The ruling on taking a loan in

Q: More than one year ago, our society was in bad need for money, and remains so up to now. We borrowed money from a French bank based on riba (usury). Shaykh Abu Bakr Al-Jaza'iry then asked us to purify the money (Part No. 14; Page No. 145) of Allah (Exalted be He) from usury. He asked one of the good-doers in Saudi Arabia to give us one hundred and sixty thousand francs, (160,000 new French francs) as an interest-free loan, which he gave to Hajj Bilqasim Muhammad to give to us. When we received from a benevolent donor a sum of money that equals the loan, we went to Hajj Bilqasim to return the money to him but he said: The Saudi lender wants the money in dollars, not in francs. In this way, the amount would be much higher than (160,000 francs). Is it permissible to give him the money in dollars with the extra interest, taking into consideration that we thought the money was to help us for the sake of Allah (Exalted be He)? Could you kindly advise. May Allah reward you.

A: If the reality is as you have mentioned that the loan which was given to you was in French francs, it is only necessary to pay French francs; whether the current value of francs has increased or decreased from the value at the time of borrowing. It is not permissible for him to oblige you to pay anything unlike the loan he gave. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.