Posted by Umm Sahl in Quran Reminders | 5 Comments
Allah Does Not Bless Riba
Allah will destroy Riba and will give increase for Sadaqat. And Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners. Truly, those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and perform the Salah and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:276-277)
Tafsir (Ibn Kathir)
Allah Does Not Bless Riba
Allah states that He destroys Riba, either by removing this money from those who eat it, or by depriving them of the blessing, and thus the benefit of their money. Because of their Riba, Allah will torment them in this life and punish them for it on the Day of Resurrection. Allah said,
“Say: “Not equal are Al-Khabith (evil things) and At-Tayyib (good things), even though the abundance of Al-Khabith may please you”. (5:100)
“And put the wicked (disbelievers and doers of evil deeds) one over another, heap them together and cast them into Hell.” (8:37) and,
“And that which you give in gift (to others), in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting to get a better one in return) from other people’s property, has no increase with Allah.” (30:39)
Ibn Jarir said that Allah’s statement,
(Allah will destroy Riba) is similar to the statement reported of `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, “Riba will end up with less, even if it was substantial.” Imam Ahmad
Allah Increases Charity, Just as One Raises His Animal
Allah’s statement,
(And will give increase for Sadaqat) means, Allah makes charity grow, or He increases it. Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
“Whoever gives in charity what equals a date from honest resources, and Allah only accepts that which is good and pure, then Allah accepts it with His right (Hand) and raises it for its giver, just as one of you raises his animal, until it becomes as big as a mountain.”
Allah Does not Like the Disbelieving Sinners
Allah’s statement,
(And Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners) indicates that Allah does not like he who has a disbelieving heart, who is a sinner in tongue and action. There is a connection between the beginning of the Ayah on Riba and what Allah ended it with. Those who consume Riba are not satisfied with the permissible and pure resources that Allah provided them. Instead, they try to illegally acquire people’s money by relying on evil methods. This demonstrates their lack of appreciation for the bounty that Allah provides
Praising Those Who Thank Allah
Allah praised those who believe in His Lordship, obey His commands, thank Him and appreciate Him. They are those who are kind to His creation, establish prayer and give charity due on their money. Allah informed them of the honor that He has prepared for them and that they will be safe from the repercussions of the Day of Resurrection. Allah said,
Truly, those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and perform the Salah and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Umm Sahl, your sister in Islam, a wife and mother of 3 beautiful blessed babies
subhan allah a very nice topic.may Allah save us all from sins.ameen.
Assalamalikum, we understand that riba is forbidden, but if asked by a non muslim brother/sister as to why is i forbiden, what can be the correct reply in accordance with economics, can anyone please elaborate on it.
Walaiakum Assalam..
Question:
Why mark up (usury) is prohibited in Islam? Does interest has an effect on the national economy?
Fatwa:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.
Imaam ar-Raazi and other Muslim scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them state five reasons for forbidding Riba:
First, in Riba transactions a person takes the money of another without compensation because the person who pays a Dirham in return for two Dirhams in cash or after a while gets an increase in his money without giving something for it. It is known that money is the key to getting what we need. So, it has to be protected. The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "The inviolability of the money of the person is similar to the inviolability of his blood." So, taking his money without compensation is forbidden.
Second, some scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them state that Allaah forbade Riba as it discourages people from working. In fact, when the money owner could get profit and interest through Riba transactions without having to work, he becomes lazy and prefers Riba to investing in trade and industry and this in turn leads to joblessness among the people. Indeed, the public interest is in trade, crafts, factories and buildings.
Third, Riba causes severing relations among people as it takes the place of good loans which promote kindness and courtesy among people.
Fourth, most of the time it is the rich person who gives the Riba loan to the poor person, hence putting yet another burden on the latter. So, encouraging Riba means giving more power to the rich over the poor who, in addition, will have to pay more than what he took and this is contradictory to mercy and benevolence and Allaah is the most Merciful, the most Benevolent.
Fifth, Riba is forbidden by evidence from the texts of the Quran and Sunnah and we are not asked to know its wisdom. We are only required to approve that Riba is forbidden and act accordingly. In fact, a Muslim duty is to surrender to the Divine Instructions, to adhere to them and to do what is Halaal and to avoid what is Haraam, since Islam is based on total submission to Allaah, The Exalted, whether or not one knows the wisdom or reason behind the Divine Teachings.
Allaah says (what means): {It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.} [Quran 33:36]
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Allaah has cursed the one who consumes Riba (i.e. usury or interest), the one who gives it to others, the one who records it and the one who witnesses it.” [Muslim]
As regards the effect of Riba (interest) on the national economy, it has dangerous effects and bad consequences on the economy. This is one of the reasons why Allaah forbade it. We will limit ourselves here to two disastrous effects of Riba on the national economies both in the consumption level and the production one.
First, the Riba loans add to the exploitation of the poor and the needy as it results in more poverty, hence reducing their future earnings.
On the other hand, these Riba loans make the rich creditors richer and add to their future earnings. It is known that the poor and needy classes constitute a big majority of the society. And, in case the income of this category of people decreases then their demand on the consumed and invested commodities decreases as well. So, if we know that this demand is actually the magic key that turns the wheel of the national economy, as a whole, we realize how big the extent of the economical problem will be and how expensive it is for the individual as well as the society in general.
Second, in the field of investment and production, the Riba banking system allows the outflow of currencies to the wealthy people who are able to pay the loans while the poor ones bear the expenses as the prices of commodities rise up and this results also in national economy inflation which is disastrous for any economy.
Finally, know that Allaah never forbade anything except it has some harmful effects.
Allaah Knows best.
Does interest has an effect on the national economy?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Riba has dangerous effects and bad consequences on the economy. This is one of the reasons why Allah forbade it. We will limit ourselves here to two disastrous effects of Riba on the national economies both in the consumption level and the production one.
First, the Riba loans add to the exploitation of the poor and the needy as it results in more poverty, hence reducing their future earnings. On the other hand, these Riba loans make the rich creditors richer and add to their future earnings. It is known that the poor and needy classes constitute a big majority of the society. And, in case the income of this category of people decreases then their demand on the consumed and invested commodities decreases as well. So, if we know that this demand is actually the magic key that turns the wheel of the national economy, as a whole, we realize how big the extent of the economical problem there will be and how expensive it is for the individual as well as the society in general.
Second, in the field of investment and production, the Riba banking system allows the outflow of currencies to the wealthy people who are able to pay the loans while the poor ones bear the expenses as the prices of commodities rise up and this results also in national economy inflation which is disastrous for any economy. Finally, know that Allah never forbade anything except there are some harmful effects to it.
Allah knows best.
Why is Riba (Usury) forbidden? I need a convincing answer to give it to some of my brothers in town.
Praise be to Allaah.
Wa ‘alaykum al-salaam wa rahmat-Allaahi wa barakaatuhu.
Riba is forbidden because of the harmful effects that result from it, such as:
Economic effects, e.g., keeping money idle and unproductive, and swelling the ranks of the poor;
Social effects, e.g., cutting ties, creating enmity and hatred between the poor and the rich, and spreading corruption and promiscuity caused by need;
Psychological and spiritual effects, e.g., arrogance, looking down on others, hard-heartedness and exploiting the needs of the poor.
The above describes the effects of Riba on the individual level. On the state level, countries are weakened, their resources fall under the control of others, they end up following their enemies’ desires, they are robbed of their natural wealth and their problems get even worse. This is what we see happening in reality. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.