Muḥammad Sayyid Ṭanṭāwī (Al-Azhar 2002)
Grand Mufti of Egypt; later Shaykh of al-Azhar
The other famous outlier. The Al-Azhar Islamic Research Council fatwa of 2002 concluded that fixed bank-interest contracts based on mutual consent are not the riba forbidden by the Qurʾān. The opinion provoked an immediate scholarly response and was rejected by the OIC IIFA, AMJA, Mufti Taqi, and the broader Sunni consensus. Cited here as a position that exists in the historical record — and is not a basis for action.
On the core questions
2 of the 6 core questions are documented for this voice. Each carries its source.
Q1 · Is riba prohibited in Islam?
ProhibitsSource:al-Azhar position
Q2 · Is conventional bank interest the same as Qurʾānic riba?
PermitsThe famous 2002 fatwa concluded that fixed bank-interest contracts based on mutual consent are not the riba forbidden by the Qurʾān. This minority position was widely rejected by contemporary scholars including the OIC Fiqh Academy, AMJA, and Mufti Taqi Usmani. Cited here for completeness as the standout dissent.
Source:Al-Azhar Islamic Research Council Fatwa· 2002
Positions are summarised conservatively from documented statements. A label reflects the scholar's strongest documented position; the nuance line captures the qualifiers. Verify against the cited source, and see the methodology for how these were formed.