The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

27 Jumaadal Aakhirah 1444/20 January 2023

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

In our previous article we looked at the first set of verses which were revealed pertaining to riba. In this article we will explore the second set of verses which were revealed pertaining to riba.

Allah ﷻ makes mention in Surah Nisa, verse 161:

وَأَخْذِهِمُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ وَقَدْ نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَكْلِهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا

“And taking interest despite its prohibition, and consuming people’s wealth unjustly. We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.”

The exact timing of this verse is difficult to determine by scholars. The context of the verses before suggest that this verse was revealed before the 4th year of Hijra and it was referring to the Jews.

In verse 153 of Surah Nisa, Allah ﷻ makes mention :

يَسْـَٔلُكَ أَهْلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ أَن تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتَـٰبًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۚ

“The people of the Book ask you to bring down upon them a Book from the heaven.”

This verse implies that the verse to follow were revealed in response to the Jews who approached Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and asked him to bring down a book from heaven similar to the one that was given to Musa (A.S) . This suggests that the verses were revealed when the Jews were a significant population in Madina and had the opportunity to debate and challenge the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

From what we understand, verse 161 outlines the disobedience of the Jews by engaging in riba and unjustly consuming the wealth of others which was prohibited for them by scripture for which they will receive their due punishment.

In this verse, scholars mention that riba refers to usury/interest. This verse cannot be taken as an explicit prohibition of riba for the Muslims as it mentions that riba was prohibited for the Jews and they did not comply. According to Mufti Taqi Usmani, the implication would be that even though it was not yet prohibited for Muslims, doing so nonetheless constituted a sin as Muslims had no basis for blaming Jews for the practice of riba.

May Allah ﷻ accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!

References:

• Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani; The Historical Judgement on Interest
• Tafsir Ibn Kathir
• Tafsir An Nasafi
• Tafsir Qurtubi