The Concepts Of Interest, Usury And Riba

Introduction Definition of riba The prohibition of riba Types and classifications of riba The differences between riba and profit Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Interest in the modern financial world is commonplace.

It is a staple feature of capitalist system that values profits above everything else, via competition rather than co-operation.

Despite the amount of wealth that the Western economic system has created, there are major concerns over the huge disparities that have developed between rich and poor.

THE MEANING OF RIBA

Riba has been extracted from Raba. It means addition, increase. So, riba literally means to increase, to grow to rise, to add, to swell. It is, however, not every increase or growth which has been prohibited by Islam

THE MEANING OF RIBA In the Shari’ah, “riba” technically refers to the

premium that must be paid by the borrower to the lender along with the principal amount as a condition for the loan or for an extension in its maturity.

In this sense riba has the same meaning as interest in accordance with the consensus of all jurists without any exception.

So the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith do not make any such difference between usury and interest. Interest and usury both are taken as synonymous for the Arabic word riba.

PROHIBITION OF RIBA IN THE HOLY QURAN

In several verses of the Holy Qur’an, Allah(swt) has mentioned the consequences of riba.

The Qur’an did not declare the prohibition of riba in the early stage of revelation, rather we find that the complete prohibition of interest came sequentially.

PROHIBITION OF RIBA IN THE HOLY QURAN “Those who devour usury will not stand except as

stands one whom the evil one by his touch has driven to madness. That is because they say: ‘Trade is like usury.’ But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge). But those who repeat (the offence) are companions of the fire, they will abide therein (forever)” (2:275 Surah Al-Baqara)

PROHIBITION OF RIBA IN THE HOLY QURAN

“That they took riba (usury), through they were forbidden and that they devoured men’s substance wrongfully – We have prepared for those among men who reject faith a grievous punishment.” (4:161)

PROHIBITION OF RIBA IN THE HADITH

Jabir reported: The Prophet (saw), cursed the receiver and the payer of interest, the one who records it (the contract) and the two witnesses to the transaction and said, “they are all alike (in guilt).”

Abu Hurayrah (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: “”God would not allow four persons to enter paradise or to taste its blessings: he who drinks wine, he who takes riba, he who usurps an orphan’s property without right and he who is undutiful to his parents.”

TYPES OF RIBA RIBA AL- NASI’AH

The term nasi’ah means to postpone or to wait and it refers to the time period that is allowed for the borrower to repay the loan in return for the addition of the premium.

Hence it refers to the interest on loans. The prohibition of riba al nasi’ah essentially implies that the fixing in advance of a positive return on a loan as a reward for waiting is not permitted by the Shari’ah.

 

Examples

A person, for example, may lend another person a sum of money to be paid back on a specified date. When the date agreed upon is due, the Lender gives the Borrower the choice either to repay the debt or defer repayment in return for charging additional interest on the principal.

TYPES OF RIBA RIBA AL-FADL  Riba al-fadl is the excess over and above the loan paid in

kind. It lies in the payment of an addition by the debtor to the creditor in exchange of commodities of the same kind.

It is related that Abu Saed al-Khurdi said: “the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said that gold in return for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates and salt for salt, can be traded if and only if they are in the same quantity and that is should be hand to hand. If someone gives more or takes, then he is engaged in riba and accordingly has committed a sin.”

TYPES OF RIBA

Riba al-Qard The term qard means to borrow; Riba qard refers to a benefit or profit which creditor

has to pay along with the amount of loan because of duration.

The benefit/ profit can be a cash or an usufruct (manfa’ah/ benefit from object).

Any attempt to get profit from loan contract is considered ‘al riba’ (taking interest) as in maxim of fiqh: All loans lead to a benefit are riba (i.e. interest).

Riba al-qard is a part of (riba al-duyun-Interest on Debt).

