Living in an apartment that his father bought by riba
Question

                My father deals with riba and has been withholding zakaah for 25 years, up till now, despite being told all this time that it is haraam. He has bought me a splendid apartment so that I can get married, and I suggested to him that I could live in the apartment by paying rent, so that I will not be using something that is haraam, but he vehemently refused that, so I am refusing to get married, so that I will not be a cause of increasing his sin. Is what I did right?
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 

    Riba is a major sin and a serious crime, 
    and the one who deals in it is warned of a declaration of war from Allah and 
    His Messenger, loss of blessing, and curses. A sin that is like this is 
    something that one should flee from and keep far away from it by all 
    possible means. 

    Allah, may He be exalted, says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Allah 
    will destroy Riba (usury) and will give increase for Sadaqat (deeds of 
    charity, alms, etc.) And Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners”

    [al-Baqarah 2:276]

    “O 
    you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from Riba 
    (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers.

    And if you do not do it, then take a 
    notice of war from Allah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have 
    your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital 
    sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your 
    capital sums)”

    [al-Baqarah 2:278-279]. 
     

    Muslim (1598) narrated that Jaabir (may 
    Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays 
    it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it, and he said: they 
    are all the same. 

    The interest that is paid by riba-based 
    banks is the very essence of riba. If a person is compelled by necessity to 
    keep his money in a riba-based bank, then he should keep it in a current 
    account. If a person has repented from dealing in riba and he receives any 
    interest payments, it is obligatory for him to get rid of it by spending it 
    on charitable causes, and it is not permissible for him to keep it for 
    himself. 

    Withholding zakaah is also a major sin, 
    but despite that it is not haraam to interact with a person who withholds 
    zakaah or to accept his gift, because zakaah is a debt that he owes, but his 
    wealth is not like the wealth that was seized by force or stolen, which it 
    is haraam to take for the one who knows that it is stolen. 

    Secondly: 

    The correct scholarly view is that that 
    which is haraam because of the way in which it is acquired is only haraam 
    for the one who acquired it in that manner, and it is not haraam for the one 
    who takes it from him in a way that is permissible, such as receiving it as 
    a gift and the like. 

    Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have 
    mercy on him) said: 

    Some of the scholars said: With regard to 
    that which is haraam because of the way in which it is acquired, the sin 
    thereof is borne only by the one who acquired it in that manner, not by the 
    one who takes it from him in a permissible manner. This is in contrast to 
    that which is haraam in and of itself, such as alcohol, property that was 
    seized by force, and the like. This is a strong view, based on the evidence 
    that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) bought food 
    from the Jews for his family, and he ate from the sheep that was given to 
    him as a gift by the Jewish woman in Khaybar, and he accepted the invitation 
    of a Jewish man, and it is well-known that most of the Jews take riba 
    (usury) and deal in haraam wealth. This view may be further strengthened by 
    the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said 
    concerning the meat that was given in charity to Bareerah (and she gave some 
    of it to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): “For her 
    it is charity and for us it is a gift.”

    End quote from al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala 
    Kitaab at-Tawheed (3/122) 

    He also said:

    With regard to that which is haraam 
    because of the way in which it is acquired, such as that which is taken by 
    way of bribes, or by way of riba, or by way of lying, and the like, it is 
    haraam for the one who  acquired it in that manner, but it is not haraam for 
    the one who acquires it from him in a permissible manner. This is supported 
    by the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used 
    to deal with the Jews even though they used to consume haraam wealth and 
    take riba. This indicates that it is not haraam for anyone other than the 
    one who acquired it by haraam means.

    End quote from Tafseer Soorat al-Baqarah 
    (1/198) 

    Based on that, if a father buys an 
    apartment for his son with riba money, there is nothing wrong with the child 
    making use of it, because the sin of riba is only on the one who acquired it 
    in that manner. 

    It may be said to the son in this case: If 
    your refusal to live in this apartment will not have any impact by making 
    your father give up riba – rather it will only make him angry and sad, and 
    he will carry on with that – then there is nothing wrong with you getting 
    married and living in that apartment. 

    Thirdly: 

    If a person deals in riba then repents to 
    Allah, may He be exalted, if the riba wealth is still there, then he has to 
    rid himself of it, but if he has used it up and consumed it, then he does 
    not have to do anything with regard to it. 

    If he put that money into accommodation 
    that he needs, he does not have to sell it and get rid of the riba, unless 
    he chooses to do so himself, which is undoubtedly better. This is by way of 
    making it easy to repent for those who have committed sins, because if they 
    were to be told: Get rid of whatever you possess of everything that you 
    purchased by means of riba, that would cause them hardship and would cause 
    many of them to delay repentance. 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah 
    have mercy on him) said: A man may live for a long time without praying or 
    giving zakaah, or fasting, and not caring how he acquires his wealth, 
    whether it is from halaal or haraam sources, and not following the 
    guidelines on marriage and divorce, and so on, so he is living in a state of 
    ignorance, apart from the fact that he claims to be a Muslim. When Allah 
    guides him and has mercy upon him by enabling him to repent, if he were 
    obliged to make up all that he had missed of obligatory duties, and if he 
    were to be ordered to return everything that he had acquired of wealth, and 
    to give up everything that he loves, and so on, repentance would become a 
    punishment for him, and in that case disbelief would be dearer to him than 
    Islam, which he has identified with, because repentance from disbelief would 
    be a mercy but repentance when he is already a Muslim would be a punishment. 
    I know some righteous people who wished that they had been disbelievers so 
    that they could become Muslims and be forgiven for all their previous 
    misdeeds, because repentance for them was impossible or too difficult, 
    according to what they had been told about repentance and what they believed 
    about it. Moreover, this deters most of those who commit evil deeds from 
    repenting, and it is more like causing the people to despair of the mercy of 
    Allah, and placing a heavy burden on those who repent, who are the loved 
    ones of Allah, for Allah loves those who repent and He loves those who 
    purify themselves, and Allah rejoices over the repentance of His slave more 
    than the one who finds his property in which is his means of survival after 
    having despaired of ever finding it again. 

    End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa 
    (22/21) 

    Our advice to this son is to continue 
    honouring his father and reminding him of the prohibition on riba and the 
    obligation to hasten to give it up. He should also hasten to get married so 
    long as he is able to do so, so as to protect himself and guard against 
    temptation.

    We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to set 
    straight the affairs of all. 

    And Allah knows best.