Ribaa (Interest)

A classical example in these times of impatience and haste leading to Haraam is related to Ribaa. Some Muslims in the West are quick to point out that the whole economic system of western ci ili!ation is founded on an interest"based system# and as such necessitates dealing with interest. $hey may also add that paying rent year after year with no real return# and residence in unsuitable housing# all make buying a house with a mortgage a must% e en if it means taking a bank loan# and or paying monthly installments which include an interest rate. &t may also be pointed out by them that dire necessity makes the forbidden allowable# is a well"known principle in &slamic law# hence the sins one is forced to do are not held against him. $his principle can be found in &bn Abbaas' report that the (rophet said# )Allah has pardoned my people for their inad ertent mistakes# their forgetfulness and for what they were forced to do.* + &t can also be found in the ,ur'anic erse following the mention of the categories of forbidden meat# wherein Allah has said# )-ut for whoe er is forced by hunger .to eat of the forbidden/ without desiring sin# erily Allah is forgi ing and merciful.* .,ur'an 0%1/ Howe er# the point is# what is meant by the word )forced* and how is dire necessity defined2 3oes it refer to circumstances under which one desires something badly and is dri en by that desire to belie e that he or she cannot li e without it2 4r is it only applicable to circumstances in which one is threatened with loss of life or limb2 3oes it mean when one's life is in danger2 $he case usually cited to illustrate what is meant by forced is that of &bn 5aasir# $he Sahaabee who accepted &slam as a sla e and was tortured to the point of death to renounce his belief. He complied with his master's demand and falsely admitted that the (rophet was a magician and that the Makkan idols were his gods. After being released from torture# Ammaar &bn 5aasir a oided the (rophet's company out of shame for what had said6 especially since both his father# 5aasir# and his mother# Sumayyah# chose to be tortured to death rather than deny their belief in Allah and His (rophet. When the (rophet learned of

Ammaar's feelings of shame# he called for him and asked him about the state of his heart. Ammaar replied that it was full of &maan .belief/# so the (rophet said# )&f they repeat the torture repeat what you said.* $hen Allah re ealed the following erse# )Whoe er disbelie es in Allah after belie ing# except he who is forced though his heart is at peace with &maan6 Allah is angry with whoe er finds ease in disbelief and they will ha e a se ere penalty.* 7#1 $his Hadith clearly illustrates the true meaning of being )forced* and )dire necessity* as understood by the Sharee'ah6 circumstances in which one may incur the loss of life or limb. 4nly in situations in which one's life or limb is actually threatened can be considered the type of necessity which would make certain Haraam practices permissible. Whene er western colonial powers wanted to introduce offensi e practices in coloni!ed Muslim lands# they would first gain control of a promising Muslim scholar and then force him into making 8atwas .legal rulings/ in their fa or. $hus# Ribaa .which was unthinkable among Muslims less than a hundred years ago/ found its way into the ranks of Muslims through the 8atwaas of the likes of Muhammad Abduh# who was installed by the -ritish as Shaykh al"A!haar .9hancellor of al"A!haar :ni ersity in ;gypt/ against the will of its staff. :nder the influence of these 8atwaas# Abdullah 5usuf Ali stated in his commentary on the erses on Ribaa that the prohibition did not include )economic credit# the creature of modern banking and finance.* Howe er# serious unbiased consideration of the main ,ur'anic erses on Ribaa found at the end of Surah al" -aqarah and the se ere warnings of the last (rophet indicate an unconditional opposition to Ribaa in all of its forms. &n erse 7<0 of Surah al"-aqarah# Allah starts off a frontal attack on Ribaa describing those who take interest in the most repulsi e terms% )$hose who de our interest stand up like someone lurching from Satan's touch.* = $he erse compares one who consumes Ribaa to a staggering madman. $hen the erse mentions the standard >ustification used by those who take interest% )$hey say% trade is >ust like taking interest.*

