The Prohibition of Riba Elaborated

The texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah that prohibit riba are not easy to understand. An earlier book written by this author, called The Concept of Riba and Islamic Banking, appeared to be difficult for some readers. In fact, a few eager students stated that they were able to understand the text only after they had read it two or three times. This book tries to simplify some of the difficult areas of juristic interpretation. Some additional explanations have been added as compared to our last attempt in 1995, in the book mentioned. A major problem has been the recognition, by modern ulama and scholars, of some basic truths about the prohibition of riba. This non-recognition sometimes appears to be a reluctance to face a few harsh realities and a tendency to evade thorny issues. One such issue is the prohibition of all loans, other than what we have come to call a charitable loan or qard hasan. The issue lies at the heart of all Islamic banking. Instead of giving arguments on this issue and responding to the arguments made in favour of such prohibition, our modern scholars and leading muftis maintain total silence. The present book includes at least one instance of such evasion. It is only when a response on this issue is available from modern scholars that knowledge in this area will advance further. Without such a discussion, Islamic banking has very little chance of success.