TYPES OF RIBA

Riba al-YadThe term yad means hand.Riba yad refers to a benefit derived from the duration between delivery and acceptance of contracted item and price.In money exchange (e.g. AFS to USD), the delivery of money from money changer to a buyer shall take place at the same time and place (same majlis) where the money changer accepted the buyer’s money.

TYPES OF RIBA

Riba al-YadIn cash and carry contract, the seller has to surrendered the contracted item whereby he holds the payment from buyer.Delay in surrendering the contracted item or the payment, in cash contract, from any side of the parties involved, is prohibited because that party can access to the benefit of received item but not the other party.

One of the presumptions of the theory of interest is that

MONEY HAS BEEN TREATED AS A COMMODITY

If one can lease his property and charge a rent against it, he can also lend his money and claim interest there upon.

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If merchant can sell a commodity for a price higher than his cost, he can also sell his money for a higher price than its face value.

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ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THIS

The Nature of Money

In Islam, MONEY and COMMODITY have different

characteristics and uses

COMMODITYMONEY

Commodity sold or purchased are identified to a particular unit

Money cannot be pin-pointed in a transaction of exchange

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A commodity can be of different qualities

Money has no quality except as a measure of value and medium of exchange- all same denomination money equals 100% to each other

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Has intrinsic utility- can be utilized directly without exchanging it for some other thing

Has no intrinsic utility- cannot be utilized in direct fulfilment of human needs- can only be used for acquiring some goods & services

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Islamic alternatives to interest Rates

Trading as a way to avoid interest. Trading through various types of contracts such as

sale and purchase contracts, partnership contracts, leasing and so on.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTEREST AND TRADE

Trade/Profit

In trade the purchaser and the vendor exchange on the basis of equality. For the purchaser derives profit from that which he purchased from vendor, while the latter gets profits in consideration of the labour and time.

Interest

In interest the creditor get for himself a definite amount of money for his loan but all that the debtor is certain of is the time to use the money. During this time period it is not always possible for debtor to make a profit.

Trade/Profit

From the point of view of trade, the moment a commodity is exchanged for its price, the transaction comes to an end.

Interest

But in the case of interest, the debtors actually spends the amount borrowed from the creditor and has to return the same amount with an addition by way of interest.

Trade/Profit

The settlement of profitbetween the buyer andthe seller is made onequal terms. The buyerpurchases the article heneeds and the seller getsprofit for the time,labour and brains heemploys in providingthat article to thebuyers.

Interest

In the case of interest,obviously the debtorscannot settle thetransaction on equalterms with the creditorbecause of his weakerposition. As far as the moneylender is concerned, hegets that fixed sum ofinterest which heconsiders as his profit.

Trade/Profit

If the debtors spends theborrowed money inFulfilling his personalneeds, the time factordefinitely does not bringany profit at all. And ifhe invests that moneyin trade, commerce,industry, agriculture,then there are equalchances of profit or loss.

Interest

Thus lending money at interest might bring a guaranteed and fixed profit to one party and loss to the other, or a guaranteed and fixed profit to one party and an uncertain and indefinite profit to the other.

Trade/Profit

The trade charges hisprofit, however high itmay be, once and for all,

Interest

But money lender goeson charging interest over andover again and goes onincreasing with the passage oftime.

Trade/Profit

The profit which theDebtor makes on moneyof the creditors, however,large it may, has after allits own limits.

Interest

But there is no limitto the interest the creditormay charge on his money.

He may, as somethingActually happens, receive allthe earning of the debtor,may even deprives him of allthe means of livelihood or ofthe articles of his personaluse and still might have thesame amount of debt againsthim that was at thetime of borrowing.

Trade/Profit

The transaction in tradecomes to an end as soonas the article and itsprice change hands.After this the buyer isnot required to returnanything to the seller. As regards the rent offurniture, house, land,the lent thing is notitself spent up but itreturned to the ownerafter the term.

Interest

But in the case of the principal the debtor has to spend it first and the reproduce it and return it, to the creditor along with the interest. Thus the debtor runs a double risk, he has toreproduce the principal and also to produce its interest.

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