What should I do with the interest my bank account has already earned?

You are entitled to your capital only; the interest is not yours to enjoy, and it is also not left with the bank to strengthen its ribā-based dealings. The position of the great majority of contemporary scholars is that you calculate the interest and dispose of it in avenues of general benefit — the poor, the indebted, medical and relief needs — without intending reward for it, as this is ridding yourself of unlawful wealth rather than giving ṣadaqah. It therefore does not count as your zakat or your voluntary charity, and scholars caution against routing it into anything that discharges a liability of your own. Where possible, move to a non-interest-bearing account, since maintaining the arrangement is itself blameworthy even if the return is discarded. Allah says, "Give up what remains of ribā, if you are believers... and if you repent, you shall have your principal sums" (Qurʾan 2:278-279), and the Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who consumes ribā, the one who pays it, the one who records it and its two witnesses, saying, "They are all the same."

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