Comments on: Why Riba (Usury) Is Haram In Islam

By: MMM

MMM — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:12:48 +0000

I don’t need explicit explanations of what is currency and money. In pratice they both are same. Even gold (as if on gold coin)has a value which is exchanged for goods or services as in a currency. To say that riba or usury becomes halal if it is currency is an desperate act of projecting oneself as illiterate in study of sharia.

May Allah forgive you for your misunderstanding. But please do not publish your views unless you have the backing of a qualified Aalim, Mufti or Mujtahid. If you still want to publish them without any authentic verification then there is no stopping you, as you have FREEDOM OF SPEECH. But always remember there is no freedom of speech on day of judgement.

By: Zafar

Zafar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:12:39 +0000

For those who may read this website (and the like) and comment in the future, as a practicing Muslim in the U.S. I too believed that interest is haram, but what is truly haram is “usury” which is NOT the same as what interest in the form of an credit card company’s or bank’s APR is understood to be. Please look up the definition of both (usury AND interest) in any english dictionary or refer to the Quran in the Arabic context of what is being refered to as haram.
As far as Islamic Shari’ah is concerned, the dinar is an actual coin which has a value specific to the amount of gold that makes up the coin. The riyal, the Saudi Arabian currency (I’m only using Saudi Arabia as an example, because people believe that they have the toughest form of interpreting Shari’ah) is minted– rather, PRINTED, like all paper money and is truly a currency!
PLEASE NOTE: Money and Currency are NOT the same!
So let’s take an example: According to strict Islamic Shari’ah, if you wish to buy something valued at 100 gold pieces, but don’t have the money, then you ask someone/some group of people for that amount, AND you return 100 gold pieces from whomever you borrowed from. According to what is meant by the Quran and Shari’ah, you borrow 100 gold pieces and you return them based upon a certain time period. Obviously, very few people can return 100 gold pieces right away and the people you borrowed from are not going to wait until you can return all 100 at once nor can they wait for you to return it in piecemeal (eg, 1 gold piece per week for 100 weeks– that would be nearly 2 years after lending you the money!) [please note, I said money].
Naturally, the person lending you this money wants something in return, cause otherwise they would have kept the 100 gold pieces to themselves or given it to someone else to do something else with. So, you have an agreement before money is exchanged ahead of time: you get 100 in exchange for you to return 1 piece, per week, but instead of 100 weeks, it is now 150 weeks. Why is this good? Because you get to slowly return what you borrowed without it being a burden on you, nor does the lender get nothing in return for helping you for the first 2 years that it takes to return his investment in you.
Why does this over-simplified example exist? Because many Muslims have the concept of money and currency confused. You have currency in your wallet (ie: CURRENCY EXCHANGE whenever you go to a foreign country) You do not have money, which has a value that is recognized globally at a set rate. Currency is exchanged, rises in value, falls in value. Inflation occurs to currency, not to money! You CANNOT take your dollar bills out of your wallet and get something for it unless someone recognizes what the value of that paper currency is: if talking about the United States, then it means that sitting in “somewhere” between the Federal Reserve Banks and Bullion Depository aka Fort Knox, is gold that the U.S. government says gives the person holding the paper version the ability to exchange and do commerce with another entity (person, company, or bank) and get a value for it, BUT not get gold in exchange for it. This is the same around the world– no one can get a straight value of gold for their currency because there is not a single country/nation/kingdom that runs by having a direct link of being valued with gold. (The U.S. was devalued from gold back in 1971!)
Interest on currency is LEGAL and completely HALAL, so long as it is not excessive to the person who borrows nor illegal for the person who lends it to such a person. Also, whatever the arrangement for repayment, consequences for early, late, or deficient repayment must be made and understood, by both, ahead of time. As far as banks are concerned– that is not a 3rd party, they are always the lender. The people who invest in the bank (such as savings accounts or CDs- certificates of deposit) expect to get something in exchange, otherwise they could have kept in underneath their mattresses. [However, inflation would cause that paper money to decrease in value over time!]
And Allah knows best and may He forgive me if I have spoken anything wrong. But, I do say all this because people need to be told the truth and seek it out for themselves.

By: M Naqqaad

M Naqqaad — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:47:58 +0000

Those non-conformists, who want to practice ‘interest’ are free to do their deeds. Satan needs more followers, Allah needs none. Ed IM, please try to limit the rhetoric of the fools who simply want their point repeated anytime they find a comment for Islam. [...]. How much we are allowed on the ‘non-Muslim’ sites should be the criteria for any ‘pratictioner of Right of Freedom’. They can go voting all around the polling booths and EVMs in India, but IM is not financed by the so called selective freedom of speech system prevalent in India.

By: Milind Kher

Milind Kher — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:28:05 +0000

If you are in the taqleed of Ayatollah Seestani, then your insurance is valid.

As per His Excellency, as insurance implies a mutual obligation, it is valid.

By: Syed Kaleemullah

Syed Kaleemullah — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:33:17 +0000

Would like to know the views on Taking health care insurance in India. will it come under the amit of usury. Can Someone explain.

Syed Kaleemullah

By: syed

syed — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:41:30 +0000

look its clear like black and white “the QURAN says that not to engage in a deal where a third party exist e.g. the bank. there are many banks in england and around the world named as an islamic bank and they says its halal but let me tell you one thing if a halah shop who is selling hahal meat says that he is selling ham (pig meat) naauzubillah it dosent mean that it is halal because pig is haram anyway so intrest is the same thin. it is not halal it is haram.

By: Sudie

Sudie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:55:07 +0000

While I find some of the arguments out here bizarre, I guess its to each ones own. Contrary to what we may believe, US economic system has not collapsed and it will remain the most envied nation for a long time to come.

I have no argument against people who hate “interest based economy” howsoever amusing I may find that. Well, the left hates any kind of enterpreneurship! Someone’s “halal” is someone’s “haram”.

As far as India is concerned we should learn to respect all thoughts as long as they respect ours.

By: Mishal

Mishal — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:56:41 +0000

Agreed.

By: nomad-one

nomad-one — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:45:37 +0000

Alhamdulilaah, Allah is the Most Wise with regards to what is good and bad for His Servants. Sometimes certain things seem good to us, but they are bad for us and other things seem bad but are actually good.

We need look no further than the consistent collapse of the American Capitalist Economic system to see that an Economic system based on interest can never be sustainable. They have been forced to sustain their financial dominance by bullying the rest of the world into submission and controlling certain resources. It is all falling flat now though as their dollar is not in reality worth what they have tried to make us believe.

People look to the western, modern, secular world as a place of economic success and prosperity, but they have attained most of this economic power through exploitation and now it’s all coming back to haunt them. Interest is a fundamental part of their economics which is why it will never be sustainable.

Allah knows best and we are only his created servants.

May Allah protect us from Riba and provide us with alternatives which are Halaal.

By: mateen

mateen — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:52:25 +0000

I have read the quranic verses, translations, and I have also gone through many books, articles, fatwas, on usury riba & interest. what surprised me is none of the scholars referred to the AYATH where QURAN says “O ye who believe! devour not usury doubled and multiplied; but fear Allah; that ye may prosper. 3: 130 ” or discussed the meaning of ” doubled and multiplied”.

And as per the above parameters any amount that is doubled or more in a year is RIBA. (Purchase on credit card for an amount of 10,000/- pay after one year – you will know the meaning).

I beleive QURAN is a guide for a better living for the whole of humanity, whoever follows will benefit – even without accepting the faith. A medicine will heal all who use it.

May ALLAH guide me and all of humanity to understand its guidance.
najeeb.mateen@gmail.com