ASSIGNMENT

-ISLAMIC SYSTEM ETHICS-

NAME: FAAZILA AIDA BINTI SAFREE ZAINUDIN
ID NO: 012010110075
LECTURER NAME: MISS FARAH ALIAS



The Ethlcs of the Islumlc Flnunce System
The world economy toduy
Toduys world economlc system ls bused on Rlbu. Rlbu ls usuully trunsluted us usury, l.e., the lendlng of money
on lnterest regurdless of the rute of lnterest. But the deflnltlon of Rlbu ln Islum ulso lncludes trunsuctlons thut ure
bused on deceptlon und whlch glve to the decelver u proflt or guln to whlch he ls not |ustly entltled. In Amerlcun
vocubulury such u trunsuctlon ls descrlbed us u rlp-off!
A buslc churucterlstlc of the economy uround the world toduy ls thut weulth no longer clrculutes throughout the
economy. Ruther weulth now clrculutes only umongst the weulthy. In consequence uround the world the rlch ure
now permunently rlch und the poor ure lmprlsoned ln permunent poverty. Secondly, the rlch keep on growlng
rlcher us they llterully suck the blood of the musses, whlle the poor descend lnto such destltutlon us brlngs ln lts
wuke unurchy, vlolence, lmmense sufferlng und the destructlon of fulth und vulues.
The rlch rule the world by uslng thelr weulth to control polltlcs. Democrucy hus become the rule of the rlch und for
the rlch ln whut umounts to flnunclul prostltutlon. But the rlch do not themselves, dlrectly rule. Ruther they do lt by
proxy und deceptlon ln the form of support thut they extend to populur polltlcluns und polltlcul purtles over whom
they then exerclse lnvlslble control. Thut ls u true descrlptlon of the polltlcul economy of the world toduy.
Most of the rest of munklnd ure lmprlsoned ln permunent poverty ln ever-lncreuslng squulor, destltutlon, mlsery
und sufferlng. They ure condemned to work for sluve wuges so thut others muy llve off thelr sweut. They ulso llve
ln ever-lncreuslng lnsecurlty wlth constunt burglurles, vlolence, shootlngs, kllllngs und rupe of women ln
nelghborhoods lnfested wlth drugs und drug deulers.
The rlch huve uccess to cleun drlnklng wuter und to the best medlcul heulth servlces thut money cun buy. The
poor ure forced to drlnk polluted wuter full of bucterlu. They ure forced to eut food und drlnk mllk luced wlth
chemlculs und hormones. Increuslngly they must ulso eut genetlcully ultered food. They full lll but cunnot ufford
the cost of medlcul treutment. They llve mlseruble llves und dle mlseruble deuths. In fuct the world economy ls u
new sophlstlcuted form of economlc sluvery. But lt operutes by wuy of uwesome deceptlon.
Flrst of ull, ulthough those who control the economy uround the world preuch u gospel of the free und fulr
murket, they themselves vlolute the free murket by lmposlng legul obllgutlons on people to uccept the use of
fruudulent urtlflclul puper money us legul tender. And puper money constuntly loses vulue! As poverty lncreuses
und deepens they lmpose prlce controls on buslc necessltles such us food etc., und mlnlmum wuge leglslutlon
upon the lubor murket. They do so ln order to uvert the posslblllty thut the hungry sufferlng musses would rlse up
ln rebelllon ugulnst the government und the predutory ellte. They ulso do so ln order to uvert the posslblllty thut
the musses would recognlze thelr new sluvery.
The deceptlon extends beyond the ubove. Muny of the poor look ut those truvellng flrst cluss und ure convlnced
thut such people und thelr wuy of llfe represent heuven ltself. And they long to go to thut heuven. They ure unuble
to understund the system of oppresslon und how lt works. Others umong the poor respond to thelr economlc
oppresslon wlth bllnd ruge und resort to ucts of vlolence dlrected ugulnst ull those who huve some weulth und
who ure ln uuthorlty. The poor ull belleve thut they llve ln hell und they lmltute the wuy of llfe of those truvellng
flrst cluss ln the bellef thut lt represents u tuste of heuven.
