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Is Commercial Interest Forbidden In Islam?
There are people who think that interest charged on ventures which are commercial in nature is not forbidden.
While clarifying this misconception, Ghāmidī writes:
It should remain clear that whether a loan is acquired for personal, business or welfare purposes, the real meaning of riba is not ascertained on these bases. It is an indisputable fact that in the Arabic language the word riba , irrespective of the aim of the lender and the condition of the borrower, just implies a pre-determined increase acquired on a loan. Consequently, the Quran itself has clarified this fact: during its own period of revelation, lending on interest for business purposes was quite rampant and these loans were given with the intention of prospering through the wealth of others. The Quran says:
مَا آتَيْتُمْ مِنْ رِبًا لِيَرْبُوَا فِي أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ فَلَا يَرْبُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَمَا آتَيْتُمْ مِنْ زَكَاةٍ تُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُضْعِفُونَ (39:30)
That which you give as loan on interest that it may increase on [other] people’s wealth, it has no increase with Allah; but that which you give as zakah seeking Allah’s countenance, it is these people who shall get manifold [in the Hereafter] of what they gave. (30:39)
The expression “…that it may increase on [other] people’s wealth”is not only inappropriate for application to interest-based loans given to the poor for their personal use, but is also clearly indicative of the fact that interest-based loans were generally given for business purposes and in this way they “increased on other people’s wealth”according to the Quran.
It is to this fact that the following verse also points:
وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍ وَأَنْ تَصَدَّقُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (
280:2)
And if the borrower is in difficulty, grant him respite until it is easy for him to repay and if you write off [the debt], it is better for you, if you only knew. (2:280)
Amin Ahsan Islahi comments on this verse in the following words:
Today some naive people claim that the type of interest which prevailed in Arabia before the advent of Islam was usury. The poor and the destitute had no option but to borrow money from a few rich money-lenders to fulfill their personal needs. These money-lenders exploited the poor and would lend them money at high interest rates. It is only this type of interest which the Quran has termed as riba and forbidden. As far as commercial interest is concerned, it neither existed at that time nor did the Quran prohibit it.
The verse categorically refutes this view. When the Quran says that if the borrower is in difficulty, he should be given respite until he is able to pay back his debt, it clearly points out that in those times even the rich used to acquire loans. In fact, if the style and stress of the verse are correctly understood, it becomes clear that it was mostly the rich who used to procure loans. Indeed, there was a strong chance that the borrower would find himself in difficulty even to pay the original amount. The money-lender, therefore, is directed to give him more time and if he forgoes the original amount, it would be better for him. The words of this verse strongly indicate this meaning. The actual words of the verse are: وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍ. The particle of condition ِانْ(if) is not used for general circumstances, but, in fact, is used for rare and unusual circumstances. For general circumstances the particleاِذَا(if) is used. In the light of this, it is clear that the borrowers in those times were generally the affluent (ذُوْمَيْسَرَة), but in some cases were poor or had become poor after acquiring the loan and in that case, the Quran has directed the money-lenders to give them a time rebate.
He has concluded this discussion by saying:
Obviously, the affluent would have turned to the money-lenders not to fulfill their personal needs, but, of course, their business needs. So what is the difference between these loans and the commercial loans of today?
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Is Commercial Interest Forbidden In Islam?
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