52 chapter two
increase that the borrower is asked to pay over the amount orig-
inally borrowed. The Prophet is reported to have said, “Loan
Ribà is absolutely void. You own only your principal, Ru"aùs
Amwalikum, without oppressing or being oppressed” (flaœìœMuslim).From the above, it could be concluded that Ribàis equivalent to
interest as known to us nowadays. This, hopefully, helps correct the
misconception that surrounds the issue.
The reason for the confusion could be contributed to various
factors:
- The Qur"ànic use of the words “doubled and multiplied” in the
third phase of prohibition. (see above) But this is ruled out by
the ruling of the fourth and last phase of prohibition and by the
Qur"ànic definition of debt as being ‘capital sums, or, the principal’,
above which any sum becomes Ribà. Also, another interpretation
of ‘doubled and multiplied’ is that Ribà, interest, even at a rate
that is not doubled or multiplied may lead to increasing the cap-
ital ‘enormously’ over the years to that of the double and multi-
ple of capital, which is what interest does over a long period. - The influence of Christian writers, especially Calvin, who differen-
tiated between usury and interest: while the former is not per-
mitted since it implies an “excessive” rate, the second is because
it indicates a “reasonable” rate (Tawney, 1980). This in con-
junction with “doubled and multiplied” might have influenced the
writers’ way of thinking. - The political climate to which Muslim writers might have been
subject. This could influence some writers in trying to justify a
non-Islamic financial policy favoured by the political authorities.
This was particularly significant when Muslim governments suffered
from decay during the medieval period and when governments
in modern times tried to “Westernise” the economy under the
notion of modernisation (Wilson, 1983). - The different interpretation of the prohibition of interest in Judaism
and Christianity. While Judaism and Christianity are consistent
in this regard with Islamic teachings, the Muslims’ version of the
Hebraic Bible is that the abolition of interest (usury) is meant to
be not only between “the Israelite and his brother the Israelite”,
but also between the Israelite and the non-Israelite (Qur"àn
2:275–279). In Christianity, interest, though it is not mentioned