Ramadhan: Time to Renounce All Forms of Usury

The holy month of Ramadhan can serve as an opportune moment to fulfil the commitment to avoid major sins, including usury practices. Particularly for those already “caught” in the cycle of usury, it is necessary to recognise how Allah condemns such transgressions.

There are two definitions of usury (riba). First, debt-based usury (riba al-duyun): unlawful increases on loans, whether imposed forcefully or voluntarily, resulting in repayment of more than the original principal amount. Second, riba al-fadl, which concerns inequality in exchange transactions.

Usury is a disease that has infected the economic life of societies throughout history. Through usury, a small number of people enjoy wealth without corresponding effort.

Various Quranic verses and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad prohibit usury. Erwandi Tarmizi, in Contemporary Unlawful Transactions, defines usury as “imposing additional burden on the borrower, or adding to the measure during exchange of commodities of the same type, or exchanging gold for silver—or food for food—on a non-cash basis.”

Despised by Allah

Consuming usurious wealth is considered one of the greatest sins in Islamic teaching. Allah provides a comparison for usurers: “Those who consume usury will not stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, ‘Trade is [just] like usury,’ but Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden usury” (Quran 2:275).

Prophet Muhammad also advised on this matter, stating: “Usury has seventy doors. The lightest [sin] is like a person marrying his own mother. The gravest is when someone constantly violates the honour of his Muslim brother.”