08-28-2006, 07:57 AM
Salam Brothers
I came across this thread a few months ago, I had like many on here an opinion but not much knowledge of the issue so I didn't want to fully engage in the debate. I have read a few books on the issue and feel maybe I can now say or quote somethings of use.
Morals, rights and wrong have no material assumptions from which we can deduce rulings on whether something is right or wrong. Quran and the prophet(pbuh) have thus been sent to us to differentiate between the two.
We have two kinds of people with no knowledge here.
1. The ones who say Interest is haram and there is no further debate even though they haven't read into it.
2. The people who consider themselves modern and too advanced to listen to what the Quran says and when they do they will argue about changes with time...etc. They tell people to go and learn about the Quran before saying Interest is halal or Haram but they are reluctant to do so themselves.
Riba is not just related to money. If you use just X to make more X than that it is Riba. Interest makes money from having money thus perfectly fits into the description. By it's very nature the economic system based on interest makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Having money makes money and not having money takes more money. This in total contrast to the islamic economics, which believes in the circulation of wealth through the whole population.
100,000 people are set to go bankcrupt this year here in Brittain alone due to credit cards. Half the world is in poverty because the poor countries cannot get past paying the interest. The 10 richest men in the world are richer than most of the countries. This is not fair.
People now a days feel that interest based banking is inevitable in the field of trade and industry. So they claim that only Usuary is Riba and commercial interest is Halal. This view isn't based on Islamic knowledge but the concept I mentioned above which rules that progress without such a system is unimagineable.
Commercial interest was around in the time of the prophet as different tribes used to give loans to each other and earn interest on them. Tribes in those days used to act like modern day businesses where everyone in the tribe used to carry out some task in whatever goods the tribes were famous for producing. The interest between the tribe is recognised as Riba.
By giving away an interest based loan what you are doing is securing your asset and the income from the asset but passing on the risk of a loss to some poor and desperate individual or business.
We do not need interest and the enormous expansion of islamic banking has proven this.
The muslim scholars are divided on the issue of inflation I see it as thus
- Personal loans are never so big for inflation to ever come in play as usually personal loans are made on a very small time frame.
- Commercial loans cannot be made in accordance with Islam thus instead of giving out loans the banks should invest in projects and earn back from the profits. This will reduce the number of risky investments made and will force further development of business plan analysis.
As the banks will be making an investment they are also taking the risk of inflation so the borrower doesn't need to take that into account.
Books recommended-
Meezan banks Islamic Banking, Dr Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani
Issue of Interest, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi
I came across this thread a few months ago, I had like many on here an opinion but not much knowledge of the issue so I didn't want to fully engage in the debate. I have read a few books on the issue and feel maybe I can now say or quote somethings of use.
Morals, rights and wrong have no material assumptions from which we can deduce rulings on whether something is right or wrong. Quran and the prophet(pbuh) have thus been sent to us to differentiate between the two.
We have two kinds of people with no knowledge here.
1. The ones who say Interest is haram and there is no further debate even though they haven't read into it.
2. The people who consider themselves modern and too advanced to listen to what the Quran says and when they do they will argue about changes with time...etc. They tell people to go and learn about the Quran before saying Interest is halal or Haram but they are reluctant to do so themselves.
Riba is not just related to money. If you use just X to make more X than that it is Riba. Interest makes money from having money thus perfectly fits into the description. By it's very nature the economic system based on interest makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Having money makes money and not having money takes more money. This in total contrast to the islamic economics, which believes in the circulation of wealth through the whole population.
100,000 people are set to go bankcrupt this year here in Brittain alone due to credit cards. Half the world is in poverty because the poor countries cannot get past paying the interest. The 10 richest men in the world are richer than most of the countries. This is not fair.
People now a days feel that interest based banking is inevitable in the field of trade and industry. So they claim that only Usuary is Riba and commercial interest is Halal. This view isn't based on Islamic knowledge but the concept I mentioned above which rules that progress without such a system is unimagineable.
Commercial interest was around in the time of the prophet as different tribes used to give loans to each other and earn interest on them. Tribes in those days used to act like modern day businesses where everyone in the tribe used to carry out some task in whatever goods the tribes were famous for producing. The interest between the tribe is recognised as Riba.
By giving away an interest based loan what you are doing is securing your asset and the income from the asset but passing on the risk of a loss to some poor and desperate individual or business.
We do not need interest and the enormous expansion of islamic banking has proven this.
The muslim scholars are divided on the issue of inflation I see it as thus
- Personal loans are never so big for inflation to ever come in play as usually personal loans are made on a very small time frame.
- Commercial loans cannot be made in accordance with Islam thus instead of giving out loans the banks should invest in projects and earn back from the profits. This will reduce the number of risky investments made and will force further development of business plan analysis.
As the banks will be making an investment they are also taking the risk of inflation so the borrower doesn't need to take that into account.
Books recommended-
Meezan banks Islamic Banking, Dr Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani
Issue of Interest, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi