USURY

Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance: Usury had become widespread. These interest transactions in the pre-Islamic era were called “Riba.” Riba was divided into two types: “Riba Nesie” and “Riba Fadl.“In Riba Nesie, monthly interest was collected, and in Riba Fadl, a commodity was sold for more than its equivalent in the same type of commodity. 

If someone had a debt owed to them by another person, when the debt became due, they would ask the debtor, “Will you pay your debt?” If the debtor was unable to pay, the creditor would add interest to the debt and postpone payment for a while longer.[522]  They said, “Interest is just like buying and selling.” In Mecca, the sons of Mugira  engaged in usury and charged interest ( ). They had many debts from the people and property acquired through interest. Our Prophet canceled all of these and ordered his governor in Mecca to fight them if they did not give up usury. The first riba (interest) he abolished and declared invalid was the riba owed to Abbas b. Abdulmuttalib: All of it was abolished and declared invalid.

ISLAM: Those who consume interest (riba) will rise only as one struck by Satan, for they say, “Buying and selling is just like interest.” Yet Allah has made trade lawful and interest unlawful. Whoever receives guidance from his Lord and refrains from interest, his past is forgiven, and his affair is with Allah. But whoever returns to it—those are the people of the Fire, wherein they will abide forever. Allah destroys interest and increases charity. Allah does not love any sinful disbelievers. Those who believe and do good deeds, perform prayer properly, and give zakat—surely their reward is with their Lord. They will have no fear, nor will they grieve. O believers, fear Allah and, if you are believers, give up what remains of interest. If you do not, then know that you are at war with Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, then you may keep your principal. (Thus) you will neither have wronged nor have been wronged. If the debtor is in difficulty, grant him time until it is easy for him. And if you remit it as charity, it is better for you, if you only knew. Fear the Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then everyone will be fully recompensed for what they have earned, and they will not be wronged.

Nowadays: Today’s world states, built on a single-worldly life, whether with the aim of reaching advanced civilizations or with the goal of becoming states ruling under the capitalist system, have incorporated interest into daily life at least as much as in those times. Nowadays, there are very few states that are not managed on the basis of interest. This has accelerated the deterioration of social morality. Within these societies, morality has diminished to the point where it can be described as polite speech. While Islam is the only system that can put a stop to this global trend, unfortunately, we often hear even from Muslims who say, “I believe in the One who owns everything,” that interest is an innocent “difference in maturity” or that “it has nothing to do with interest, it’s just like buying and selling.” Muslims who cause these situations fall into two groups: those who do not even bother to learn their religion, or those who accept information as correct without researching the source from which they obtained it. In Muslim societies, some institutions governed by banking laws diagnose this ignorance among Muslims and introduce interest under a different name that does not begin with the letter “F.” Many Muslims find themselves in a situation they do not even know is forbidden. Those who do this consciously put forward the argument that it is not interest but rather a form of trade.

These Muslims, who have fallen into heedlessness, must first admit that they have engaged in interest and then repent. It is worse for a person not to accept an interest-bearing transaction as interest than to engage in interest. Because if they accept it, they only commit a sin. If they do not accept it, they simultaneously make the interest that Allah (swt) has forbidden permissible with this statement, and thus they leave the religion of Islam. The phrase “Is there such a thing as interest in this day and age?” is of this type. The most important factor that distinguishes a Muslim from a non-believer is their belief in the afterlife and the fact that they will be held accountable there. Just as the mind needs knowledge to the extent that it is necessary for where it is going, we should only take on as much burden as we can carry.

Those who believe in the existence of the distance they will travel but carry a load on their backs that they cannot carry that far are not only unwise but also do not fully believe in the place they say they are going. Because if they believed in the place they were going, they would not take on more load than they could carry, considering that place. If a Muslim has faith in the hereafter, they should use their mind wisely and take on only as much burden as they can carry to their destination.

This does not mean that a Muslim must be poor or should not be rich. On the contrary, he should be rich, but not by making Allah’s forbidden things permissible… There is no sincerity in creating a “debt book” under the slogan “Muslims should be rich” when one has the power to pay the zakat debt.