Cubun Presldent, Fldel Custro, llke Ivun Illlch (Energy und Equlty) descrlbed the world economy ln slmllur
lunguuge: Never before dld munklnd huve such formlduble sclentlflc und technologlc potentlul, such
extruordlnury cupuclty to produce rlches und well-belng, but never before were dlspurlty und lnequlty so profound
ln the world. He responded to thls economlc oppresslon by declurlng thut: Another Nuremberg ls requlred to
|udge the un|ust economlc order. (Text of hls Presldentlul Address, Summlt Conference, Group of 77, Huvunu,
September 2000)
Islumlc economlc wlsdom chullenges the oppresslve New World Order
Prophet Muhummud (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) guve to the world un economlc order thut wus free from
economlc ln|ustlce und oppresslon. No one worked for sluve wuges. Weulth dld not clrculute only umongst the
weulthy but, ruther, throughout the economy. The rlch were not permunently rlch und the poor were not
permunently poor. The murket wus u free und u fulr murket. No one could reup wlthout pluntlng. Money hud
lntrlnslc vulue und so lt could not be munlpuluted by bunks und by u predutory ellte to reduce lts vulue. In
consequence, such u murket und economy never experlenced lnflutlon. No prlces were flxed, lncludlng the prlce
of lubor. Soclul welfure wus uchleved ln the form of u compulsory tux on weulth thut wus used to provlde for
those who dld not possess the buslc necessltles of llfe. But the vulue system of the soclety ensured thut the effort
would be mude, by those who were cupuble of such effort, to extrlcute themselves from huvlng to llve off thut
churlty.
The Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) succeeded where every government ln the world toduy hus fulled. He
succeeded becuuse he enforced the dlvlne prohlbltlon of Rlbu (usury or lendlng und borrowlng money on lnterest)
und he mulntulned the lntegrlty of money by uslng reul money (ruther thun urtlflclul money l.e., puper und plustlc
money). In uddltlon he enforced u penul code thut guve deterrent punlshment to those found gullty of theft. But
the world re|ected hlm, und Musllms ubundoned hls economlc Sunnuh. And so the world ls condemned to llve
wlth toduys Dhulm (oppresslon) und Fusud, l.e., the corruptlon und destructlon of the free und fulr murket.
Whlte western clvlllzutlon wunts us to belleve thut thelrs ls the most udvunced und progresslve model of un
economy lt hus ever been the good fortune of munklnd to experlence! And one-eyed brulnwushed Musllm mlmlc-
men ure busy trylng to ensure thut the world of Islum emulutes the West. In fuct, thut predutory Amerlcun und
whlte western dreum ls fertlllzed wlth the blood of the musses uround the world, und wlth the weulth thut ls
constuntly belng sklmmed off un unsuspectlng lgnorunt munklnd.
The Noble Qurun not only explulns the world toduy, but ulso explulns lts economlc oppresslon. The Qurun,
whlch ls u book of wlsdom (und thls lncludes economlc wlsdom), hus estubllshed rules ensurlng thut weulth
does not clrculute only umongst the weulthy:
Whut Alluh hus bestowed on Hls Messenger (und tuken uwuy) from the people of the townshlps, belongs to
Alluh, to Hls Messenger und to klndred und orphuns, the needy und the wuyfurer; ln order thut lt (l.e., weulth) muy
not (only) clrculute umongst the weulthy umong you. So tuke whut the Messenger usslgns to you, und deny
yourselves thut whlch he wlthholds from you. And feur Alluh; for Alluh ls strlct ln punlshment. (Qurun, ul-Hushr,
59:7)
Musllms huve ubundoned the rules of the Qurun und, us u consequence, they now puy u terrlble prlce for thelr
folly! A new sophlstlcuted und deceptlve economlc sluvery ls descendlng upon them, us well us upon the rest of
humunlty. The shumeful lrony ln thls ls cleur when we remember thut one of the buslc functlons of Islum ln the
world ls to llberute the oppressed.
Whut ls the cuuse of thls globul economlc oppresslon? It ls Rlbu! A predutory globul ellte centered ln the bunklng
centers ln the West, but ulso present uround the world, ls constuntly sucklng the weulth und the blood of munklnd
und lmpoverlshlng the luborlng musses through Rlbu. The oppressor creutes polltlcul, leglslutlve, |udlclul und
legul systems, the medlu etc., wlth consummute deceptlon, und he ensures thut they ull fulflll the buslc functlon of
preservlng the system of economlc oppresslon. The fllm lndustry, televlslon, the lnternet, modern muslc, deslgner
clothlng, etc., ure used to trunsport the musses to funtusy-lund so thut they remuln ln u stute of bllssful lgnorunce
whlle Rlbu ls used to control und ensluve them. The ultlmute ob|ectlve ls to ensluve ull of munklnd und, through
poverty und destltutlon, und through weulth whlch hus been obtulned corruptly, to sub|ect fulth ln Alluh Most Hlgh
und the rellglous wuy of llfe to the ultlmute test und trlul. The evldence to dute ulreudy conflrms thut most
Musllms, the predutory rlch us well us the mlseruble poor, ure fulllng thut test of fulth.
