Quranic Usury (Sood): A Research Analysis In The Light Of Quran
By
Rashid
Samnakay, New Age Islam
28 September, 2014
An ad in Sautul Haq magazine of Dec. 2006. Translation
in English
------
*The
current transactions with Banks, for receiving or giving the ‘make-up’ amount
and calling it Sood, is branded as Haram.
*In
his book on ‘the issue of ‘Sood’ Mufti M. Shafi on page 41 and Abul-A’la
Maududi on page 136 of his book ‘Ribwa’ say that the meaning of Quranic Ribwa is not Sood
(usury) but it is a special form of business transaction. There being no
equivalent word for it in Urdu, it is named as Sood.
*The
majority elite and common people of Islam may consider it as Sood in the
context of the ad-Deen as being ordained but in actual practice it is
visualised as a religious and emotional issue; otherwise there was no reason
for the advisor scholars of Quran would not have seen that in three chapters (Baqara,
al-Imran and Nisa) there in five verses the word Ribwa appears
(i.e. Usury-cruel and illegal profit) that is clearly ordained as Haram.
But that the word ‘Rabaa’ which appears only at one place in Quran (Rome
30-39), by misspelling it and mistranslating it as ‘Ribwa, have equated
it to the bank interest and in Urdu as Nafa-profit. Profit
which is the equivalent Quranic word Rabaha (Baqara verse 16), in no
place is made Haram by God.
*The
reality is that the authority to proclaim anything Halal or Haram rests with
God only; and He HAS ordained neither al-Ribwa as Haram, and
neither the Rabaa (30-39) nor Rabaha (2-16). The Persian word Sood
is not the equivalent of al-Ribawa, but of Arabic words Rabaa
and Rabaha which have been declared as Haram by Man and not by God.
*Instead
of making Quran the foundation; the acceptance of hypothetical, concocted,
home-made commentaries, narrations of Apocrypha (Hadith) and law-based
orders, the reverend Muftis have not been able to collectively come to
conclusion as to what is Sood, that God had ordained as Haram.
*With
the heading of ‘Islamic Banking, what reality and how much of fable’ and
as an additional article authored by: Dr Azhar Azhari (Director Centre of
Islamic Research); PO Box 18077, Karachi-74700, Pakistan, contact Shazeef Ahmad
Ph.021-6050088 or 0300-924777. Cost PR 150.
Whenever there is talk of Bank
Business, Bank loan, Bank interest and Usury, the Muslim community in
particular gets itself tied up in undoable religious knots that revolve round
the Quranic prohibition of al-Ribaw that is equal to Usury in
English language.
To talk on this very sensitive and
confusing issue to many, is fraught with danger in the best of gathering even
an educated one. One’s thoughts are often turned to the Shakespeare’s comedy
play called The Merchant of Venice.
Briefly, the plot of the play is based
on the revenge-motive of the Jewish moneylender Shylock who is bent on
destroying his supposed friend, the very rich young Merchant Antonio who stands
as a guarantor for the repayment of the loan taken by his best friend.
On the due date Antonio was not able
to pay back the loan.
Shylock’s condition for the repayment,
though seemed comical at the time when the contract was agreed to, that he would
cut “a pound of flesh” from Antonio’s body if the loan was not paid by the due
date.
The story ends up all being well for
the friends since the clever lawyers argued that there was no condition in the
repayment contract for spilling even a drop of blood during the cut that
Shylock would make.
Being impossible to achieve the above,
so instead Shylock ends up ruined and all ends up romantically and happily for
the others.
The motive had its main purpose, and
that was to ruin the guarantor/borrower and to gain unfair, immoral and
unethical gains. That is “usury” in any language and in Quran it is ordained as
Haram, forbidden.
A similar story in the Indian folklore
is of a money lender on Sood who takes advantage of the ignorant
villagers by falsifying that twelve times one and a quarter equals thirty-five,
instead of fifteen. Then goes on to add – I give you discount of five because
you are my friend, give me forty and then, “there is no hurry to pay back, give
me twenty five this year and twenty five next year!” The poor ignorant villager
is locked in the contract for life!
These two simple examples should
suffice to illustrate what usury is, that is Ribaw.
