Written by Mufti Taqi Uthmani
What is Meant by Riba?
36. Now we come to the question what is meant by riba? The Holy Qur'an did not give any definition for the term for the simple reason that it was well known to its immediate audience. It is like the prohibition of pork, liquor, gambling, adultery etc, which were imposed without giving any hard and fast definition because all these terms were well known and there was no ambiguity in their meaning. Similar was the case of riba. It was not a term foreign to Arabs. They all used the term in their mutual transactions. Not only Arabs but all the previous societies used to practice it in their financial dealings and nobody had any confusion about its exact sense. We have already quoted the verse of Surah An-Nisaa where the Holy Qur'an has reproached the Jews for their taking riba while it was prohibited for them. Here this practice is termed as riba in the same manner as it is termed in Surah Al-i-'Imran or Surah Al-Baqarah. It means that the practice of riba prohibited for Muslims was the same as was prohibited for the Jews.
Riba in the Bible
37. This prohibition is still available in the Old Testament of the Bible. The following excerpts may be quoted with advantage:
"Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury." [Deuteronomy 23:19]
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that putteth not out of his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent." [Psalms 15:1, 2, 5]
"He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor." [Proverbs 28:8]
"Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and rules and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them." [Nehemiah 5:7]
"He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniguity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, hath walked in my statues, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just. He shall surely live, said the Lord God." [Ezekiel 18:8.9]
"In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and though hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten me, said the Lord God." [Ezekiel 22:12]
38. In these excerpts of the Bible the word usury is used in the sense of any amount claimed by the creditor over and above the principal advanced by him to the debtor. The word ribaused in the Holy Qur'an carries the same meaning because the verse of Surah An-Nisaa explicitly mentions that riba was prohibited for the Jews also.
The Definition of Riba as given by the Exegetes of the Holy Qur'an
39. Moreover, the literature of Hadith while explaining the word riba has mentioned in detail the transactions of riba which were used to be effected by the Arabs of Jahiliyya on the basis of which the earliest commentators of the Holy Qur'an have defined riba in clear terms.
40. Imam Abubakr Al-Jassas (D.380 AH) in his famous work Ahkamul Qur'an has explainedriba in the following words:
"And the riba which was known to and practiced by the Arabs was that they used to advance loan in the form of Dirham (silver coin) or Dinar (gold coin) for a certain term with an agreed increase on the amount of the principal advanced." (Ahkām al Qur’ān lil Jassas 2/184) [2]
41. On the basis of this practice the same author has defined the term in the following words:
"The riba of Jahiliyya is a loan given for stipulated period with a stipulated increase on the principal payable by the loanee." (Ahkām al Qur’ān lil Jassas 2/189) [3]
42. The well-known Imam Fakhruddin Al-Raazi has mentioned the practice of riba in the days of Jahiliyya as follows:
"As for the riba An-Nasiah, it was a transaction well-known and recognized in the days of Jahiliyya i.e. they used to give money with a condition that they will charge a particular amount monthly and the principal will remain due as it is. Then on the maturity date they demanded the debtor to pay the principal. If he could not pay, they would increase the term and the payable amount. So it was the riba practiced by the people of Jahiliyya." (Tafsir Fakhrud din Razi 7/72)[4]
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