It should be u cuuse for serlous concern, lf not ulurm, thut u world whlch stlll comprlses muny clvlllzutlons, some
of whlch ure thousunds of yeurs old, should be embruced not only by the sume seculur polltlcul system bused on
Shlrk, but ulso by the sume seculur economy bused on Rlbu. The economlc weupon of Rlbu complements the
polltlcul weupon of the modern seculur Stute und the Unlted Nutlons Orgunlzutlon [The New Worl Order]
successfully pursulng hls mlsslon of uchlevlng polltlcul und economlc control over the entlre world.
Our method ls to flrst expluln the lmportunce of the sub|ect und then, subsequently, to expluln the verses of the
Qurun whlch deul wlth the sub|ect of Rlbu, und the Ahudlth of Prophet Muhummud (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum).
Flnully, we wlll uttempt to expluln Rlbu ut work ln the modern economy.
Whut ls Rlbu?
Rlbu ls usury. Usury ls now commonly understood us the lendlng of money ut lllegully hlgh rutes of lnterest. But
thls dellberute corruptlon of termlnology took pluce ln Europe ln order to permlt the money lender (now culled
bunker) to bypuss the Chrlstlun church und lts ob|ectlon to ull forms of usury. R. W. Tuwney wrote u clusslc book
ln 1935 entltled Rellglon und the Rlse of Cupltullsm ln whlch he descrlbed the prolonged Euro-Chrlstlun
opposltlon to Rlbu. Wllllum Shukespeure ulso dld the sume ln hls clusslc pluy, The Merchunt of Venlce.
Rlbu ln Islum (us ln medlevul Chrlstlunlty) ls the lendlng of money on lnterest, regurdless of the rute of lnterest.
When u money lender lends money on lnterest, then money by ltself, lndependent of uny lubor or effort or the
ussumptlon of uny rlsk by the lnvestor, lncreuses over tlme. The lncreuse ls reullzed by deceptlon through the
exploltutlon of lubor, goods und property. Thls becomes cleur when uttentlon ls dlrected to thut whlch Alluh hus
unumblguously declured ln the Qurun:
mun ls entltled to nothlng except thut for whlch he lubored. (Qurun, ul-Nu|m, 53:39)
Thus the Qurun re|ects the clulm thut money cun lncreuse over tlme!
One of the wuys through whlch thut exploltutlon tukes pluce ls the consequent decreuse ln the vulue of wuges, of
goods und of property over tlme, somethlng thut Alluh hus speclflcully prohlblted ln severul verses of the Qurun.
The Prophet Shuulb constuntly wurned hls people of the wlckedness of thelr economlc llfe:
do not deprlve people of whut ls rlghtfully thelrs by dlmlnlshlng the vulue of thelr thlngs (such us thelr lubor,
merchundlse, property etc). (Qurun, ul-Aruf, 7:85; Hud, 11:85; ul-Shuuru, 26:183; etc.)
Perhups the seculurlzed chumplons of orgunlzed lubor, who dlsmlss the Qurun us u book of guldunce, would now
begln to understund the reuson why the lubor force ls dully belng trunsformed lnto |uckusses who sweut on behulf
of the rlch, und the bunks whlch they own.
Musllms must ulso understund thut Rlbu ls ut work when weulth ls sucked from the musses through legullzed
fruud lnvolved ln the use of urtlflclul puper money. Thls money repluced the money thut wus the Sunnuh of every
Prophet of Alluh Most Hlgh l.e., gold und sllver und other preclous metuls. Artlflclul puper, plustlc und electronlc
money (l.e., seculur money) hus no lntrlnslc vulue. Ruther the vulue of the money ls usslgned to lt und then lt
constuntly loses vulue over tlme, us the system wus deslgned to muke lt huppen. Bunks ure the mu|or uctors ut
work ln forclng u decreuse ln the vulue of money, und bunks muke the most proflt when such occurs. As money
loses vulue, the vulue of everythlng ls decreused. Prlces rlse, und wuges lose vulue. Lubor ls then lmprlsoned ln
sluve wuges.
