بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ [٢:٢٧٨
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.
فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۖ وَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ [٢:٢٧٩
If ye do it not, Take notice of war from Allah and His Messenger: But if ye turn back,
ye shall have your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.
| Translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali 002.278 : O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers. 002.279 : If ye do it not, Take notice of war from Allah and His Messenger: But if ye turn back, ye shall have your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly. Translation: Pickthall 002.278 : O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury, if ye are (in truth) believers. 002.279 : And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His messenger. And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest). Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged. Translation: M.T. Hilali / M.M. Khan 002.278 : O you who believe! Be afraid of God and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribâ (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers. 002.279 : And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from God and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums). |
1. The Simple and Apparent Understanding (02.278 & 02.279)
Uncomplicated and straight oration; is it simple for us just today? Or it was equally
simple as well when the verses were first revealed? It is a matter of the relevance of
Qur’an in all ages for its practicability and applicable sense – here we may include
all those commands which are articulated for implementation by believers; however
it may not relate to those informative messages like unfolding the past or indicating
the future or some truths including scientific facts et cetera.
It will certainly be helpful to derive an answer to the question above if we could get a
bit clue as what was the understanding and reaction of the companion believers of
Prophet Mohammed (SAW) when they were enlightened? This is a difficult task for
me at least as I am neither proficient nor inclined to research and quote from the
chronicles, and also for the good reason of avoiding any subsequent debate on its
standing (I am not equipped well to enter in such dialogue, only few could be sure
enough to offer unarguable piece of history in this regard from many possible
versions – so to call such an insertion is like inviting confusion and distraction).
However, there is another way around, as we all know and indisputably agree on the
virtue, belief, and characters of companion believers of Prophet Mohammad (SAW),
we can get an answer using the imaginational power of our minds to visualize about
their behaviours? Just briefly, I will try doing that in my own control. Let me place
myself in two different points in time to visualize the perceptions that may help to
show the practicability of Quran within its ‘apparent understanding’ for all ages, this
way we could be surer than debating the history.
Only dreaming, (I wish) I were there in the majestic age of the Prophet Mohammad
(may ALLAH’s peace and blessing be upon him), and listened these commands for
the first time in my life, I can see in my mind's eye and would have reacted like:
Yes, I believe in You and Your messenger (SAW), my Lord. I can understand that I
am being addressed as I used to charge Riba, I know what Riba is. Now it has been
ordered to me from my Lord that I shall surrender any and all Riba that is due on
others to pay me, ALLAH (SWT) has set a test for me, I will prove insha’ALLAH that
I am a true believer and will walk around the small town and will not hesitate to go
beyond to call on my debtors and will tell them - from this moment onward – just
return the principal that you owe me, I don’t ask you any Riba or if there is any extra
due on you, that is cancelled. I can also understand that charging Riba is now
outlawed.
I can not think to disobey you my Lord, I beg Your mercy – I did not know it before
that my act of charging Riba was so grave a sin like be in war with my GOD, I can
not dare even to imagine that. Surely, I will not entail in the wrong again. It is made
very much clear to me that charging Riba is a severe injustice thus prohibition is
imposed by my Lord. I recognize the justice of my Lord, I am not punished for the
wrong that I committed before this warning, my principal is guaranteed and I am allowed to take it back.
simple as well when the verses were first revealed? It is a matter of the relevance of
Qur’an in all ages for its practicability and applicable sense – here we may include
all those commands which are articulated for implementation by believers; however
it may not relate to those informative messages like unfolding the past or indicating
the future or some truths including scientific facts et cetera.
It will certainly be helpful to derive an answer to the question above if we could get a
bit clue as what was the understanding and reaction of the companion believers of
Prophet Mohammed (SAW) when they were enlightened? This is a difficult task for
me at least as I am neither proficient nor inclined to research and quote from the
chronicles, and also for the good reason of avoiding any subsequent debate on its
standing (I am not equipped well to enter in such dialogue, only few could be sure
enough to offer unarguable piece of history in this regard from many possible
versions – so to call such an insertion is like inviting confusion and distraction).
However, there is another way around, as we all know and indisputably agree on the
virtue, belief, and characters of companion believers of Prophet Mohammad (SAW),
we can get an answer using the imaginational power of our minds to visualize about
their behaviours? Just briefly, I will try doing that in my own control. Let me place
myself in two different points in time to visualize the perceptions that may help to
show the practicability of Quran within its ‘apparent understanding’ for all ages, this
way we could be surer than debating the history.
Only dreaming, (I wish) I were there in the majestic age of the Prophet Mohammad
(may ALLAH’s peace and blessing be upon him), and listened these commands for
the first time in my life, I can see in my mind's eye and would have reacted like:
Yes, I believe in You and Your messenger (SAW), my Lord. I can understand that I
am being addressed as I used to charge Riba, I know what Riba is. Now it has been
ordered to me from my Lord that I shall surrender any and all Riba that is due on
others to pay me, ALLAH (SWT) has set a test for me, I will prove insha’ALLAH that
I am a true believer and will walk around the small town and will not hesitate to go
beyond to call on my debtors and will tell them - from this moment onward – just
return the principal that you owe me, I don’t ask you any Riba or if there is any extra
due on you, that is cancelled. I can also understand that charging Riba is now
outlawed.
I can not think to disobey you my Lord, I beg Your mercy – I did not know it before
that my act of charging Riba was so grave a sin like be in war with my GOD, I can
not dare even to imagine that. Surely, I will not entail in the wrong again. It is made
very much clear to me that charging Riba is a severe injustice thus prohibition is
imposed by my Lord. I recognize the justice of my Lord, I am not punished for the
wrong that I committed before this warning, my principal is guaranteed and I am allowed to take it back.
My mind’s eye is still employed, envisaging a believer never involved in charging the
Riba. Thanks my Lord, You saved me from the wrong and the trial. It is very clear to
me that Riba is declared illegal. I have become aware of the truth that charging Riba
is a crime of fighting war with GOD. I am a true believer my Lord, I will never entail
in the wrong of Riba insha’ALLAH, I have noticed charging Riba is the act of serious
injustice, and I beg to protect me from getting in it. You are the best judge my Lord;
I can see Your fairness and justice that You allowed them to take their principal back without penalizing them.
source :Riba. Thanks my Lord, You saved me from the wrong and the trial. It is very clear to
me that Riba is declared illegal. I have become aware of the truth that charging Riba
is a crime of fighting war with GOD. I am a true believer my Lord, I will never entail
in the wrong of Riba insha’ALLAH, I have noticed charging Riba is the act of serious
injustice, and I beg to protect me from getting in it. You are the best judge my Lord;
I can see Your fairness and justice that You allowed them to take their principal back without penalizing them.
RIBA – A War with GOD
A different insight in coherence with the concept of Riba
By: Qazi Irfan, Islamabad (Pakistan), author@hazariba.com
http://hazariba.com/Riba%20-%20A%20War%20with%20GOD.
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