Qard hasen fund applications: Problems and solution suggestions

Debt appears as an economic phenomenon among people living in every period of history. By its nature, it also requires the lender to obtain a benefit in return for making the interest he holds available to someone else. In today's banking system, this benefit appears as interest. Banks receive interest for the loans they provide to their customers. The fact that interest is prohibited in Islam has caused people with religious sensitivities to look for different methods to meet their needs. Although Qard hasen is a method that cannot completely eliminate interest, it is seen as a preferred method in debt relations among Muslims. Qard hasen, which means a good loan given for the sake of Allah, is used to meet needs. The main purpose of Qard hasen is to gain Allah's consent and meet people's needs. Since Qard hasen does not aim to make a profit, it is implemented officially in institutions that support cooperation or informally among individuals. The main purpose of this study is to investigate and examine the functioning and structure of the ballot boxes that informally implement qard hasen. This is to identify the problems encountered by the ballot boxes. Ultimately, it is to convey the solutions they have found to these problems. It is to reveal the possibility of widespread use of unofficial qard-i hasen funds. The possibility of these ballot boxes becoming official will be examined. In this context, a total of twelve unofficial Qard-ı Hasen funds, one abroad and eleven domestic, were examined. To obtain information about the ballot boxes, interviews were conducted with the participants using the qualitative research method. Interviews were conducted online or face to face using a semi-structured method. The ballot boxes were evaluated in terms of their establishment adventures, methods of collecting funds and distributing cards, and their purpose. It is expected that it will make significant contributions to the Islamic economics literature regarding the dissemination of Qard Hasen.