❞ كتاب Interest and Its Role in Economy and Life ❝ ⏤ جمال زارابوزو

Interest is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, “Money paid for

the use of money lent (the principal), or for forbearance of a debt, accord-
ing to a fixed ratio.”1

Actually, individuals and the world as a whole probably know too well the

burden of interest, such that no one truly needs the above definition. Inter-
est is something that is known to anyone living in a capitalist country. It

has become so completely institutionalized and accepted in modern econ-
omies that it is almost impossible to conceive that there are some who

completely oppose it and refuse any transactions that involve interest. But
there are devout Muslims who refuse to deal in interest.

The actual reason why such Muslims do not deal with interest is that inter-
est has been forbidden by the Islamic religion, as shall be detailed shortly.

At the same time, though, Muslims believe that God’s guidance is based

on His knowledge, wisdom and justice. In other words, God does not for-
bid something from humans for no reason whatsoever. Hence, there are

definitely sound reasons—some of which we may be able to clearly recog-
nize—why God has forbidden this practice.

In today’s world, Muslims are constantly being bombarded with argu-
ments in support of dealing with interest. Many Muslims have succumbed

to such pressure and supposedly rational arguments, leading them to ac-
cept the concept of interest.

Therefore, this short article is intended to discuss the Islamic stance on

interest as based on the basic texts of the faith as well as enter into a ra-
tional discussion of interest to determine if the arguments given in favor of

interest are truly valid.
God’s Guidance for Mankind
Islam teaches that God has mercifully given guidance to humankind for all

aspects of life. This guidance covers not just acts of worship but every-
thing from economics and business ethics to marital relations, international

relations, ethics of warfare and so forth. It is one of the distinguishing

1 Oxford English Dictionary Software (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2002), entry,
“interest.”

traits of Muslims today that they still believe in such guidance from God

while so many among humankind have discarded or preempted their reli-
gious teachings when it comes to “secular” issues.

There are a number of reasons why many Muslims have not followed the
same path that, for example, numerous secular Jews and Christians have
followed. One of the most important reasons is that the Muslim can be
confident that the revelation which forms the basis of the Islamic religion
has not been tampered with or distorted since the time of its revelation. In

other words, there has been no human interference or distortion in the re-
velation. Hence, there is no need for humans to come along now and fix

the mistakes of earlier humans, as secular Jews or Christians would argue.

Indeed, the only result for Muslims would be humans, by their interfe-
rence, damaging the revelation that has come from God.

Second, many Muslims believe that they have not been shown any strong
or convincing evidence that somehow their religion is out of touch with
reality or impractical in modern times. In Islam, for example, there has
never been a conflict between religion and science, leading to a breakdown
of trust in the church and a virtual revolt against the authority of religion
as experienced in the West.1 Many people, even some Muslims, have

1
A classic work on the history of the Christian/European experience concerning the conflict

between religion and science is John William Draper, History of the Conflict between Reli-
gion and Science (Order of Thelemic Knights, 2005). Note that his 2tle should actually be

corrected, since it is the history of the conflict between science and Christianity in Europe. In
his work, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe (Honolulu, Hawaii: University
Press of the Pacific, 2002), the same John William Draper divides the history of Europe into
the age of faith followed by the age of reason, highlighting once again the conflict that exists
in Christianity in particular (but also in Judaism) but “reason” and “science” vis-à-vis “faith.”
Again, Islam has never experienced such a crisis. In fact, Islam’s consistency with modern

science is something that has actually drawn many converts into Islam. For example, a non-
Muslim professor, Prof. Tejatat Tejasen of Chiang Mai University in Thailand, studied the

relationship between Islam and modern science and finally stated the following:
“During the last three years, I became interested in the Quran... From my study... I believe
that everything that has been recorded in the Quran fourteen hundred years ago must be
the truth, that can be proved by scientific means. Since the Prophet Muhammad could
neither read nor write, Muhammad must be a messenger who relayed this truth, which was
revealed to him as an enlightenment by the one who is eligible [as the] creator... Therefore,
I think this is the time to say... [at this point, Prof. Tejasen makes a declaration of Islamic

faith].” [Quoted from I. A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam (Hou-
ston: Darussalam, 1997), p. 31.

called for many changes within Islam but, in reality, the arguments that
they have presented have been faulty and flimsy, to say the least. The case
of interest, this article’s topic, can be taken as an excellent example of this
nature.

When one reads the Islamic texts concerning interest, one is immediately

taken by how stringent the warnings are against any involvement in inter-
est. Islam prohibits a number of immoral acts such as fornication, adultery,

homosexuality, consuming alcohol and murder. But the variety of discus-
sion and extent of warnings for these other acts is not of the same level of

those related to taking interest. This has led Sayyid Qutb to write, “No
other issue has been condemned and denounced so strongly in the Quran
as has usury.”1

The Quran, for example, contains the following verses concerning inter-
est2

:

“O you who have believed, do not consume interest, doubled and multip-
lied, but fear God that you may be successful. And fear the Fire, which has

been prepared for the disbelievers.” (Quran 3:130-131)

This rather strong warning towards the believers warns of a fatal conse-
quence: being thrown into the Hell-fire that has been prepared for the dis-
believers.