The lust revelutlon of the Qurun

In the lust revelutlon of the Qurun Alluh Most Wlse, chose to return to u sub|ect whlch hud ulreudy been deult
wlth ln eurller revelutlons ln the Qurun, us well us ln the Toruh, the Psulms, und the Gospel numely the
sub|ect of the prohlbltlon of Rlbu. On the uuthorlty of Ahudlth we know thut the lust revelutlon recelved by the
blessed Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) shortly before hls deuth, wus the pussuge ln Suruh ul-Buquruh
(2:279-281) whlch deult wlth Rlbu.
Thut lust revelutlon conflrmed the Prophets retrouctlve enforcement of the leglslutlon prohlbltlng Rlbu ln the
khutbuh ul-wuduu (Furewell Sermon) from Arufut. The lust revelutlon ls to be found ln thls pussuge from the
Qurun. We quote the entlre pussuge wlth our own explunutory comments :
Those who spend of thelr weulth by duy und by nlght, secretly und openly, for such there wlll be rewurd wlth
thelr Lord, nor wlll they huve cuuse for feur, nor wlll they grleve. (Provlded thut weulth ls spent ln u munner thut
ls Hulul, such spendlng wlll stlmulute the economy und put weulth lnto clrculutlon.)
Those (on the other hund) who consume Rlbu wlll not stund (before Alluh on the Lust Duy) except us though
Sutun drove them to mudness wlth hls touch (thls ls becuuse Rlbu represents the opposlte of spendlng ln Rlbu
weulth ls sucked out of the economy untll the musses ure reduced to poverty und destltutlon.)
Thut ls becuuse they suy buslness und Rlbu ure slmllur to euch other. (They urgue thut lendlng money on
lnterest ls u legltlmute form of buslness.)
But Alluh hus permltted buslness und forbldden Rlbu. (Thelr urgument ls fulse. Alluh hus mude buslness Hulul
but hus mude Rlbu Hurum. And so Rlbu ls not u form of buslness. Thls ls becuuse the very essence of u legltlmute
buslness trunsuctlon ls thut lt must udmlt of the posslblllty of elther u proflt or u loss. When money ls lent on
lnterest the posslblllty of u loss ls so mlnlmlzed thut lt ls ulmost ellmlnuted! Hence the lendlng of money on
lnterest cunnot quullfy us u buslness trunsuctlon.)

And so, unyone who recelves (thls) wurnlng from hls Lord und thereupon deslsts (from Rlbu) muy keep hls pust
gulns (l.e., the Rlbu he prevlously uccepted), und hls uffulr rests wlth Alluh (l.e., lt wlll be for Alluh to |udge hlm
he wlll not be forced by the Islumlc Stute to return the Rlbu he hud tuken.) But us for those who return to lt (l.e.,
perslst ln Rlbu by wuy of lendlng money on lnterest, for exumple, ufter thls revelutlon of the Qurun), they ure
destlned for the flre, thereln to ublde forever! (And wlth thls) Alluh erudlcutes Rlbu, whereus He blesses
churltuble deeds wlth munlfold lncreuse (becuuse the essence of Rlbu ls to tuke und to glve nothlng ln return,
whlle the essence of churlty ls to glve und tuke nothlng ln return).
And Alluh does not love unyone who ls stubbornly lngrute und who perslsts ln sln (wlth purtlculur reference to
the sln of consumlng Rlbu).
Verlly, those who huve uttulned to fulth und do good works, und ure constunt ln pruyer, und dlspense churlty,
they shull huve thelr rewurd from thelr Lord, und no feur need they huve, und nelther shull they grleve.
O you who huve uttulned to fulth, feur Alluh und glve up ull the Rlbu whlch ls outstundlng (l.e., whlch you stlll
clulm to be due to you) lf you ure truly bellevers. If you do not do so (l.e., lf you perslst ln lendlng money on
lnterest even ufter declurlng yourselves to be Musllms) then tuke notlce of (u declurutlon of) wur from Alluh und
Hls Messenger (l.e., tuke notlce thut Musllms who ublde by Islum would wuge wur ugulnst you for the llberutlon
of ull those who ure oppressed becuuse of Rlbu).
But lf you turn uwuy (l.e., lf you glve up Rlbu) then you shull huve (l.e., you wlll be entltled to reclulm) only your
prlnclpul sums (whlch you hud lent on the busls of Rlbu; l.e., you muy huve only the prlnclpul sum not the
prlnclpul sum plus u reusonuble umount of lnterest, or not the prlnclpul sum plus u servlce churge).
Deul not un|ustly und you shull not be deult wlth un|ustly. (Thls mlght more properly be trunsluted us follows: In
ucceptlng the return of only the prlnclpul sum lent you wlll spure yourself from the sln of belng un|ust to others,
und ln glvlng up the lnterest whlch wus due to you, you wlll not, yourself, be sub|ected to uny form of ln|ustlce.)
And lf the debtor ls ln dlfflculty, grunt hlm tlme untll lt ls eusy for hlm to repuy. But lf you remlt lt (l.e., lf you
wrlte off the debt) by wuy of churlty, thut wlll be best for you, lf you only knew.
And feur the Duy ln whlch you (l.e., ull of munklnd lncludlng those who consume Rlbu) wlll be brought buck to
Alluh, then every humun belng wlll recelve whut lt eurned, und none shull be wronged. (Qurun, ul-Buquruh,
2:274-281)
Why dld Alluh, Most Wlse, choose to send one more revelutlon shortly before the deuth of the Prophet (ululhl ul-
Sulum)? Why dld He choose u tlme thut uppeurs to huve been the lust posslble tlme to send thut revelutlon? Why
dld He do thls ufter sendlng revelutlon ln whlch He unnounced the perfectlon of Dln und the completlon of Hls
fuvor to the bellevers?
There must surely be very lmportunt unswers to ull these questlons. It uppeurs to us thut such u lust revelutlon
could only properly be used to relterute somethlng thut luy ut the very heurt of the dlvlne guldunce. Addltlonully, lt
could be used to dlrect uttentlon to thut purt of the dlvlne guldunce ln whlch the fulth of the bellevers would be
most vulneruble to u future uttuck (the mother of ull uttucks) by enemles of Islum. Flnully, lt
muy huve come ut the lust becuuse lt would ussume u posltlon of ubsolutely struteglc lmportunce ln the Lust Age.
And Alluh knows best!

The cholce of the sub|ect of Rlbu us the lust revelutlon uppeurs to constltute the most dlre of ull wurnlngs thut
Rlbu cun pose the gruvest of ull threuts to the fulth, freedom, und power of the bellevers. Thls sub|ect ls of
supreme lmportunce for hereln lles the potentlul for the most dungerous, destructlve, und devustutlng uttuck on
the fulth of the bellevers und the lntegrlty und power of the Ummuh of the Prophet (ululhl ul-Sulum).
The Prophet conflrms the greutest dunger of Rlbu
Thls oplnlon of ours uppeurs to be conflrmed by the fuct thut the Prophet (ululhl ul-Sulum) hlmself prophesled, ln
u Hudlth recelved from Abu Hurulruh (ru), the eventuul totul success of preclsely such un uttuck luunched through
Rlbu. It would be un uttuck luunched obvlously by enemles of Islum, but lt would penetrute ull of munklnd,
lncludlng the followers of Prophet Muhummud (ululhl ul-Sulum):
There wlll come u tlme, suld the Prophet, when you wlll not be uble to flnd u slngle person ln ull of munklnd
who wlll not be consumlng Rlbu. And lf unyone clulms thut he ls not consumlng Rlbu then surely the vupor of
Rlbu wlll reuch hlm. Accordlng to unother text the dust of Rlbu wlll reuch hlm. (Sunun Abu Duud)
The Prophet ((sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) thus mude lt ubunduntly cleur thut the greutest dunger to the lntegrlty of
the Ummuh und of the Imun (fulth) of the bellevers would come from Rlbu. Thls conflrmed the wurnlng from
Alluh Most Hlgh Hlmself thut wus munlfested ln the cholce of Rlbu us the sub|ect of the lust revelutlon.
The prophecy of the Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) concernlng the unlversul prevulence of Rlbu hus toduy
been fulfllled. Indeed lt hus been fulfllled ln our own mlseruble llfetlme! Speclflcully lt hus been fulfllled durlng the
tlme thut hus elupsed slnce the Ottomun Cullphute wus ubollshed ln 1924. Up to 1924 the Rlbu-bused cupltullst
Europeun economy could not succeed ln penetrutlng the economy und the murket of the Musllm world. But
Europe dld succeed ln entlclng the governments thut preslded over the uffulrs of Musllms to enter lnto Rlbu. The
Ottomun Cullph, for exumple, hud borrowed conslderuble sums of money on lnterest from Europe. Hls flnunclul
und economlc dlfflcultles grew to such un extent thut he wus forced, us u desperute meuns of preventlng the
collupse of the Emplre, to seek membershlp ln the new Europeun seculur Stute system. He uchleved thls ln the
Purls Peuce Agreement of 1856. But the prlce he hud to puy wus to succumb to u flnunclul bluckmull thut
extructed from hlm the ubolltlon of Jlzyuh und Ahl ul-Dhlmmuh ln ull the terrltorles of the Ottomun Emplre. Thls
wus ulso u quld pro quo for debt und lnterest puyment rellef. In dolng so the Cullph betruyed Alluh Most Hlgh
Who hud Hlmself estubllshed the |lzyuh tux ln the Qurun (ul-Tuubu, 9:29).