A non-economist’s laymen’s take on
modern bank Interest can be given by comparing the following businesses A
Supermarket and a Bank:-
.Both trading in commodities; one is
trading in consumable goods and the other in money. In modern times both have
to;-
·
be
registered and obtain a trading licence from the State authorities,
·
have
to submit certified audited accounts annually from an accredited auditor,
·
have
to pay government taxes as per rates legislated by government,
·
both
are regulated by State legislations in their activities,
·
have
to pay cost of purchase of commodities,
·
have
to sell at appropriate ‘mark-up’ to recover costs and legally to make profit,
·
have
to face competition in their business,
·
have
to make profit on business to stay viable and trading in the future,
·
there
is a risk of failure in both business,
·
The
State is sometimes obliged to bailed out large scale businesses for national
economy when they are at risk of failure; to minimise causing unemployment and
disrupting the economy,
·
they provide employment opportunities,
·
have
to pay expenses for such things as: staff salaries, superannuation, rates,
office equipment, electricity, telephone, water, cleaning, refuge pickup etc.
·
they
provide services to the customers to meet their needs within the law of the
land,
·
all
contracts made are registered with government, which charges fees to do so.
It must be added at the outset that
not everything is ….hunky dory so to say with the Banking industry from a
laypersons’ point of view. The International Financial Crises IFC- of recent
years is an example, particularly for borrowers to buy a house.
No legal system is full-proof. Only
the society’s conscience, acceptance and obedience of the law, is a guarantee
of its success. Any number of plaques on the wall saying “Yahan’ Thookna
Mana Hai” it is forbidden to spit here—does not prevent the walls being
painted bright red with Paan, the beetle-nut spits.
But importantly in addition the Banks
help “circulate surplus wealth” in the economy. Thus,
facilitating an essential Quranic outlet to comply with the ordinance to ‘circulate
wealth- keep it free flowing (2-3, 36-47 NFQ 74 times)’ and not to hoard
it (BKhL 4-35, 7-48, 92-11 etc,).
Many other issues at higher level of Economics,
financial and fiscal policies come into play; which are too complex for a
layperson to comprehend Just a few topics are suggested to draw experts’
attention as example;-
·
Depreciation/appreciation/inflation
over time.
·
Worth
of money changing over time,
·
“Time”
is an important factor in the equation for any contractual financial
transaction.
·
Contracts
are registered to ensure that the terms are not unethical and against the law.
·
Reserve
Bank is the regulator to control money market on behalf of the State.
·
Many
countries have Fair Trading Commissions to oversee business ethics.
·
And
much more.
It seems that the entire basis of
economy in Quran is the free flow, that is, circulation of surplus wealth Nafaq
that generates employment and results in healthy economy; and prohibition
of accumulation and hoarding Bukhal of wealth that results in the ever
widening gap between haves and have nots; which in itself causes inequality and
therefore is the root cause of strife and disharmony in a nation. It is thus an
important economic factor that spawns stratification of humanity—the
rich and the poor--.which Quran advocates to eliminate.
To be rewarded richly for one’s
physical and mental efforts is not forbidden in Islam, and is richly rewarded
in nature when surplus wealth is distributed in the nation—through the
State—that results in its wellbeing as a whole, hence there is security of
social life there.
Muslim nations, although materially
and material resources very rich, yet are pathetic example of poverty and
destitute-third-world society in general, compared to the Western countries
which have taken the distribution of national surplus wealth under the State
control.
Individually too the culture of
philanthropy in the West puts to shame the mega rich, monarchs and potentate
Muslims. Who, it must be said are quick in building and funding religious
institutions to keep the ignorant spiritually content and the churches
compliant and obedient to the capitalists.
But life is much more than
spirituality alone. Any wonder then that the masses – men women and children --
flock to the West by whatever means available to them, even at the risk of life
and limb to live in a social welfare system—and then take unfair advantage of
it, just like the locals do too.
In that sense Usury “Ribwa”
is forbidden 3-121, 2-275. where only the lenders/traders has all the
advantages of the contract conditions and gains immorally, unethically and
disproportionate benefits at the expense and ruin of the others, is
Haram, in any civilised and law abiding society; and it does not have to
brand itself “Islamic State”!
A regular contributor to New Age
Islam, Rashid Samnakay is a (Retd.) Engineer
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/quranic-usury-(sood)-research-analysis/d/99297