19 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Diyanet say participation bank profit share is halal?
Yes, conditionally. The High Board's published answer is that profit share from a participation account is permitted provided the bank uses the funds in genuine trade and partnership contracts and shares profit or loss rather than guaranteeing a return. The Board does not audit banks, so the permission depends on the bank operating as its advisory committee describes.
Is accepting a bank salary promotion halal according to the Diyanet?
Yes. The Board rules that the maaş promosyonu is permissible because the employee has not lent money to the bank; the payment is a commercial inducement agreed between the bank and the employer to win the payroll contract. No loan and no time-based increase are involved, so it is not riba. What you do with the salary afterwards is a separate question.
Is vade farkı, a higher price for instalments, halal?
Yes, if the deferred price is fixed when the sale is agreed. The Board treats a higher deferred price as part of a sale, not as the price of time on a loan. Any extra charged because a payment is late is a different matter and is riba, regardless of what it is called. Participation banks fix the murabaha price at signing for this reason.
What did the Diyanet rule on cheque discounting in 2026?
In an answer dated 14 January 2026 the Board ruled çek kırdırma, selling a post-dated cheque for less than face value to get cash early, impermissible. The discount is a return for advancing money against a debt, which is riba in substance. Traders are pointed towards deferred sales at a fixed price or participation bank trade finance instead.
Can a debt be repaid with an inflation adjustment according to the Diyanet?
Yes, where inflation has substantially eroded the value of money. Drawing on Imam Abu Yusuf's view that fiat money may be valued by purchasing power, the Board permits repaying a debt with an adjustment that restores the value lent, without this being riba. It does not permit a return above inflation, and the Board warns against using the ruling as a pretext for one.
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Is short selling shares halal according to the Diyanet?
No. The Board rules short selling impermissible because the seller does not own what is sold and the transaction is a wager on price without a real asset changing hands. Buying and holding shares in companies whose main activity is lawful is permitted, which is the basis of the BIST participation indices used by Turkish halal funds.
