Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE EVIL OF USURYprinciples of faith, in submission to the divine will and in a spirit of cooperation, thatthey “shall have their reward with their Lord. They shall have nothing to fear, nor shall theygrieve.” (Verse 277)On the other hand, God threatens the advocates of usury that theft will live in fear,confusion, and insecurity, and that their society were to disintegrate. History haswitnessed the benefits of the Islamic, non_ usury system and its results in humansociety. It is today witnessing the disastrous and oppressive effects of the usurybasedsystem that forms the core of contemporary civilization. We Muslims onlywish we could make others see the force of our argument against the evils of usury,but all we can do is present the facts and hope that people will listen and heed ourwarnings and advice.Total War against the UsurersHaving evoked an atmosphere of calm and peace, the sūrah makes a finalpassionate appeal to the true believers to eradicate usury and rid their society of itcompletely, or face a relentless war waged against them by none other than GodAlmighty and His Messenger: “Believers, fear God and give up what remains outstandingof usury gains, if you are true believers. If you do not, then war is declared against you byGod and His Messenger. If you repent, however, you shall remain entitled to your principal.Thus, you shall commit no wrong, nor suffer any wrong yourselves.” (Verses 278-279)This passage makes the rejection of usury a condition of true faith; Muslims shallonly become true believers when they fear God and reject any usury money they areowed. No faith could be claimed, even as a mere form of words, without totalacceptance of, and submission to, God’s will and command. The Qur’ān is veryexplicit on this point and leaves no room for confusion. There is no chance foranyone wishing to declare their faith and belief in God verbally, only to adopt a wayof life that is the antithesis of His laws and teachings. Those who separate religiousbelief from their daily affairs of life are deluding themselves if they think they aretrue believers, no matter how much they insist they are, or how regularly theyobserve religious rituals.The sūrah exonerates Muslims of all previous dealings involving usury, making itclear that there would be no appropriation of property previously gained or acquiredthrough usurious transactions. Islam has laid down an important rule thateverything is permissible unless it is specifically declared otherwise, and no rulesmay be retroactively applied. Everything done previously would be suspended andleft to God to judge and assess. Thus Islam ensured that the transition to a usury-freesystem was smooth and with little, if any, social or economic difficulty. Only veryrecently has this approach been incorporated into modern laws. Islamic legislation393