HOARDING[525]

Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance: People who set out to bring goods to the market were met outside the market by merchants, and these producers were cheated out of their goods without learning their value in the market, causing them to suffer losses. This also created opportunities for profiteering for those who bought the goods. Goods became more expensive, and consumers also suffered losses.[526]

ISLAM: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Those who bring goods to the market are blessed; those who hoard (stockpile and engage in black market activities) are cursed.”[527]

Nowadays:  In the global market, black market activities are facilitated through certain deceptive practices, allowing goods to be sold at exorbitant prices. In markets serving a specific segment, this practice is common, particularly in the food sector, as it falls under essential consumption. It is also frequently observed during the month of Ramadan. Hoarding, one of the areas where people of the pre-Islamic era have been surpassed, changes in every area of life according to supply and demand. All that is needed is a ready customer. When the time comes, this can even be a concert or soccer ticket.

ARTIFICIAL INCREASE (Necş)[528]

Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance: In the Jahiliyya, even though there was no intention to buy goods, someone would intervene between the seller and the customer and cause the customer to pay more money. [529]

ISLAM: Yahya b. Yahya narrated to us. (He said): I recited to Malik the following hadith that I heard from Nafi’, who narrated it from Ibn Umar: The Messenger of Allah (s.a.v.) forbade inciting the customer . [531]

Nowadays: Necş is also seen in every area of life today. This type of trickery is often resorted to in auctions, whether open or closed.

URBAN[532]

Pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance: During the Jahiliyyah period, a person would leave his property or belongings as collateral in exchange for a loan or something else. If the debt was not repaid, the collateral would become the property of the creditor and would not be returned to the owner. [533]

ISLAM: Amr ibn Shuayb ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather Abdullah, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited bey’u’l-urban. [534]

Imam Malik defines bey’ul-urbân as follows: “If a person buys a slave or a maid, or rents an animal, and then says to the seller or renter: ‘I am giving you so many dirhams or dinars on the condition that if I buy this property or ride the animal I rented from you, the money I gave you will be counted as the price of the property or the rent for the animal. If I decide not to buy the property or rent the animal, the money I gave you beforehand is yours.” ([535])

Nowadays: What is unlawful and invalid in this sale is the stipulation of a deposit condition during the sale or contract. After the contract is completed, there is no harm in the seller requesting part of the money. If the sale is canceled, the money given to the seller becomes lawful for the customer if the customer agrees. What we want to compare is not the taking of the deposit, but its being stipulated in transactions. This is frequently seen in almost every sector.

[521]  Sayyid Qutb, Fizilal-il-Qur’an, II, pp. 121–122

[522]  Imam Malik, Muwatta, II, 672–674

[523]  Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, Sîre, vol. 4, p. 251

[524]  Surah Al-Baqarah, verses 275–281

[525]  A secret market where goods withdrawn from the market are sold at high prices, black market trading

[526]  Bukhari, Sahih, III, 28–29; Muslim, Sahih, III, 1156

[527]  Ibn Majah, Trade, 6

[528]  Necş means to cover. The person who does this transaction by covering his intention is called this. It refers to paying more than the value of the goods in order to make others pay more, even though there is no intention to buy the goods, and then buying them at the price offered.

[529]  Shawkani, Nayl al-Awtar, vol. 5, p. 175

[530]  Prohibition

[531]  Bukhari, Buyu: 60; Muslim, Buyu: 13, 1216; Muwatta, Buyu: 97, 2, 684

[532]  Taking part of the price of the goods sold as a deposit, the deposit becoming the property of the seller if the sale is not completed, and the deposit being included in the price of the goods if the sale contract is completed.

[533]  Ibn Majah, Sunan, II, 816; Imam Malik, Muwatta, II, 728

[534]  Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal considered this hadith, which is the reason for prohibition according to the majority of scholars, to be weak and deemed the sale with a deposit permissible based on the hadith narrated by Nafi’ bin Abdulharis. “Nafi’ purchased Safwan bin Umayya’s house for Umar as a prison for four thousand dirhams—if Umar agreed, the sale would be valid; if he did not agree, the four thousand dirhams would belong to Safwan.” (Seyyid Sabik, Fiqh al-Sunnah, 22, 22)

[535]  Ibrahim Canan, Translation and Commentary of the Six Books, Akçağ Publications, 3/65