Prohibition of Interest
\r\nThose who are against the prohibition of interest assume that interest was prohibited mainly because of the injustice it inflicted on the poor, who were charged an exorbitant rate of interest for loans borrowed by them to satisfy some urgent need. This, they argue, led to exploitation and further impoverishment of the poor. They, therefore, conclude that the prohibition of interest is no longer valid because banks in modern times do not resort to such exploitation.
\r\nThe assumption on which this conclusion is based does not, however, reflect the historical realities. During the Prophet's days, peace and blessings of God be on him, borrowing was not undertaken by the poor. This is because by the end of the Prophet's life, when the prohibition of interest became strictly enforced, the needs of the poor were taken care of either by the rich or the bayt al-mal (the Public Treasury). Therefore, the poor did not have to borrow to fulfil their needs. This leads to the question of who borrowed and why?
\r\nBorrowing was resorted to primarily by tribes and rich traders who operated as large informal partnership companies to conduct large-scale trade. This was necessitated by the prevailing circumstances. The difficult terrain, the harsh climate, and the slow means of communication made the task of trade caravans difficult and time-consuming. It was not possible for them to undertake several business trips to the East and the West during a given year. Only a few trips could be undertaken. Hence, it was necessary for the caravans to muster a large volume of financial resources to purchase all the exportable products of their society, sell them abroad, and use the proceeds to bring back the entire import needs of their society.
\r\nBefore Islam such resources were mobilized on the basis of interest. This was not acceptable to Islam because it led to injustice. If there was a loss, it was the entrepreneur or the trader who had to bear the entire loss in spite of all the trouble he took. The financier, who did nothing more than providing finance, got a predetermined positive rate of return. Islam, therefore, tried to remove the injustice resulting from this. It abolished the interest-based nature of the financier-entrepreneur relationship and reorganized it on the basis of profit-and-loss-sharing. This enabled the financier to have a just share and the entrepreneur did not get crushed under adverse conditions, one of which could be the caravan being waylaid on the way.
\r\nThis shows that, although the extension of meaningful help to the poor carries a high priority in the Islamic value system, it was not the primary reason for the prohibition of interest. The primary reason was the realization of overall socio-economic justice, which is declared by the Quran to be the main mission of all God’s messengers (57:25).
\r\nJustice, however, needs to be understood in a much wider context. Confining it merely to trade may not be able to take us far enough. Justice demands that the resources provided by God to mankind as a trust must be utilized in such a manner that the universally-cherished humanitarian goals of general need fulfillment, full employment, equitable distribution of income and wealth, and economic stability are optimally realized.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Prohibition of Interest: Does it Make Sense?\" - M. Umer Chapra