15. The Spread of Riba

We can translate it as interest, financing, mortgage – but it is the same thing. Usury was the translation of the world, but that word isn’t used anymore.

Riba is one of the major sins. It is one of two sins where Allah has announced that He will wage war against the person who does that sin; one is riba, and the other is the person who takes Allah’s awliya (friends) as enemies. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says in the Qur’aan: “Allah will wage war against you.” Ibn Abbaas radiyallahu ‘anha says, in the tafsir of this ayah that on the day of judgement, the one who deals with riba will be resurrected as if the devil is obsessing the person, and he will be given weapons. And he will be told, “Prepare for war.” They will tell him to fight Allah subhaana wa ta’aala.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Approaching the day of judgement, approaching the hour, riba would be widespread.” [AtTabarani]

At the time of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, there were two types of riba. One was riba nasiya – riba based on time. Then there is riba alfadl, which is when you trade gold for gold, silver for silver, but you add an amount. The second type still exists. The branches of riba (today) are mostly underneath riba nasiya. In the time of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the traditional form was by time (riba nasiya). It’s basically very similar, or the same, as a credit card: If you pay during a certain time, it’s ok; otherwise you incur charges. Nowadays, it comes in many forms. You can rarely find any company that doesn’t have a loan. Everyone in America is living in some kind of debt that is incurring some form of riba.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam really exemplifies the current times when he says, “A time will come when everyone will deal with interest. And whoever is not dealing with riba, the dust of riba would befall him.” Riba is so widespread that almost everyone dealing with it. Even the exceptions, who are not, the dust of riba will befall them. This hadith would mean that the transactions are based on riba, and if you try to get away from it – Alhamdulillah you’ll get away from it, but you’ll be affected by it because it’s a worldwide economy. Some checking accounts don’t pay you interest, but you are still affected by the dust of riba because you’re leaving your money with an institution that is based 100% on riba. (The “dust” is figurative). Try to be clean as much as you can, but the dust will come over you – just like a person driving on a dusty road.

Allah will destroy riba, therefore there is no blessing in riba. We are all harmed by it, even if we’re not using it. It’s almost everywhere. SubhanAllah, it’s as if the whole world is immersed in riba. So these are evil times, in this sense. Islam is a comprehensive system – it even tells how to deal with money. If we separate money, social life, etc from Islam, then what will we have left?

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “A time will come when people will not care where they get their money from. (If it’s halaal or haraam).” People’s objective will be just to get money. They won’t care where they get it from. They’ll try to abide by the legal systems of their country, but when it comes to the laws of Allah, they won’t care. But they will be asked on the day of judgement. This is one of the four questions that you will be asked: “How did you make your money and how will you spend it?”