Those who benefit from interest shall be raised like those who have been driven to madness by the touch of the Devil; this is because they say: "Trade is like interest" while God has permitted trade and forbidden interest…God deprives interest of all blessings but blesses charity.... O believers, fear God, and give up the interest that remains outstanding if you are believers. If you do not do so, then be sure of being at war with God and His messenger. But, if you repent, you can have your principal.... (Quran 2:275-280)
The Quran have said it all!Now,you know why you haven't broken even in business ever since you started with that loan! "...God deprives interest of ALL blessings but blesses Charity..."
You might be thinking that it's not possible to do business without interest loans as far as Nigeria is concerned.Well,I'm sorry,I didn't make the rules,God did and he is telling you to desist from interest loans.There's one thing I know about God Almighty,He won't take something away without replacing it with another.
God Permitted Trade but Forbade Interest
He took Interest away from us and replaced it with Trade.The major difference between the two lies in the way they make you money.While Trade makes you money in such way that both parties that are involved in the business transaction win or loose together,victory is assured for a side while losses is almost certain for the order.This is cheating...God hates it when you cheat. In fact,it's recorded of one hadith that the Prophet said:
"He's NOT of us he who cheats others!" - The Prophet.
Take a bank loan for instance,when you secure the loan,the Bank doesn't only request a collateral,they also demand a very high interest rate on the loan. Now,what this means is that the Bank is less concerned whether you succeed or not in your business,what they are after is the interest.Apparently,they are NOT the owner of the money they lend out...it belongs to other users of the bank.So,if they must borrow you money,there must be something in it for them...the interest.Hence,they don't joke around with the interest on the loans they offer.This is why they are always merciless in retrieving such loans...they care how you get it,all they know is that you must repay the loan otherwise,you forfeit your collateral!
It's only those that have a close friend or relative that have forfeited their collateral that can tell you how painful such losses are.Why did they go for the loan in the first place?
They went for a loan to improve their lot.They hope that with the loan,they should be able to increase their income flow....worse still,some entered into a loan for health reasons,tuition fees or to pay back another high interest rate loan!Of all these aforementioned reasons,for which is worthy to collect interest upon?He who needed a loan for health reasons obviously have no other option of raising funds,this is why he/she had decided to take up a loan.
Okay,let's assume that the one that took the loan for tuition fee and he that took it for business capital have hopes of making profit later in the future with it,is it all that venture into businesses make money out of them,is it all that went to school are guaranteed of a high paying jobs?I mean just think about it!
Taking a loan is taking a risk and it's enough of a punishment or should I say torment,the psychological torture a person that takes a loan undergoes when he thinks and fears about the fact that paying back might not be as smooth as he hopes!The additional thought of paying along with t he loan an interest that can be as high as 25% or more is just too heavy a punishment...and you know what? Most people fail to pay up on time,so,the interests accumulate and after a while,your collateral is sold off to pay for the loan and of course,the interest due on it!
This is what God meant when He was condemning 'eating other people's wealth up unfairly'. How can someone come for help and what you do in the end is compound his/her problem with extra work load???The interest is indeed an extra work load.
O believers, fear God, and give up the interest that remains
outstanding if you are believers.
This concerns mostly,those that sees bank loans or should I say those that goes for interest based loans,no matter how minute the interest might be (co-operative societies who offer loans for as little as 1%).Let's all stop fooling ourselves.
From my little research while writing this post,I learnt that some prominent Islamic scholars have been reported to have exempted bank loans from the list of loans that are termed RIBA.They claim that the present day economy cannot thrive without bank interest.They gave their various reasons,though but their given reasons,to me,has been nullified thus.
One reason is that banking loan interests are not as killing as those of the times of the Prophet when the interests are in the multiple of the amount borrowed.Well,I won't be talking much on that,the following pix tells it all!
The interests no matter how minute get to accumulate over time into gigantic figures that would prove too high and highly unfair indeed!
Another reason given is the fact that it's a 'price' paid for borrowing and it serves as a form of control so as to limit the number of borrowers.Now,that very,very flimsy excuse to me.
God just said no interest and you come around to tell us how it's different from interest by simply calling it another name?Well,I think one the five verses above have warned us against that where it said:
Those who benefit from interest shall be raised like those who have
been driven to madness by the touch of the Devil; this is because they
say: "Trade is like interest"
So,please,beware on whose side you stick to because some scholars have reported to have doubted if the economy of the modern world could stand without the regulated and 'fair' interest rates!Well,my comment on this opinion of theirs goes exactly in line with the Quranic verse where it said:
O believers, fear God, and give up the interest that remains
outstanding if you are believers. If you do not do so, then be sure of
being at war with God and His messenger.
God is giving you no option concerning this matter...it's that serious!He's saying get ready for battle with Him if you believe you have no choice but to continue to pay/receive interest.Then,the question is asked,where,then,do we turn to when in need of financial help...especially while considering the Nigerian factor???
Emmm...ah! I wish I could just proceed but em...time's up!Gotta go but,I promise,God's Grace to answer this question next week (Friday).Thanks for your time!
Wassalaam 'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuhu!
Those
who consume interest cannot 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 interest." But Allah has
permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an
admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his
affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or
usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally
therein.
- See more at: http://quran.islamicevents.sg/2/275/280#sthash.5BhVLlMk.dpuf
Those
who consume interest cannot 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 interest." But Allah has
permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an
admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his
affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or
usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally
therein.
- See more at: http://quran.islamicevents.sg/2/275/280#sthash.5BhVLlMk.dpuf
Those
who consume interest cannot 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 interest." But Allah has
permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an
admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his
affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or
usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally
therein.
- See more at: http://quran.islamicevents.sg/2/275/280#sthash.5BhVLlMk.dpuf
Comments
Post a Comment