A SEVERE WARNING!: The Danger of consuming Ribaa (Interest) ``````````````````````````````````````````````````` It pains me to see that so many Muslims nowadays are completely oblivious concerning a great sin within Islam, namely the consumption of Ribaa (interest). It has been labelled as one of the seven destroyers by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and consuming Ribaa is the only sin in Islam on which war is declared by Allaah and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Allaah says: 2:278. O you who believe! Be afraid of Allâh and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribâ (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers. 2:279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allâh 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). Unfortunately not many people within the Muslim community are aware of what Ribaa exactly is nor what the dangers are of consuming it. Therefore, as your brother in Islam, I feel obliged to share some knowledge concerning this topic, not only to warn my brothers and sisters, but to open the eyes of many people who have been heedless concerning this topic for far too long. The dangers of Ribaa As mentioned above it is one of the seven destroyers and the only sin on which war is declared by Allaah and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that whoever consumes Ribaa is at war with Allaah and His Messenger! Allaah does not accept charity of wealth earned through ribaa, and the giver does not receive any blessings in it. Furthermore, Allaah does not grant the supplication of the one who consumes ribaa and the one who engages in ribaa is deprived of blessings of life and earnings. Moreover, the heart of the one who engages in ribaa becomes corrupt, and as result it turns hard and turns away from the remembrance of Allah and its guidance. Also, the one who engages in ribaa is deprived of goodness and is turned away from good deeds. Consuming ribaa brings about the curse of Allah and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the one who participates in riba is evicted and banished from the mercy of Allah. Lastly, some sins are so great that the believer loses his faith at the point of death and thus dies as a disbeliever; consuming ribaa is one of such sins. The consumer of ribaa will be in the worst condition after his death and will be punished for it in the grave, and, on the day of resurrection, the consumer of ribaa will rise from their graves suffocating, mad, and insane. What is the definition of Ribaa? To put it brief and simple, Ribaa is the exchange of present money against future money with an increase. So, money against money, some money is given in the present which is received back in the future and the lender wants to get more money than he gives, this is riba. Basically the Sharia divides commodities into two types: 1) Ribawi-commodities: Commodities in which there is a risk that ribaa can occur (ribawi-commodities), are: gold, silver (money is also included in this), dates, salt, barley and wheat. 2) Non-ribawi commodities: Commodities which have no danger of ribaa whatsoever (non-ribawi commodities), such as; laptops, cars, clothes and so on. The rule is that when any of these six ribawi-commodities are exchanged in unequal amounts, it’s classified as Ribaa and thus prohibited by the sharia. The reason why gold and silver or its equivalents cannot be exchanged in unequal amounts is because they are forms of money. However, the same counts for the other four commodities and just like gold and silver, they have an intrinsic value and were all used as money at some time. All other commodities and goods – besides the six Ribawi-commodities – are considered to be non-ribawi commodities, therefore they can be exchanged in unequal amounts. As for transactions that take place between Ribawi-commodities and non-Ribawi commodities, there are no conditions whatsoever for the exchange except for those of justice, such as; no fraud, no deception and so forth. Let us look at a simple example to make things clear: Example: If Achmed exchanges €100 for €101 with Adam, then this is a riba transaction and thus prohibited by the sharia because money is a Ribawi-commodity. However, if Achmed exchanges 100 pencils for 101 pencils with Adam, then this is permissible because pencils are non-Ribawi commodities and thus there is no chance to be exposed to riba. So, what are the conditions for the exchange of Ribawi-commodities? When exchanging ribawi-commodities (gold, silver (or its equivalents), dates, salt, barley and wheat) one has to observe the following rulings: There can be no difference in amount or time between the exchange, and all commodities have to be physically present. When exchanging Ribawi-commodities the time factor has to be applied and all commodities have to be physically present. When exchanging Ribawi-commodities of the same kind, the time and amount factor have to be applied (because now commodities can be compared) and all commodities have to be physically present. When there is a transaction between two things which are the same (like for like), then there is a possibility for riba. If one does not exchange like for like then he has not to fear riba. These rules can only be applied to the six Ribawi-commodities, those are the only commodities in the sharia which can be compared and apart from these six, other commodities are not the same even though they may seem the same. Another example to make things more clear: Example: In the exchange of two iPhone’s there is no fear for ribaa because they do not fall under any of the six categories which classify as ribawi-commodities. One is free to trade one laptop for two laptops, or trade his car for a laptop, whatever one wants. One is also allowed to exchange gold/silver for a laptop since there are no conditions for changing between Ribawi and non-Ribawi commodities. One can freely exchange one’s