The Holy Quran, a celestial book replete with wisdom, serves as humanity's guide on the path to felicity and perfection. This magnificent scripture is not merely a compendium of divine injunctions and commands but a rich repository of profound knowledge and educational directives that, in every era and time, respond to the intellectual and spiritual needs of humankind. In this treatise, through contemplation of selected verses from the Holy Quran, fundamental topics such as the economic system, financial jihad, charity, social punishment, and Islamic ethics are examined. These discussions are presented with a deep and specialised perspective, grounded in the divine verses and enriched by precise analyses and refined allegories, so as to provide illumination and guidance to academic audiences and scholars of religious sciences.
This section analyses the verses related to usury and the economic system in the Holy Quran, elucidating the fundamental differences between lawful trade and forbidden usury, and explaining the position of the Islamic economy vis--vis contemporary financial systems.
One of the pivotal subjects in the Quranic economic system is the prohibition of usury and its detrimental effects on society. The Holy Quran, in an explicit and decisive verse, severely censures usurers and depicts their condition on the Day of Resurrection:
"Those who consume interest cannot stand except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, Trade is just like interest. But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to [dealing in interest]those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein."
(Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 275)
This verse, with a stirring expression, likens usurers to those whose intellect and reason have been thrown into turmoil by Satans touch. Usury is akin to a poison that devastates the economic and moral vitality of society. Unlike charity, which distributes capital among the needy and directs society towards wealth and elevation, usury leads to the accumulation of others wealth and the augmentation of one's own assets unjustly.
The Holy Quran, emphasising the fundamental distinction between bay' (trade) and riba (usury), rejects any justification for legitimising usury. Rational calculation, sometimes under the illusion that trade is like usury, attempts to justify this act; however, God explicitly permits trade and forbids usury. This distinction stems from the nature of these two acts: trade is an exchange based on production and value creation, whereas usury is unearned wealth acquired at the expense of others without productive effort.
Elsewhere, the Holy Quran threatens usurers with war against God and His Messenger:
"And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal [thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged."
(Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 279)
This verse, in a resolute tone, introduces usury as an act contrary to divine justice and piety. The contemporary banking system, which sometimes operates on the basis of interest and usury, is from the Quranic perspective a defective system that fuels inequality and economic corruption rather than reinforcing production and justice. Nevertheless, due to the complexities of the global financial system, some religious governmental systems are compelled to operate within this framework, yet this does not imply endorsement of usury.
Some attempt to justify usury following verse, limiting it to small profits:
"O you who have believed, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied, and fear Allah that you may be successful."
(Surah Al-Imran, Ayah 130)
This group, with a misinterpretation, assumes that the prohibition of usury is restricted to large gains, while the phrase "doubled and multiplied" refers to the prevalent practice of usury at the time of revelation, not a limitation of the prohibition. The Holy Quran forbids any disposition of usurious wealth, whether small or large. The legal stratagems sometimes employed to legitimise usury are, from the Quranic viewpoint, wordplay and distortion of religion.
Usury, as one of the primary obstacles to achieving economic justice in Islamic society, is vehemently condemned in the Holy Quran. This act not only results in the unjust accumulation of wealth but also extinguishes the spirit of endeavour and production within society. The Holy Quran, by emphasising the permissibility of trade and the prohibition of usury, paves the way for the establishment of an economic system grounded in justice and piety. Researchers and religious policymakers must, by contemplating these verses, strive to redesign Islamic financial systems devoid of usury and based on charity and cooperation.
Continuing the examination of the economic system in the Holy Quran, this section addresses the concept of financial jihad and its noble value in the path of God, highlighting its connection with the previous sections emphasis on the proper utilisation of wealth and assets.
One of the key concepts in the Islamic economic and social system is jihad with wealth and life. The Holy Quran states:
"Mobilise lightly and heavily and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you if you only knew."
(Surah At-Tawbah, Ayah 41)
Wealth, as a divine gift, attains its true value only when employed in the way of God and for the realisation of divine objectives. Financial jihad is a precursor to sacrificing life, indicating the paramount importance of the proper use of assets in the divine path. In contrast to usury, which leads to hoarding and extravagance, financial jihad channels wealth into constructive and elevating paths.
Financial jihad is a fundamental pillar of the Islamic economic system that removes wealth from the realm of selfishness and personal accumulation, placing it at the service of society and divine goals. This concept, opposing usury, represents a sublime approach to wealth that, instead of destruction, leads to building a just and dynamic society.
This section elucidates the position of charity within the Islamic social and economic system, linking with previous sections that underscore the proper utilisation of wealth.
The Holy Quran explicitly delineates the categories entitled to receive charity:
"Charities are only for the poor and the needy and those employed to collect [charity] and those whose hearts are to be reconciled and to free the captives and the debt-ridden and in the cause of Allah and the [stranded]
