began as a financing approach for those who have low credit scores, but evolved
to cover a much wider spectrum and was relaxed to allow every applicant
to take loans that, in many cases, they could not repay because they did not
have the income. Subprime lending was the straw that broke the camel’s back
and exposed many of the excesses that led to the 2008 financial meltdown in
America and the world.356 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE