Towards A Unified Zakat System

ates in his Code and suggested the alternative of profitand loss sharing (Ahmad, 1991: 13).During the 15th century, however, Christian popes and theircouncils gave in to new practices and accepted thatinterest was justifiable (Kharofa, 1993). In the 19thcentury the Christian Church recognised the lending ofmoney at moderate interest rates (Kharofa, 1993). BothChristians and Jews attempted to find substitutes tointerest but failed to find workable and lasting solutions(Ahmad, 1991: 14).Because riba was widely practised in Arabia, the Qur'an'sprohibition was progressive. Unfortunately, as the Surasand verses in the Qur'an are not chronological, the exactstages of prohibition cannot be determined with certainty.The prohibition of riba in the Qur'an can, however, befound in four places as mentioned by Homoud (1985: 65):The first place: stated in Sura al-Baqarah, verse 39:That which ye give in usury in order that it mayincrease on (other) people's property hath no increasewith Allah; but that which ye give in charity, seekingAllah's countenance, doth increase manifold.This verse was revealed in Mekkah and is probably the firstverse which deals with usury. As is clear from the verse,there is no definite prohibition.76