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Taking Out Loan And Encouraging Riba
Assalamu Alaykum,
I listened to Ghamidi Sahib’s point of view on usury (sood) through YouTube channel (Part 22 &23). Undoubtedly, Ghamidi Sahib explained the topic of sood in much detail.
In this video he has shown and talked about his strong belief that there is no bar on a person who gives (pays) interest. According to him only the recipient of the sood or his helpers will be accountable on the Day of Judgment.
I am putting a few scenarios along with my understanding and would humbly request Ghamidi Sahib’s comments on it. Reason of putting a real life example is just to make the topic more understandable.
Assume a first scenario where a father is desperately needing money for the treatment of his kid who is hospitalized and it is absolutely sure that if funds are not arranged in a very limited time it is going to be extremely difficult to save the life of his kid. Also keep in mind that the said father strictly believes that sood is haram and during his whole life he had never indulged himself into any kind of activity that included even a minor element of sood.
The father went everywhere including his friends, colleagues, neighbors, relatives, cousins and well-wishers but nobody was ready to help him out in the time of trouble. During his endeavor for arranging funds he came to know about a person who lends money on a usury basis. The father approached that person and asked for help. Money lender was ready to give him required money but with the condition that the father will repay the original amount along with sood. The father explained to the money lender that sood is completely prohibited in Islam and requested to just take back the original loan amount but the greedy money lender did not agree. This was the only option left available to the father so he took the loan with sood.
Under the above situation, Ghamidi Sahib’s point of view seems quite valid because said father unwillingly took credit on a usury basis just in order to save the life of his kid.
Now assume two more scenarios:
Suppose a second scenario where a meddle class common man who is living a normal and happy life wishes to change his old car just to enhance his lifestyle. After watching Ghamidi Sahib’s video on sood he decided to go to the money lender, borrowed money and agreed to pay back the loan with sood. With the borrowed money he went to the auto market and bought a new car. In this example the common man had no life threatening emergency, he could easily manage with his old car for the next couple of years. But instead of waiting for few years he opted to take a loan on sood and got a new car.
Now assume a third scenario where a young boy who was unable to pursue his MBA just because of financial constraint, now after watching Ghamidi Sahib’s video on sood immediately went to the money lender, took loan on sood and happily started his MBA. This boy could also have lived his life happily without an MBA degree.
Ghamidi Sahib’s interpretation on the topic does not support second and third scenarios.
Because the fact of the matter is that it is the common man and the young boy who initiated the transaction that will lead the money lender to hell. Had the common man and young boy controlled their undue wishes they could have saved the money lender.
My simple question is that how a person is not responsible for an act that he could easily avoid and at the same time he also knows that his act is extremely dangerous for the other person. This is as same as if a person opens a pig meat shop and gives an argument “that pig is only haram for eating, and I am not eating it, I am just selling it and only the eaters of pig meat will go the hell because it is written nowhere that a pig meat seller will also go to the hell”.
We all Muslims believe that pig is haram and therefore we also believe that sellers of pig meat will also be accountable on the Day of Judgement. Likewise if any person who willingly and just for his personal satisfaction takes loan on sood must also be accountable. Any person who deliberately pays sood is equally responsible because his undue wishes encouraged the money lender to promote usury activities.
The risky aspect of Ghamidi Sahib’s interpretation is that a vast majority of people will unnecessarily take personal loans on sood and give these videos (part 22 & 23) as “Daleel”.
We therefore need to make a clear distinction between the loans taken under unavoidable circumstances and loans taken just for personal satisfaction and status.
Please guide the right way.
Jazakallah Khr
Tauqeer Uddin Ahmed
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5 Replies
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Taking Out Loan And Encouraging Riba
updated 3 years, 10 months ago
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Please understand that no one wakes up in the morning thinking to himself that he should go out and get a loan on interest just for fun. If a person takes out a loan on interest, he is assumed to have a certain need that can’t be fulfilled otherwise. If a person needs a car or a an MBA degree, it’s for him to decide whether or not it’s important enough for him to get a loan. What Ghamidi sahab has stated is that Islam doesn’t place any restrictions on such a person.
The argument that taking out a loan on interest is akin to sending the lender to hell is not valid. If the lender doesn’t consciously understand the harm in consuming riba then his matter will be dealt with by God according to His infinite wisdom. We’re only asked to mind our own actions – not those of others. If the lender is within our circle of influence then we should explain to him God’s law with empathy. Whether or not he accepts it is between God and him.
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Assalamu Alaykum and thanks for your response.
We all know that Ghamidi Sb is an influential personality and has a big following inside and outside Pakistan. Any opinion from him can make a significant impact.
With great respect, such a clear-cut and straightforward statement that “Islam doesn’t place any restrictions on a person who pays sood”, will certainly encourage people to take loan on sood. Even those people who have never thought about dealing in sood will now fulfill their undue needs with borrowed money and eventually will make their life miserable.
Can it be justified, if any parents after watching these videos take loan just in order to arrange dowry for their daughter and other Non-Islamic wedding related activities?
The point that I want to make is that if we say that there are no restrictions on usury payers then we must mention that all personal loans taken deliberately just for show-off purposes are prohibited.
Jazakallh Khr
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Show off is prohibited as a separate thing – it has nothing to do with loan or riba.
Regardless of how influential is Ghamidi sahab’s personality, he is only trying to explain the religion of God as he has understood it. If he has made a mistake (quite possible since he’s only a human), then we must challenge his understanding based on the Quran and the sunnah – not on the basis of perceived future results with preconceived ideas.
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Assalamu Alaykum
It is not a hypothetical story but a reality that hundreds of thousands of people in Pakistan despite their poor financial position do not take personal loans. All of these people want better accommodation, they want to have good cars, they want to enhance their educational status, they want to visit other countries, they want to renovate their houses, they want to buy home-appliances and they want to organize social gatherings. They can easily fulfill all of their above needs through bank loans but they do not apply for loan simply because it is their firm belief that payment of riba is haram in Islam. They prefer to live a deprived life but they do not dare to pay riba.
Can you, on behalf of Ghamidi Sb tell all of these people in Pakistan that there is no harm in taking personal loan and there is no restrictions placed in Islam on a person who pays riba, so please change your beliefs?
Can you give a guarantee from this platform that if anybody approaches the banks, takes personal loans and pays riba he will not be accountable?
Jazakallah Khr
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My dearest friend, why should anyone care about my guarantees? Everyone should be worried about how they would answer to God on the day of judgement.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but if I borrow money on interest and if God asks me about it on the day of judgement, I will simply present His own book in my defense. There’s not a single ayah in the Quran, or a single hadith of His prophet SAW forbidding me to borrow on interest. In fact, He has clearly stated in the Quran that He has not laid any hardship on us in the matters of religion (22:78).
I think on the contrary, those who are making it forbidden should be concerned about how they will respond to God on the day of judgement for making something forbidden without any authority from God. If hundreds of thousands of people are depriving themselves of necessities as you stated – not because of what God or prophet SAW prohibited – but because of their own viewpoint, then I can only humbly request them to re-evaluate and reconsider their opinion.
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