RE: Emotions and Usury

I keep your view in great esteem as you are doing it out of your love for Islam. However, it is my feeling that we often miss the actual message whenever we are in emotional love. The point in my examples refers to separating limited underground water resources from human waste!! Is there an issue of Riba here? Can one separate water and waste effectively (quickly and with out cost concerns) as its economic value cannot be truly calculated - with profit or trade motive? So how come the issue of Riba comes in here? I sincerely respect from deep in my heart our Shariah scholars, but when shall they start to talk about the problems of this Ummah and the Ummah of the future instead of being trapped in discussing the past when making a shoe was a complex trade, bird in the bush or fish in the water was really good examples of scholarly discourses. Why they cannot replace these examples with the dozens of example like the one I cited - so real and so dreadful!

The debt crisis is moral and governance issue. It has nothing to do with borrowing. Borrowing is a powerful gin which can be controlled for good and bad. Riba is the use of the gin for bad and it serves the humanity when honestly applied to the problem(s) I mentioned, I think we need to love Islam and the Ummah by our hearts and keep our minds free. Please give a solid answer to a solid question.

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

1. To begin from the end, what your write about fuqaha talking only about birds in the bush and fish in the water is simply not true, whether you refer to classical literature, or the writings of the last Century, whether in Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Persian, or other Islamic languages. This is a case of making a foolish-looking scarecrow and then criticizing it.

2. The Riba that was prohibited in the Qur’an and Sunna is clear in terms of definition and in terms of the generality of its prohibition. Riba is not merely the ‘use of gain for the bad.’ Its definition and discussions of its scope, etc, may be found in numerous reliable scholarly presentations.

Given the nature of the prohibition, it is only permitted to breach it in situations where actual legal necessity (darura) is found, and no permissible alternatives are available, even if they are not deemed as being as outwardly economically optimal as the riba-based ‘solution.’

3. In principle, most situations in which a loan would be given can be covered through Islamically-acceptable means of financing. If there is enough persistent demand for such financing, it is obvious that solutions will be made available…

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Faraz Rabbani.


Wasalamunalikum wrbt

Faraz Rabbani  wrote:

Let me ask you this heartfelt urging question. First I give an example from the real life which is terribly important for the future generations of the Ummah.

In our country we do not have sewerage system. Population in the cities has increased incredibly. Each house maintains its private sanitation system by digging a septic tank to store the sewage. From the same ground we pump water for our daily use. In many places the sewage has already mixed with the ground water. As a result, hepatitis C is spreading at an alarming level. The only solution is to develop sewage and drainage system which requires funds.

Funds can be available on the basis of interest-based borrowing by development finance institutions. But this is considered Riba. The other alternative is to borrow through mark-up or renting. This method is not as efficient as the interest-based method. The question is that when we are facing such a terrible problem, are we Islamically justified to ask whether to use interest or mark-up mechanism? Or we should attack the problem in the most effective manner be it interest or mark-up!

In the light of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of our last Prophet peace be upon him , can you tell us - is this problem related to Maslahah Al Ama or Riba? How the learned Shariah scholars are discussing such issues which pose security problems for the future generations of the ummah.


Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

I pray this finds you in the best of health and spirits. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said that, “The one unconcerned about the affairs of our Ummah is not [truly] from us.” Taking sound means to promote the economic, social, and political welfare of the Muslim Ummah in general and one’s area or country in particular is a Shariah duty.

The question about your question, though, is: do interest-based ‘development loans’ help developing countries? Both the general evidence and history would seen to indicate that they do not. I studied Development Economics at the University of Toronto, and it was an area of great interest to me when I was editor of the African News and Information Service (Africa-N) on the Internet in the early and mid-90s. The economic crisis of much of the Third World is aggravated and exacerbated by their tremendous debt loads, which choke off and stifle attempts to promote essential economic and social welfare.

As such, scholars will tell you that it is hard to conceive of true promotion of economic or social welfare through the perusal of riba-based financing.

Allah Most High Himself as told us,

2.276 Allah has blighted usury and made almsgiving fruitful. Allah loves not the impious and guilty.

The scholars of Qur’anic interpretation, such as Imam Alusi (Allah have mercy on him) have explained ‘Allah has blighted usury,’ as meaning, “Removes all baraka (blessing) from it, and destroys the wealth of the one who enters into it.” [Alusi, Tafsir Ruh al-Ma`ani, 3.51]

Ibn Mas`ud (Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Usurious money, even if much, becomes paltry in the end.” [Ahmad, Ibn Maja, and Hakim, with a rigorously authentic chain of transmission]

This is the general ruling. There are many Shariah-acceptable meaning of financing, which would also secure economic and social welfare with baraka (blessing) in it, which would ensure lasting increase by the promise of Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). In specific policy cases, top scholars must be consulted to determine whether exceptions exist.

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani