Post a comment
2:275] Those who swallow down usury cannot arise except as one whom Shaitan has prostrated by (his) touch does rise. That is because they say, trading is only like usury; and Allah has allowed trading and forbidden usury. To whomsoever then the admonition has come from his Lord, then he desists, he shall have what has already passed, and his affair is in the hands of Allah; and whoever returns (to it)-- these arc the inmates of the fire; they shall abide in it.
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 2:275]
Riba literally means a growth or an addition. The additional amount, collected over and above the capital given as a loan, is interest or usury. It is an abuse or a misuse of the power one holds over the weak or the needy, and therefore, strictly forbidden. Spending in the way of Allah for the welfare of the human society has been prescribed in the preceding verses. With enough means at one's disposal, it is a sin not to part with some of it in order to help the needy. When giving in the way of Allah, as a free gift, under such circumstances, has been prescribed, then those whom Allah has given enough, must at least lend that which is needed by the needy, without charging any additional payment, because practising usury is akin to being confounded by Shaytan, and is tantamount to digging one's own grave. Inherent in a transaction of usury is the element of enslavement and abuse, because a person who is in need of material help cannot pay back more than what he had originally taken; therefore Islam has prohibited usury. In the transaction of usury, both the givers and the takers suffer. The lender, in love of more and more material gains, becomes heartless and selfish. Those who take loans become extravagant and ruin their families. This scenario is diametrically opposed to the very purpose of the religion of Islam - establishment of a fair, kind and welfare-oriented social order. If there is no temptation of usury, material help will be given to only those who are really in need of it.
Trade, on the other hand, is a mutual transaction in which both parties feel satisfied, in which both either hope to gain or run the risk of a loss. If financial help is required for business or trading, a different relationship can be structured between the two parties, such as a partnership or some form of sharing profit and loss.
Those who say usury is only like trading will rise on the day of resurrection in a state of insanity, as those rise whom Shaytan has prostrated by his touch.
|