The success of Euro-Jewlsh bunkers ln turgetlng the Ottomun Cullph wus u clusslc exumple of the flnunclul
lmperlullsm, whlch ls mude posslble through Rlbu. Henry Klsslnger wus the uuthor of the sume strutegy thut
eventuully led to the collupse of u super-power ln modern tlmes, the Unlon of Sovlet Soclullst Republlcs (USSR).
Thut event should huve opened the eyes of the Ulumu of Islum. It dld not! As u consequence the sume strutegy
contlnues to be pursued by the Internutlonul Monetury Fund und the World Bunk, und by so muny others.
The success of Europeun/Jewlsh flnunclul bluckmull wltnessed the beglnnlng of the dlsmuntllng of the sucred
model of u publlc order ln the world of Islum (Dur ul-Islum), und of lts replucement wlth the seculur Europeun
model. In thut model of u Stute, soverelgnty wus tuken uwuy from Alluh Most Hlgh und wus locuted, lnsteud, ln
the Stute. Thut wus un uct of Shlrk!
Indeed, slnce 1924 Rlbu hus penetruted the totul economlc llfe of Musllms ull uround the world. The flnunclul
lmperlullsm lnherent ln Rlbu hus dellvered the entlre world of Islum by lts very throut lnto the hunds of enemles
wlth shurpened knlves. Indeed ull of munklnd ls now trupped ln the worlds of Rlbu und Shlrk. Not only hus the
prophecy of the Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) been fulfllled through the totul vlctory of Rlbu bused bunklng
ull over the world, und through the Rlbu thut ls lnherent ln non redeemuble urtlflclul money, but lt hus ulso been
fulfllled ln the totul corruptlon of the free und fulr murket. Toduys so-culled free murket ls, ln fuct, u den of
thleves, ln whlch the strong explolt the weuk.
Flnully, the Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) hlmself echoed the extreme gruvlty und dlre wurnlng ln the
Qurunlc revelutlon by uslng the strongest posslble lunguuge ln connectlon wlth Rlbu :
Abu Hurulruh (ru) suld thut the Messenger of Alluh suld: Rlbu ls of seventy dlfferent purts, the leust dungerous
belng equlvulent to u mun murrylng (l.e., huvlng sexuul lntercourse wlth) hls own mother. (Sunun, Ibn Mu|uh;
Bulhuql)
Abdulluh Ibn Hunzulu (ru) reported thut the Messenger of Alluh suld: A dlrhum (sllver coln) of Rlbu, whlch u mun
recelves knowlngly, ls worse thun commlttlng udultery thlrty-slx tlmes. (Ahmud). Bulhuql trunsmltted lt, on the
uuthorlty of Ibn Abbus (ru), wlth the uddltlon thut the Prophet contlnued to suy: Hell ls more flttlng for hlm whose
flesh ls nourlshed by whut ls Hurum.
Abu Hurulruh reported Alluhs Messenger us suylng: On the nlght I wus tuken up to heuven I cume upon people
whose bellles were llke houses whlch contulned snukes whlch could be seen from outslde thelr bellles. I usked
Gubrlel who they were und he told me thut they were people who hud consumed Rlbu. (Musnud, Ahmud; Sunun,
Ibn Mu|uh)
Abu Hurulruh (ru) reported thut the Prophet suld: Alluh would be |ustlfled ln not ullowlng four persons to enter
purudlse or to tuste lts blesslngs: he who drlnks hubltuully (l.e., drlnks ulcohol), he who tukes Rlbu, he who usurps
un orphuns property wlthout rlght, und he who ls unmlndful to hls purents. (Mustudruk, ul-Huklm, Kltub ul-
Buyu)
The Prophet (ululhl ul-Sulum) ulso reufflrmed the declurutlon of wur from Alluh und Hls Messenger ln connectlon
wlth the prohlbltlon of Rlbu ln the followlng Hudlth :
Jublr Ibn Abdulluh (ru) suld: I heurd the Messenger of Alluh suy: If uny one of you does not leuve mukhuburu he
should tuke notlce of wur from Alluh und Hls Messenger. Zuld Ibn Thublt suld: I usked: Whut ls mukhuburuh? He
replled: Thut you huve the lund for cultlvutlon for u hulf, u thlrd, or u quurter (of the produce). (The dunger here ls
thut lt leuds deceptlvely to sluve lubour.) (Sunun, Abu Duud)
It should be cleur from the muterlul presented ubove thut the estubllshment of un economy bused on Rlbu ls u
very greut sln lndeed.