$his >ustification is still the basis of one of the arguments used for taking interest used today6 one must pay for the usage someone else's capital. &f he had held that capital# he could ha e in ested it and made a profit# so the borrower has to compensate the lender for the loss of his potential profits especially since the borrower will use the lender's capital to make profits. Howe er# Allah re>ects their crafty arguments and twisted logic saying# )-ut Allah has made trade permissible .Halaal/ and interest forbidden .Haraam/.* $here is no guarantee that had the owner of the capital in ested it he would ha e made profits# yet the lender wants to collect a guaranteed fixed profit whether the borrower succeeds in business or not. ?ogic would demand that the lender should not only share in the borrowers' profits but also share his losses if his in estments fail. $his logical principle constitutes one of the basic principles of the &slamic -anking system. Allah then closes the erse with the solution top the problem of past interest"based transactions# saying# )Whoe er stops when the admonition reaches him is allowed to keep what is from the past and his case is with Allah# but whoe er returns .to interest/# is a true companion of the hell"fire wherein he will stay eternally.* Such is the terrible punishment for all those who know the truth yet re>ect it# because that is the essence of @ufr# co ering up the truth about Aod. Allah points in erse 7<B of the .Surah to a reality which in incomprehensible to most people% )Allah has depri ed Ribaa of its alue while causing charity to grow.* $hough Ribaa may seem to increase the quantity of one's wealth# it in fact decreases its blessing. 4n the other hand charity which seems to decrease one's wealth increases its blessing. Allah expresses His displeasure with those who persist in dealing with Ribaa saying# )And Allah dislikes the disbelie ing sinner.* &n the following erse# number 7<<# Allah promises those who gi e up interest" based transactions both material and spiritual rewards. )Cerily# those who belie e and do righteous deeds# establishing Salaah and paying Dakaah# will ha e a reward with their ?ord and they will not be o ercome by fear or grief.*

$hose who belie e are those who obey Allah's command to lea e Ribaa and perform well the other pillars of &slam. $hey will be protected by Allah in this life from the burdens of fear and e en more importantly grief# and will be greatly rewarded in the next life. Cerse 7<E is comprised of a direct exhortation to the belie ers to comply with the prohibition on interest and a challenge to them to pro e the reality of their &maan .belief in Aod/# )4 -elie er fear Allah and lea e what interest remains if# indeed# you truly belie e.* Allah identifies the crux of the matter as $aqwa .Aod"consciousness/ and calls the belie ers to obser e it internally as well as externally# because it is only the real fear of god's displeasure which will dri e man to gi e up the apparently sweet profits which appear in transactions in ol ing interest. $his fear is like an internal alarm which goes off whene er a belie er nears the Haraam acts# thereby helping him to tread the right path. &t is not the same as the fear of harm or danger which grips an indi idual from time to time lea ing him drained and weak. $his fear# when fully de eloped is a much more intense and instinctual fear which lea es its fortunate possessor in a unique state of happiness referred to by the (rophet as the )Sweetness of &maan.* $he last erse in the sequence# 7<F# contains a se ere final warning unparalleled throughout the rest of the ,ur'aan in its harshness for such a seemingly minor sin% )And if you do not# .gi e up the remaining interest/# then be warned of a war on you by Allah and His Messenger.* Such a war cannot but end in a total# de astating defeat for the enemies of Allah. $hus# anyone who refuses to gi e up transactions containing interest is classified as an open enemy of Allah and His Apostle# and is eligible for destruction at any time in this life as well as an abode in the Hell 8ire in the next. -ut Allah in His great mercy and sympathy# e en at this point offers an alternati e as well as some material incenti e saying# )-ut if you repent# you may ha e back your principle in estment. 3o not do wrong and you will not be wronged.*

After reading or listening to the abo e mentioned erses# some whose lo e of the pleasures of this world dri es them to seek loopholes and toeholds say# )-ut these erses deal mainly with taking interest and & am paying it in order to be able to get a house or a car etc# & ha e no other alternati e# as no one in the Muslim community is willing to lend me that kind of money.* $heir mischie ous and rebellious nature leads them to purposely o erlook the general implications of the erses# howe er# the (rophet of Allah whose >ob it was to clarify the ,ur'aan# spelled out the prohibition in words which lea e no room for misinterpretation. -oth Gaabir ibn Abdullah and ibn Mas'ood reported that Allah's messenger cursed the de ourer of Ribaa# the one who pays it# the one who wrote up .the contract/# and its two witnesses# and said# )$hey are all the same.* 0 $he fact that the (rophet considered all those participating in business transactions in ol ing interest as accomplices in a sinful act of disobedience to Aod# clearly indicates that a Muslim must conspicuously a oid interest at all costs unless he fears the loss of his life or limb# which is highly unlikely in the case of interest. As for those whose hearts are completely sealed to the truth# they insist on making further excuses saying# )We are only paying a ery small amount of interest. &t is only +H or 0H. Howe er# e en this door has been slammed shut in their insolent faces by the (rophet. $he (rophet said# )Ribaa has se enty"three forms# the simplest of which is like a man performing sex with his own mother.* B $his simile demonstrates in graphic terms &slam's position towards e en the most insignificant form of interest6 it is more sinful than incest. &t is not a question of quantity or whether such transactions actually contain harm# it is a question of principle. &slam commands Muslims to totally shun interest because of the potential e il which is inherent in it. ?ike intoxicants# small quantities are as forbidden as large quantities# because in most cases one leads to the other. &slamic laws are made for mankind as a whole and no special considerations are made for the rare exceptions. $hat is# although a few people may drink a little throughout their li es and ne er get drunk# most people who drink get drunk and if exceptions are made for the few# most people would claim that they# like the few# would not get drunk6 hence the prohibition is made for

