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The Rationale Behind Prohibition Of Riba
Hello there,
my question is that ghamidi Sahab while explaining the hikmah for prohibition of Riba. he mentioned following point.
– Zulm on others
– Getting Profit on Naiki/Khair ke Kaam
the first point is understandable, that it may be usurping the money of others which does not belong to the receiver. that it may be exploitation of the person’s situation to get your own stomach full etc.
but the second point is a little confusing because isn’t every service that we provide and we earn money on, in fact a Khair? because every service is some sort of help to other. so Its a little confusing. Or it can be possible that Ghamidi Sahab meant that those things which a person should have done out of himself for betterment and for sadaqah, we demand money on that as well.
an example of this second explanation would be, that taking money for treating people is not wrong BUT a doctor who takes money for treating patient becomes totally insensitive that if someone with severe financial problem comes to him, he doesn’t consider this at all and puts a condition that “treatment would only and only be done if payment is done”. here morally he should have done it out of Sadaqah but here too he is looking for profit. so this would be zulm and morally wrong. this point is again understandable.
can you explain what ghamidi Sahab meant here? is it the second explanation?
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1 Reply
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The Rationale Behind Prohibition Of Riba
updated 1 year, 7 months ago
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There are two dimensions to its prohibition.
i) Right of Society on our Savings/Wealth:
As per Quran 2:219, when a pressing need of the society presents itself and we have money to spare in addition to our present and future needs then we’re required to not hold it back. (Please see: Discussion 31989)
ii) Riba resulting in Usurpation Of Wealth:
Riba is when a demand is made for an additional amount in lending a consumable item such as money and grain. Once such an item is consumed (e.g. money or grain), that item itself must be recreated in addition to whatever additional amount (riba) must be paid back. This is prohibited because the borrower has no means to reproduce the consumable once it has been consumed. That is why it has been prohibited in Quran in accordance with Quranic Principle of ‘لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ‘ (Do not devour one another’s wealth by wrongful means [Quran 4:29]).
(Detailed Discussion: Discussion 30863)
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The example of doctor quoted above is not completely relevant because matter of providing service involves labour/time/effort/commitment at one end while giving a loan to another person has no such factor. Therefore, there is moral basis available to charge for medical service in general but there is no moral basis available for providing money to another person and demanding profit on it. It is true that when a doctor denies treating a patient because of financial issues only then he violates another ethical principle which involves saving life of a human being. However, its comparison with riba is incongruous.
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For short comments as to why Riba is Prohibited in Islam, please also refer to the following video from 2:58 to 13:06
https://youtu.be/QZZpVOQQ5Wc?si=SAcw55mzvkdVjPal&t=178
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Al-Baqarah - 2:219Arabicيَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلۡخَمۡرِ وَٱلۡمَيۡسِرِۖ قُلۡ فِيهِمَآ إِثۡمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَٰفِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثۡمُهُمَآ أَكۡبَرُ مِن
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