Why Paying Interest Is Not Haram?
Question:
Please expand on your earlier reply, with authentic Prophetic traditions in such matters.
We know clearly that any incremental amount paid on your loan is not allowed and falls under the umbrella of interest.
Answer:
Before answering your question please note that in my revised understanding it is not correct to say that any incremental amount paid on loan is not allowed. That riba that the Qur'an prohibits is that kind of interest that exploits the borrower. We may refer to it as usury. You can see a number of references for this view here. This however does not affect my answer to your question:
Please note that we do not need textual evidences to prove something is NOT Haram. Everything is Halal unless it is proved Haram. If one thinks that it is Haram to pay interest then the burden is on him to bring evidences. There is no such evidence in the Qur’an and any other evidences need to be understood based on the directive of the Qur’an.
There is no question that based on the Qur’an, riba on loan is Haram. The Qur'an treats the payer of usury as the victim not a criminal. This should be enough for our understanding of what is haram and what is not haram in terms of interest
I do not consider Hadith to be an independent source of understanding Islam however even when looking at Hadith we do not see any explicit and reliable evidence for this.
The Hadith that normally people refer to is the one where it is narrated that the prophet (pbuh) curses the Mu’akil of interest. I have already explained my understanding of this Hadith in answering the question: Paying Interest for a Loan (Followup: Hadith on Cursing Those Involved).
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Related Topics:
- Paying Interest for a Loan
- Paying Interest for a Loan (Followup: Hadith on Cursing Those Involved)
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October 2013
Revised: July 2016
Please expand on your earlier reply, with authentic Prophetic traditions in such matters.
We know clearly that any incremental amount paid on your loan is not allowed and falls under the umbrella of interest.
Answer:
Before answering your question please note that in my revised understanding it is not correct to say that any incremental amount paid on loan is not allowed. That riba that the Qur'an prohibits is that kind of interest that exploits the borrower. We may refer to it as usury. You can see a number of references for this view here. This however does not affect my answer to your question:
Please note that we do not need textual evidences to prove something is NOT Haram. Everything is Halal unless it is proved Haram. If one thinks that it is Haram to pay interest then the burden is on him to bring evidences. There is no such evidence in the Qur’an and any other evidences need to be understood based on the directive of the Qur’an.
There is no question that based on the Qur’an, riba on loan is Haram. The Qur'an treats the payer of usury as the victim not a criminal. This should be enough for our understanding of what is haram and what is not haram in terms of interest
I do not consider Hadith to be an independent source of understanding Islam however even when looking at Hadith we do not see any explicit and reliable evidence for this.
The Hadith that normally people refer to is the one where it is narrated that the prophet (pbuh) curses the Mu’akil of interest. I have already explained my understanding of this Hadith in answering the question: Paying Interest for a Loan (Followup: Hadith on Cursing Those Involved).
--------------
Related Topics:
- Paying Interest for a Loan
- Paying Interest for a Loan (Followup: Hadith on Cursing Those Involved)
--------------
October 2013
Revised: July 2016
