We find that the orientalists and those who do not know the difference between the words of Allah (swt) and the words of humans wonder, because of their limited human mind, about this sudden moving from the previous verses that were talking about the Great Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud, to this verse which talks about the usury. We say, if the holy Qur’an had been from humans, then their wonder would be one hundred percent correct but as the Noble Qur’an being the words of the Lord of mankind, then there is a lack of understanding of this great, precise meaning. In the Battle of Uhud, the archers violated the command of the Prophet (saws) and left Mount Uhud for the spoils, which aims at increasing the money.

But what is the meaning of usury? Usury is the greed for an increase in money, Had Allah (swt) not included the verses of usury in this place, the talk about the battles of Uhud and Badr would be a talk of dating a battle, and Allah (swt) does not date events, the Qur’anic stories which found in the Book of Allah (swt) are not intended to chronicle the event at all, but rather what is meant is the remaining lesson in the general meaning until the Day of Judgment. The event has a time, but this time ends with the end of the event. As for the deep meaning of this event, it extends through time. The depth of the event that led the archers to the violation in the battle of Uhud is the love for an increase in money (spoils), and usury is a greed for an increase in money. So whoever reads the Qur’an thoroughly will find that the depth of the event is related to the subject of usury; Therefore, Allah (swt) said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَأْكُلُواْ الرِّبَا {you who have believed, do not eat (consume) usury}: He (swt) used the word (eat) when talking about usury, this is the usual case when talking about money because:

1- It has gluttony.

2- A large part of it spent for food.

أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً {doubled and multiplied}: Usury is when the loan is one hundred pounds, then it becomes one hundred and twenty, and the one hundred and twenty becomes two hundred and forty, so this loan becomes doubled and multiplied, however, usury is forbidden in Islam in any way. As pre-mentioned during explaining the verses of usury, the solution of all the economic problems in the world is when the interest is zero, but how does the prohibition of usury is useful? Prohibition of usury is the prohibition of exploiting one’s need. We must teach people the greatness of this Islamic legislation, for Allah (swt) has prohibited it excessively, He (swt) said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَذَرُواْ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ (278) فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ فَأْذَنُواْ بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُؤُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لاَ تَظْلِمُونَ وَلاَ تُظْلَمُونَ

{O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. (278) And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal – [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.} (Al-Baqara: 278-279)

He (swt) declared a war against those who exploit the need of the poor and the people’s need for money because of their greed to increase their money, this is something we need to remember all times, especially in crises when decreasing the values of goods is very needed, as happened in Japan during the World War and other crises that they experienced, when merchants lowered the prices instead of rising them, and instead of monopoly, usury and greed, they cooperated with each other to pass their crises.

These are the morals of Islam, and the Prophet (saws) in his last commandments during the Farewell Pilgrimage said:

“Behold! All Riba from Jahiliyyah is invalid, for you is the principle of your wealth, but you are not to wrong nor be wronged – except in the case of Riba of Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib – otherwise it is all invalid.”[1]

وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {but fear Allah that you may be successful}: The matter requires piety, and piety includes all the good things, that is adhering to what Allah (swt) has commanded and abstaining from what He has forbidden, Imam Ali (may Allah honour his face), was asked: What is piety, O Commander of the Faithful? So he said:

“Piety is the fear of The Sublime, working by what was revealed, preparation for the day of departure, and contentment with little.”

It is not greed, and monopoly… The success is not achieved in the afterlife except through piety, and the origin of the Arabic word of success is taken from farming, which is to plow the land until the result is given.

[1] Majma’ Az-Zawaid, Book of purchasing, Chapter of Usury, Hadith No. 6571.