In everyday life, we borrow and we lend: for a business, a motorbike, rent, a celebration. Islam does not oppose this, quite the contrary: it encourages mutual support and trade. What it forbids is riba, often translated as "usury" or "interest".
What the Quran says
وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا
"Allah has made trade lawful and usury unlawful." (meaning of the verse, Al-Baqara 2:275)
The verse responds to those who said: "trade is just like usury." No: in trade, one exchanges a good or a service and accepts a risk. In usury, a surplus is demanded on a sum lent, whether the venture succeeds or not.
A few verses later, the Quran asks to give up what remains of usury:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
"O you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains of usury, if you are believers." (meaning of the verse, Al-Baqara 2:278)
He reassures the lender: he recovers his capital, "without wronging anyone and without being wronged" (2:279). Then he adds a rule of gentleness: if the debtor is in difficulty, he is granted a delay, and forgiving the debt is even better (2:280).
What the Sunna says
The Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the one who writes it down, and its two witnesses, saying that they are all equal (Sahih Muslim, no. 1598). Riba is therefore not only the lender's concern: everyone who arranges the transaction is involved.
The hadith of the six goods specifies another form of riba: "gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt, in equal amounts, hand to hand" (Sahih Muslim, no. 1587). Exchanging these goods of the same kind with an excess, or with delayed delivery, is also riba.
The two forms of riba
- Riba of the loan : giving back more than what was borrowed, simply because it was borrowed. This is the classic bank interest, but also the penalty that grows with delay.
- Riba of exchange : exchanging goods of the same kind (gold, silver, currency…) in unequal amounts or with a delay.
The scholars of the legal schools, including the Maliki school followed in Côte d'Ivoire, detail these rules in the chapters on sales, as Ibn Rushd does in Bidayat al-Mujtahid.
Why this rule
Usury puts all the risk on the person who needs money. If the deal fails, they still have to repay more, and the debt grows. Islam prefers two paths:
- interest-free loans (qard hassan), a charitable act that is rewarded;
- risk sharing : we invest together and share the profits and losses, or we sell with a margin known in advance.
These are the principles on which Islamic banks rely: murabaha (sale with a known margin), ijara (leasing), musharaka (partnership).
In everyday life
| Situation | What to look out for |
|---|---|
| Tontine between friends | Each person gets back exactly what they paid in: no profit. If the one served first pays a "bonus", there is one. |
| Loan between relatives | Repay the same sum. A spontaneous gift at repayment, not agreed in advance, is permitted; a surplus promised in advance is not. |
| Classic bank loan | Interest is a surplus tied to the loan: that is the heart of the problem. Look for an alternative (murabaha, ijara) at an Islamic banking counter. |
| Late payment penalty | If it enriches the lender, it resembles riba. In Islamic finance, it is paid to charitable works. |
| Purchase on credit from a merchant | Permitted if the total price is fixed at signing and does not grow with delay. |
| Exchange of currencies or gold | Hand to hand, spot, with no delay for either party. |
The question to ask before signing: do I have to repay a surplus because I borrowed? If yes, speak with your imam before committing.
For your personal situation (ongoing credit, savings account, salary paid into a bank), speak with your imam: he knows the opinions of the scholars and your reality.