all. &n closing this financial channel# &slam forces Muslims to unite and co"operate as one brotherhood. &slamic banks or financial institutions ha e to be formed wherein Muslims may deposit their funds and borrow without being drawn into the sin of interest. Such institutions may embark on profit sharing entures thereby generating capital which would be returned to the in estors as di idends. &n fact o er the fiscal year .+FEI"+FE+/ when (akistan began to change o er to interest"free banking the di idends returned to in estors in such banks were greater than the existing bank interest rates. $his becomes especially important in Muslim minority communities# where its members are often times unable to afford the costs of undertaking business entures on their own# or of purchasing homes outright etc. if such communities would pool their resources and re"in est them within the community in the form of profit sharing loans# a high le el of economic unity and growth independent from the outer society could be attained# Muslim businesses would in turn generate >obs for Muslims as well as surplus capital which would then be re"circulated in the Muslim community as Dakaah# charity# loans or in estments. Such economic growth and de elopment is absolutely necessary to finance some of the basic institutions essential to the de elopment of a iable &slamic community. 8or example# &slamic schools ha e to be funded by the community's commercial establishments as tuitions are not only insufficient to maintain a pri ate school# but they often deny the children of the poor segments of the community the right to an &slamically oriented education. Most &slamic schools which ha e depended on donations from o erseas ha e folded after a few years of operation# as o erseas &slamic institutions are often unwilling to keep shelling out large sums of money year after year for the same pro>ect. 4ne has to make a realistic assessment of the situation before dashing to the bank. 4ne should reflect on the (rophet's ad ice# )?ook at those less fortunate than you# and not those abo e you6 it is better for you# in order that you do not deny what Allah has blessed you with.* B Jo matter how bad one's situation may seem# there are always others in worse situations. $hus# paying rent year after year without e er being able to buy a house outright is still better than the situation of those who cannot e en afford to rent an apartment. &n fact# one should be certain that money paid in rent to a oid paying interest is blessed by Aod and will be in his fa our on the 3ay of Gudgement. $he difficult situations of life are only tests and one of the main criteria for passing it is patience .Sabr/# the backbone of steady faith .&maan/.

1. Collected by Ibn Maajah and al-Bayhaqee and authenticated by al-Albanee in Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah, vol.1 p. 347, no 1 ! 2. Soo"ah an #ahl 1 -1$ 3. Collected by al-Bayhaqee and quoted in Ibn %athee"&' (a)'ee" al *u"&aan al Adhee+ 4. Acco"din, to Ibn Abba' and the othe" 'chola"' o) ta)'ee" thi' pa"t o) the ve"'e +ean' that tho'e -ho ta.e inte"e't -ill "i'e up )"o+ thei" ,"ave' on the /ay o) 0ud,e+ent li.e the in'ane a' a +ean' o) di',"ace. See Muha++d abn Ah+ad al*u"tubee&' co++enta"y on thi' ve"'e in hi' (a)'ee", al- 0aa+i li Ah.aa+ al *u"&aan. 5. Collected by al-Bu.ha"ee, Mu'li+ 1Sahih Mu'li+ 12n,li'h ("an'., vol 3, p 334, no. 33315 and Abu /a-ood. 6. 6epo"ted by Ibn Ma'oud and collected by Ibn Maajah and Al-7aa.i+. (hi' 7adeeth i' Saheeh 1authentic5. See al-Albanee&' Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah. 7. 16epo"ted by Abu 7u"ay"ah and collected by al-Bu.haa"i 1Sahih al- Bu.ha"i 1A"abic-2n,li'h5 vol 3 p 3!3 no. 4475 and Mu'li+ 1Sahih Mu'li+ 12n,li'h ("an'5 vol 4 p 183$ no 7$7$5