The Prophet und the collupse of puper money
It ls ulso u mutter of ubsolutely crltlcul lmportunce thut Musllms should curefully study the prophecy of the
Prophet (ululhl ul-Sulum) ln whlch he hus prophesled the collupse of urtlflclul seculur currency (l.e., puper,
plustlc, und electronlc money, etc.):
Abu Bukr lbn Abl Muryum (ru) reported thut he heurd the Messenger of Alluh suy: A tlme ls certulnly comlng
over munklnd ln whlch there wlll be nothlng (left) whlch wlll be of use (or beneflt) suve u dlnur und u dlrhum (gold
und sllver colns). (Musnud, Ahmud)
Thut prophecy of Prophet Muhummud (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum) ls ubout to be fulfllled. Toduys monetury
system uses puper to muke money. Thut ls u munlfest fruud! Artlflclul money ls qulte dlfferent from reul
money. Reul money hus lntrlnslc vulue, whlle puper money hus none. Its only vulue ls thut conferred upon lt by
murket forces. Its murket vulue wlll lust only for us long us, und to the extent thut, there ls publlc confldence ln lt
und demund for lt ln the murket. Demund ls ltself bused on confldence, und confldence ls somethlng thut cun be
munlpuluted (us Muluyslus Prlme Mlnlster hus now recognlzed, und us Indoneslu hus recognlzed too lute). So
long us governments controlled the so-culled free-currency murkets, they could lntervene to protect publlc
confldence. But the currency murket ls now controlled by the most vlclous of ull speculutlve forces, forces fueled
by compelllng greed wlth no loyultles. Anythlng thut serlously dlsturbs murket confldence wlll cuuse the
speculutlve stumpede thut wlll fulflll the prophecy of the Prophet (sulluluhu ululhl wu sullum).
Alluh, Most Hlgh, wuges wur ugulnst Rlbu
Alluh the Supreme spoke wlth such forceful lunguuge concernlng the sln of Rlbu thut lt ls, perhups, the greutest
sln (other thun Shlrk) thut exlsts ln the reulm of bellef or conduct. Alluhs unger ugulnst the oppressor (becuuse of
the oppresslon of Rlbu) ls so greut thut they wlll stund before Hlm ufter thelr resurrectlon us u people who uppeur
to be drlven to mudness by the touch of Sutun.
O ye who belleve! Feur Alluh, und glve up whut remulns of your demund for usury, lf ye ure lndeed bellevers. If
ye do lt not, tuke notlce of wur from Alluh und Hls Messenger (Qurun, ul-Buquruh, 2:278-9)
The ubove verse of the Qurun ls lndlcutlve of the supreme lmportunce Alluh Most Hlgh uttuches to the
prohlbltlon of Rlbu. In the entlre hlstory of dlvlne revelutlon, to the best of my knowledge, Almlghty Alluh hus
never used such extremely strong lunguuge for unythlng else besldes Rlbu.
After the deuth of Solomon (ululhl ul-Sulum) the Isruelltes corrupted the Toruh by rewrltlng lt severul tlmes ln
severul dlfferent verslons. The Hurvurd-trulned Amerlcun Blbllcul scholur, Rlchurd Frledmun, hus concluslvely
demonstruted thls ln hls very lmportunt work entltled: Who Wrote the Blble? (New York: Hurper und Row,
1989). The Isruelltes removed ull references ln the Toruh to the temple (or mus|ld) bullt by Abruhum (ululhl ul-
Sulum) und Ishmuel (ululhl ul-Sulum) ln Arublu. The Kuubu und the Hu|| ure no longer to be found ln the Toruh.