old laptop for a new one and pay extra on top of the exchange, all of this is permissible. Types of riba Riba can be divided into two types: riba of jaahiliyyahand modern-day riba. The first is the original form of riba and its regarding this form which the verses of the Quran were revealed and which the Prophetic narrations talk about. The second type is the modern-day form of riba and is based upon riba of jaahiliyyah. Modern-day riba is merely a practical manifestation of the riba of the period of jaahiliyyah, except for some changes in its description and diversification in the manner of mentioning justifications and claims of benefit. Else, the essence is the same and the change in the description does not really change anything. Examples of riba of the period of jaahiliyyah Charging Riba (interest) for Sale on Credit Joe sold a car to Mike on deferred payment for € 5.000 and stated that within 300 days the car has to be paid off. After 300 days Joe has not been able to pay off the car and still has to pay € 1.000, Mike then increases the debt with another € 1.000 and gives Joe 200 more days to pay off the debt. This increase by Mike is riba and can happen either by Mike increasing the debt and giving more time to repay or by Joe asking Mike for more time to pay in exchange for giving him more money than originally was agreed upon by both parties. Charging Riba (interest) on Loan Mike gives Joe money as a loan for an agreed term with an increase (interest) depending on the length of the term and they both agree that Joe pays the interest while the principal remains. It is also possible that Joe postpones the payment of the interest until the end of the agreed upon term and then pays the interest together with the principal. Both of these are riba and are popularly known as ‘’Riba An-Naseeah from An-Nasaa which means, delay (postponement), because the creditor charges interest on the debtor to postpone the loan of that year to another agreed term with an addition on the principal for its remaining in liability. Riba Al-Fadl Mike sells Joe one of the following six items: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates or salt, for its kind in extra, i.e. 10 dates for 11 dates or 2 kg salt for 3 kg salt. Or Mike exchanges with Joe 1 kg silver for 1 kg silver whilst only one of the two has the actual silver with him and the other is to be collected at a later time. Both of these transactions contain riba. Gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates and salt must be sold/exchanged kind for kind in the sameness of: kind, quantity, form and they should be exchanged hand to hand i.e. on the spot. But during the sale of a kind for another kind, then the only condition is that it should be exchanged on the spot. Giving an extra of any of the two items in exchange from these kinds for its kind in form or quantity is riba. Also, its sale for its kind in sameness but one of the two (in exchange) is present while the other is absent is riba. Similarly, the sale of a kind with other than its kind while one of the two items is present while the other is absent is also riba. Modern-day riba Monetary loans with interest Mike lends money to Joe for a specific time on the condition that Joe will return an addition (interest) at the end of the agreed time to the original amount loaned. This type of loan occurs all the time within conventional interest-based banks and is prohibited by Islam. The Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibraaheem Aal-Shaykh was asked by a person: ‘’Some of the people borrow money from the banks with an addition – interest – saying that its value is 9%?’’ He was asked about its permissibility and replied ‘’we make it known to you that this is essentially Riba which is prohibited; it is not permissible in any way based on the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims. What some of the people do is not evidence for its permissibility even if they are many.’’ Delaying the current loan till another time against addition Mike lends money to Joe and the agreed time for repayment reaches, Mike then says to Joe that he can either repay the loan now or repay it later with an additional increase. This is classified as riba, even if both sides agree on it and negotiate on a particular percentage. Some forms of loans Joe needs 10 euro’s and Mike agrees to give him these 10 euro’s with an increase of 5 euro. After agreeing on the amount, Mike goes and buys a particular item for 10 euro which has no purpose except to sell it to Joe on a higher price. After the item is sold to Joe for 15 euro’s, Joe returns and sells it to the owner of the item for 10 euro, thereby obtaining his 10 euro while having a debt of 15 euro with Mike. The essence of this transaction is riba because the two parties in transaction did not really want the sale; they only resorted to trickery to actually transact euros for euros. The lender wanted the excess money while the borrower wanted the euros and they resorted to this make-believe transaction. However, nowadays people deal in these kinds of transactions openly with a stated interest, trading euros for euros or dollars for dollars, and one of them – for example – says to the other: I will sell ten thousand dollars to you for thirteen thousand or more or less than that for a year. This is clear riba for it is the sale of the money for its kind together with an excess (interest). The ‘Eena trade Mike sells a car to Joe for € 1.000 and tells him to pay later. Then Mike buys this car from him for € 500. In this way Joe receives € 500 but is left with a debt of € 1.000, the aim of this transaction is riba and forbidden within Islam. The essence of this transaction is the same as mentioned in the previous example and is unjustifiably legitimized (by some) in the name of trade.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 06:38:05 +0000
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