الرِّبَا وَتَحْرِيمُهُ

The text: Surah Al-Baqara (2), verses 275 to 280 الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا ۗ وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا ۚ فَمَنْ جَاءَهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَانْتَهَىٰ فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ ﴿٢٧٥﴾ يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ أَثِيمٍ ﴿٢٧٦﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿٢٧٧﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٢٧٨﴾ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۖ وَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ ﴿٢٧٩﴾ وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍ ۚ وَأَنْ تَصَدَّقُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ۖ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٢٨٠﴾

Meaning: 2:275: "Those who consume riba will not stand except as one stands whom Satan has struck with madness; that is because they say: trade is like riba. But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden riba. Whoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops keeps what he acquired before, and his affair rests with Allah; those who return to it are the people of the Fire, where they will abide." 2:276: "Allah destroys riba and makes charities grow; Allah does not love the sinful disbeliever." 2:277: "Those who believe, do good deeds, establish prayer and give zakaat will have their reward with their Lord; they will have no fear, nor will they grieve." 2:278-279: "O you who believe! Be mindful of Allah and give up what remains of riba, if you are believers. If you do not, then take notice of a war from Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, you will have your capital: you will not wrong, nor be wronged." 2:280: "And if the debtor is in hardship, grant him respite until a time of ease; and remitting [the debt] as charity is better for you, if only you knew."

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple, version 1.0.2), © 2008-2010 Tanzil.net, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence, reproduced without any change (http://tanzil.net). Each verse is on its own line, followed by its number; the basmala, which the Tanzil file places at the start of the first verse, is written on its own line.

The word riba Ribaa means "increase, excess". In Islamic law, it is an excess without legitimate counter-value in certain exchanges. The prohibition came in stages: 30:39 (riba does not make wealth grow with Allah), 4:161 (reproach of those who practised it), 3:130 ("do not consume riba, doubled and multiplied"), then the total prohibition of 2:275-279, among the last verses revealed [À VÉRIFIER : ordre chronologique].

The hadiths • "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and its two witnesses, and he said: they are equal" (Muslim 1598). • Riba is counted among the seven destructive sins (Bukhari 2766, Muslim 89). • In the farewell sermon, the Prophet ﷺ abolished the riba of the pre-Islamic era, starting with that of his uncle Al-'Abbaas (Muslim 1218).

The two forms of riba 1. Riba on loans and debts (ribaa an-nasii'a, or ribaa al-jaahiliyya): any stipulated increase on a loan of money, or demanded in exchange for a delay. "I lend you $1,000, you give me back $1,100"; "you cannot pay on the due date, I give you another month for $50". This is the form directly targeted by the verses. Jurists drew from it the rule: "every loan that brings a stipulated benefit is riba" (a jurists' rule, not an authentic hadith) [À VÉRIFIER : formulation]. 2. Riba in exchange (ribaa al-faḍl): "Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt: like for like, hand to hand. If the kinds differ, sell as you wish, provided it is hand to hand" (Muslim 1587, from 'Ubaada ibn aṣ-Ṣaamit). Scholars derived from it rules for currency exchange: changing dollars for euros must be done on the spot; buying gold with money is done on the spot, without credit [À VÉRIFIER : application aux achats d'or à crédit].

Why is it forbidden? Scholars cite several wisdoms, without claiming to exhaust them: • Injustice: the lender is guaranteed to gain, whatever happens to the borrower; risk and loss fall on the weaker party. The Qur'an concludes: "you will not wrong, nor be wronged" (2:279). • Brotherhood: the interest-free loan (qarḍ ḥasan) is help; turning it into a source of profit destroys mutual aid (2:280). • The real economy: Islam links gain to a real exchange, to work or to shared risk ("al-ghunm bil-ghurm", gain goes with risk). Riba makes money grow from money, without production. • Concentration of wealth and the debt trap: interest-bearing debt grows heavier, especially for the poor; the Qur'an wants wealth not to circulate only among the rich (59:7).

Bank interest today • The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC, Jeddah) declared in 1985 that all interest on a loan or deposit is forbidden riba [À VÉRIFIER : numéro de la résolution]. This is also the position of AAOIFI, the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) and the great majority of contemporary scholars. • A few minority voices have argued that some modern bank interest is not riba (for example a 2002 Al-Azhar fatwa on investment accounts); this position is widely contested [À VÉRIFIER : présentation pour l'imam]. • The course follows the majority position and refers to the imam for particular cases.

What to do with interest received? If your account has paid you interest (often without you asking): • Do not use it for yourself. • According to the most common position, get rid of it by giving it to works of general benefit or to the poor, without intending a reward, and not as zakaat [À VÉRIFIER : avis du centre]. • If possible, choose an account without interest or an institution offering compliant products. • For the past: whoever repents keeps his capital (2:279); the interest portion is returned or given away, depending on the case [À VÉRIFIER].

Understanding the lesson

Explanation The Qur'an contrasts two paths for money: riba, which seems to make money grow and which Allah destroys, and charity, which seems to reduce it and which Allah makes grow (2:276). This is not only a financial rule, but a vision of society: the strong must not profit from the hardship of the weak. The verses clearly distinguish trade from riba. People of the time said: "trade is like riba". The Qur'an answers: no. In trade, one exchanges a good for a price and takes a risk; in riba, one rents out money with a guaranteed gain. All of modern Islamic finance rests on this distinction. Verse 2:280 ends the series with mercy: instead of making the debt of someone in hardship heavier, one gives him time, or forgives it. Finally, the gravity of the texts (curse, "war from Allah") goes together with an open door: whoever repents keeps his capital, and Allah forgives.

Lessons to draw from it • Do not lend at interest, even among friends or family. • Lend without interest to those in need, and grant delays. • Do not use interest received for yourself; get rid of it according to the imam's opinion. • Look for accounts and products without interest. • Do not despair about the past: repentance is accepted.

Key points to remember • Riba: an excess without legitimate counter-value; forbidden by 2:275-279. • Curse of the one who consumes it, pays it, writes it and witnesses it (Muslim 1598). • Two forms: on loans (nasii'a) and in exchange (faḍl, Muslim 1587). • "Allah has permitted trade and forbidden riba" (2:275). • Bank interest = riba according to the Fiqh Academy (1985) and the great majority [À VÉRIFIER].

The main message Allah has permitted trade and forbidden riba: do not seek a guaranteed gain from the hardship of others, lend to help, and Allah will bless what you give.