Verses 278 and 279 of Surah Al-Baqarah address the believers with a direct discourse and a resolute tone, urging them to abandon usury (riba) and observe divine piety (taqwa). In case of disobedience, they warn of a war from God and His Messenger. Beyond merely delineating economic injunctions, these verses propose a paradigm for interaction with friends and adversaries alike, emphasising the necessity of enforcing justice to stabilise society. This treatise approaches these verses with a scientific and systematic methodology, integrating lecture content and supplementary analyses to present a coherent framework of Quranic concepts for social guidance. The objective is to provide a refined, academic text that preserves all details while employing a fluent and dignified language, inviting expert audiences to reflect on divine wisdom and its application in the modern world.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ٢٧٨ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ ٢٧٩
O you who have believed, fear Allah and desist from what remains of usury, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you shall have your principal capital you shall neither wrong nor be wronged.
These verses, through direct address to the believers, emphasise the abandonment of usury and commitment to piety. They promise justice (l talimn wa l tulamn) as a balanced system for economic transactions.
The verses can be analysed at three conceptual levels: first, the exhortation to piety and abandonment of usury; second, the threat of divine war in case of disobedience; and third, the promise of justice upon repentance. This structure reveals divine wisdom by combining mercy and firmness, akin to a sun that both radiates light and burns when necessary.
Usury transcends an economic issue and undermines the moral and social foundations of society. It creates class divisions and economic injustice that disturb social peace. While in the primitive communities of early Islam its effects were localised, in the modern world, with extensive connectivity, its consequences are globallike a flood originating from a corner and engulfing everywhere.
This Quranic principle forbids the usurer from extracting profit yet simultaneously protects his principal capital. This balance resembles scales that allow neither the oppressor to commit injustice nor the oppressed to suffer it, thereby placing justice at the heart of transactions.
The Holy Quran distinguishes between the usury prior to legal enactment (m sulaf) and the usury remaining thereafter (m baq), manifesting the wisdom of gradual legislation. This distinction acts as a precise map clarifying the implementation path of legal rulings and emphasises the systematisation of the divine order.
Addressing "O you who have believed," the verses summon the faithful to piety and usury-abandonment while warning violators of divine severity through "be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger." This paradigm resembles two wings of a bird: one soaring towards mercy, the other towards justice.
Islam, by recognising these three societal groups, offers diverse methods of guidance. This approach is akin to architectural engineering that devises a specific blueprint for each segment of society.
The execution of rulings resembles cultivation, beginning with seeds universally accepted, followed by seeds requiring contemplation, and finally specialised seeds. This gradualism ensures social acceptance.
The modern world confuses force with power and legitimises oppression under the guise of authority. Islam, like a steadfast mountain, exercises power through justice, not oppressive force. The example of Sahib al-Kifayah, who differentiates adultery and marriage in form but not in content, clarifies this distinction.
Defending the home is like a shield protecting the realm of justice; attacking the home is like a dagger imposing oppression on society. This allegory elucidates Quranic wisdom in distinguishing justice from injustice.
God, like a wise father, initially guides by invitation to piety and upon disobedience, sternly warns. This balance resembles a wave that is sometimes calm and at times roaring, smoothing the path of guidance.
The world resembles a benefice designed for tranquillity. Attempting full settlement of accounts in this life is akin to disrupting the order of a garden entrusted to the gardener of the Resurrection.
Such an approach is like denying the shadow cast by the sun of the Hereafter. Belief in the Resurrection calls the believer to patience and justice, preventing chaos.
Retribution acts as surgery removing a corrupt member, not as vengeance that destabilises society. This principle distinguishes Quranic justice from mere retaliation.
Shia history, like a dusty mirror, has been distorted by enemies. These falsifications, akin to weeds, obscure the authentic narrative of Shia tradition.
Reading history is like opening a window to truth. Religious sciences without historical awareness are like rootless trees destined to fall.
Removing history equates to closing societys eyes to its past. This conspiracy deprived religious sciences of insight and relegated them to mental fantasies.
Intellectual sciences, like a boat without an anchor, drift in seas of illusions. History, sociology, and psychology form pillars stabilising religious sciences.
These sciences act as lamps illuminating the path to social comprehension. Without them, religious sciences remain enveloped in the darkness of ignorance.
The Quranic system, like a pure spring, quenches societys thirst with justice and balance. Compared to Western systems, it shines like a star illuminating the world.
The new generation resembles saplings that, through knowledge and free thought, will enrich the garden of religious sciences.
Bigotry acts as a wall blocking the light of truth. Religious sciences, through free thought and reason, advance toward the summits of progress.
The exegesis of Verses 278 and 279 of Surah Al-Baqarah presents a comprehensive blueprint for social guidance. These verses combine an invitation to piety, a threat of firmness, and a promise of justice to propose a balanced system for social tranquillity. Usury, described as a lethal poison, is prohibited by the Holy Quran, and economic justice is promoted as the pillar of the Islamic society. The distinction between sulaf and baq demonstrates divine wisdom in gradual legislation. Furthermore, critiques of historical distortions, removal of history from religious sciences, and the conflation of force and power underscore the necessity of reviving the humanities and rewriting Shia history. The Quranic system, exercised through power and not force, offers a modern and pioneering religion that, by nurturing knowledgeable and free-thinking students, can subdue global arrogance. This exegesis, like a luminous torch, illuminates the path towards the transformation of religious sciences and the realisation of social justice.
Under the supervision of Sadegh Khademi