God also says:
“Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection]
except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is
because they say, ‘Trade is [just] like interest.’ But God has permitted

1

Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Quran (Markfield, Leicester, England: The Islamic Founda-
2on, 1999), vol. 1, p. 355

2
The Arabic word used in these verses of the Quran is ribaa. Ribaa can be defined as, “an

excess and an addition; an addition over and above the principal sum [that is lent or ex-
pended].” Cf., E. W. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon (Cambridge, England: The Islamic Texts

Society, 1984), vol. 1, 1023. Unfortunately, some translators of the Quran (including Abdul-
lah Yusuf Ali, Khan and al-Hilali, and Pickthall) chose to translate the word ribaa as “usury.”

This has led to some confusion, even among Western Muslims. The Oxford English Dictio-
nary defines usury as, “The fact or practice of lending money at interest; esp. in later use,

the practice of charging, taking, or contracting to receive, excessive or illegal rates of inter-
est for money on loan.” In other words, at one time, the word “usury” was equivalent to the

act of lending money on interest, back when this was still a despised act. After interest
became completely legalized, the word usury began to mean “lending at excessive or illegal
rates.” The Arabic term ribaa, in contemporary terms, must be translated as “interest” since
it includes any and all payments made in addition to or above the principal.

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trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition
from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with
God. But whoever returns [to dealing in interest or usury]—those are the
companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. God destroys

interest and gives increase for charities. And God does not like every sin-
ning disbeliever.” (Quran 2:275-276)

These verses have many interesting points to them. Commenting on the
first portion of the verse, Maudoodi has written,
Just as an insane person, unconstrained by ordinary reason, resorts to all
kinds of immoderate acts, so does one who takes interest. He pursues his

craze for money as if he were insane. He is heedless of the fact that inter-
est cuts the very roots of human love, brotherhood and fellow-feeling, and

undermines the welfare and happiness of human society, and that his

enrichment is at the expense of the well-being of many other human be-
ings. This is the state of his “insanity” in this world: since a man will rise

in the Hereafter in the same state in which he dies in the present world, he
will be resurrected as a lunatic.1
Secondly, the verses make it quite clear that there is a difference between
legitimate business transactions and interest. The difference between them
is so glaring that the verse does not bother to explain them, which is one of
the stylistic aspects of the Quran. Thirdly, these verses clearly state that
God “destroys interest and gives increase for charities.”This is one of
God’s “laws” which humankind cannot necessarily discover on its own.

The ultimate and full negative effects of interest on the individual, com-
munity and world as a whole in both this life and the Hereafter are known

only to God. However, a glimpse of some of those negative effects, testify-
ing to the truth of this verse, shall be given later in this paper. In fact, per-
haps highlighting the meaning of this verse, the Prophet (peace and bless-
ings of God be upon him) also said, “Interest– even it is a large amount– in

the end will result in a small amount.”2 Undoubtedly, in the Hereafter
1 Sayyid Abu Ala Mawdudi, Towards Understanding the Quran (Leicester, United Kingdom:
The Islamic Founda2on, 1988), vol. 1, p. 213.
2
Recorded by al-Hakim. See al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami al-Sagheer, vol. 1, p. 664, hadith no.
3543. Interest is all about amassing more money, even without putting the money at risk.
This, in the long-run, however, does not necessarily produce happiness: “General Social
Survey (GSS) study reported in Business Week (October 16, 2000) concluded that money
was not buying happiness and the new life style and its aftershocks are causing the rise of
unhappiness. According to that study, although there was a per capita increase in income

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when the individual meets God, all that he amassed via such illegal means
will be a source of his own destruction.
Shortly after the above verses, God further says,
“O you who have believed, fear God and give up what remains [due to
you] of interest, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be
informed of a war [against you] from God and His Messenger. But if you
repent, you may have your principal—[thus] you do no wrong [to others],
nor are you wronged.” (Quran 2:278-279)
Who in his right mind would expose himself to a declaration of war from
God and His Messenger? Undoubtedly, a stronger threat one will rarely

find. At the end of the verse, God makes it very clear why interest is for-
bidden: it is wrongdoing. The Arabic word for such is dhulm, meaning a

person has done wrong to, harmed or oppressed another person or his own
soul. This verse demonstrates that interest is not forbidden simply due to
some ruling of God without any rationale behind that ruling. Interest is
definitely harmful and therefore it has been forbidden.
In addition to the verses of the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of God be upon him) also made many statements concerning
interest. For example, the following statement clearly demonstrates the
gravity of this action:
“Avoid the seven destructive sins: associating partners with God, sorcery,
killing a soul which God has forbidden– except through due course of the
law, devouring interest, devouring the wealth of orphans, fleeing when the

armies meet, and slandering chaste, believing, innocent women.” (al-
Bukhari and Muslim)

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