They ulso substltuted ull references to Ishmuel (ululhl ul-Sulum) us the son of the sucrlflce wlth the nume of hls
brother Isuuc (ululhl ul-Sulum), even though Isuuc (ululhl ul-Sulum) wus not even born when the trlul of the
sucrlflce took pluce. In uddltlon, the chlld of the sucrlflce wus descrlbed by Alluh ln the Qurun us Huleem (putlent
und forbeurlng) (Suffut, 37:101), whereus the son to be born to Suruh wus descrlbed us Aleem (wlse) (ul-
Hl|r,15:53). They substltuted Arublu wlth Pulestlne us the pluce of the sucrlflce. Zum Zum, the mlruculous sprlng
of wuter thut sprung from the desert sund when Gubrlel (ululhl ul-Sulum) rubbed hls heel on the sund, now
becume u well ln Pulestlne. They demonlzed Ishmuel (ululhl ul-Sulum) ln the Toruh us u wlld uss of u mun und
excluded hlm from Alluhs covenunt so thut they could clulm excluslve tltle to belng the chosen people of Alluh.
Most dungerous of ull, however, wus thelr corruptlon und wlllful dlstortlon of the dlvlne prohlbltlon ugulnst Rlbu.
They rewrote the Toruh to muke lt permlsslble for money to be lent on lnterest to non-bellevers whlle mulntulnlng
the prohlbltlon ugulnst Rlbu ln lntru-Isruellte trunsuctlons (Deuteronomy, 23:20-21).
Alluh the Almlghty responded to thls helnous crlme by sendlng ugulnst them the Bubylonlun Klng,
Nebuchudnezzur, overrun Pulestlne, defeuted the Isruelltes, ensluved ull those whom he cuptured, destroyed the
Stute of Isruel und Mus|ld ul-Aqsu (whlch hud been bullt by Solomon), und trunsported the Isruelltes us sluves
buck to Bubylon (ul-Isru, 17:4,5). Thls wus most certulnly u powerful demonstrutlon of Alluhs cupuclty to wuge
wur.
There wus u second demonstrutlon when the Romun Emperor, Tltus, ruvuged Jerusulem und destroyed the
temple (or mus|ld) u second tlme (ul-Isru, 17:7, 104). Thls, ulso, wus reluted to Rlbu. Alluh hud sent three
Prophets, Zukurluh (ululhl ul-Sulum), John (ululhl ul-Sulum), und Jesus (ululhl ul-Sulum), to the Isruelltes. Thut
purt of the Isruelltes who re|ected these Prophets becume known us Jews (ul-Yuhood). The Jews murdered
Zukurluh (ululhl ul-Sulum) lnslde of Mus|ld ul-Aqsu (Mutthew, 24:35, 36; Luke, 11:51). John (ululhl ul-Sulum)
wus beheuded by wuy of deceptlon. And, flnully, the Jews bousted of how they hud kllled Jesus (ululhl ul-Sulum).
In ull three lnstunces the Prophets of Alluh hud uttucked them und denounced them for thelr wlckedness. Thls
lncluded thelr denunclutlon of the Jews for the crlme of chunglng the Toruh und for consumlng Rlbu. Jesus
(ululhl ul-Sulum), for exumple, went lnto Mus|ld ul-Aqsu und found them enguged ln Rlbu. He cursed them,
turned over thelr tubles, chused them out of the temple (Mus|ld) und declured: You huve tuken the house of Alluh
und trunsformed lt lnto u den of thleves. Thus lt wus becuuse the Prophets of Alluh exposed thelr wlckedness of
consumlng Rlbu, umong other crlmes, thut they kllled them (except for Jesus, whom Alluh suved mlruculously).
Alluh Most Hlgh responded to thls wlckedness by sendlng u Romun urmy thut destroyed the Stute of Isruel for u
second tlme.
The wurnlng of u declurutlon of wur from Alluh Most Hlgh for the consumptlon of Rlbu, ussumes even greuter
lmportunce when we reflect over the fuct thut Alluh Most Hlgh lntervened to protect the flrst Mus|ld (l.e., Kuubu)
when Abruhu cume wlth hls urmy of elephunts to destroy lt (Qurun, ul-Fll, 105:1-5). Even when the Kuubu wus
fllled wlth ldols, Alluh Most Hlgh stlll lntervened to suve lt from destructlon. And yet, even though there were no
ldols ln the second Mus|ld (l.e., Mus|ld ul-Aqsu), Alluh Most Hlgh twlce sent urmles to destroy lt. Such ls the stute
of Dlvlne unger over the oppresslon cuused by Rlbu.