The People of the Faith
Jews:Amiin the Hebrew language means ‘‘my people’’ (i.e., the people
of Moses or the people of the Jewish faith). The Jewish people are
also known as the family of Israel, as Israel is another name for
Prophet Jacob (pp). The wordIsraelmeans in Hebrew a person
who strives and struggles (just as in the Muslim concept of doing
jihad). In other words, Prophet Jacob’s (pp) name—Israel—means
‘‘the struggler’’ ormujahidin Arabic. The wordamimay be inter-
preted to mean all God’s people, or all followers of the Jewish faith.
Muslims:Ummahin the Qur’aanic language (Arabic) is defined as the
people (nation) of the faith who have chosen to submit their will to
the will of God. Notice the similarity between the words ami and
ummah. The foundation of the teachings of Islam is an affirmation
of Judeo-Christian-Islamic values and law. The teachings of Islam
state that there is no superiority of a people or a nation over other
nations, except through the level of revering God, following His
scriptures, and living by the model of all God’s prophets, as mani-
fested by the lifestyle and example of all of God’s prophets. Mus-
lims are taught that discrimination of any kind is a sin.Loans
Jews: In the language of the Torah (Hebrew), the wordsneshekand
neshahmean^10 ‘‘interest.’’ The wordneshekliterally means a bite.
Some other passages also use the wordsribit,tarbit,ormarbit,
which literally mean ‘‘increase’’ and are similar in meaning to the
wordribaused in the Qur’aan. The wordnoshemmeans lenders.
Noshemis the term used when speaking of lending to the general
public. The wordlawahis used when speaking of lending to friends
and family members, but not for commercial transactions.
Muslims: In the language of the Qur’aan, the wordloanisqard,andit
too is derived from the verb ‘‘to bite’’ (taking a bite from one’s
assets). To prevent anycircumvention of the Judeo-Christian-Is-
lamic law, Shari’aa, only one type of qard is allowed—theqard has-
san, an interest-free (good) loan that is extended for a good cause to
the poor, the needy, or the distressed.Usury/Interest
Paying a rent for the right to use something was calledusuryfrom the early
days of the Catholic Church until the 15th century. The Roman Catholic
18 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE