I WOULD like to begin by declaring that I am neither an Islamic scholar nor am I a student of Islamic studies. I am presenting my views on this topic as a layman who attempts to understand the teachings of the Holy Qur’an before implementing them in his daily life. As I understand it, interest on capital is banned in Islam, meaning that taking interest on one’s capital or borrowing capital on interest is banned. Today, the world over, capital can be borrowed only by paying interest and barring a few friends or relatives, nobody lends you money without interest either overtly or covertly.
Let us try to understand what interest on capital means? It is money to be paid for using the money of others temporarily because money can generate money in business. This can also be stated as, money attracting money or matter attracting matter. Even among the heavenly bodies, meaning the planets, the mass of a planet generates a proportional gravitational force which attracts other smaller bodies; the bigger the planet, the bigger its force of attraction. Money also attracts money in a similar way and this is a natural phenomenon. So why then is it banned?
As I understand it, if we rely on earning money which is generated by money that we possess, then we will stop relying on our abilities to earn money.
An occupation is not just about earning money. It is a process by which an individual plays a useful part in the society and contributes to it thereby achieving self-realization and self-actualization. It is a process by which a man gets an opportunity to deal with the problems and realities of life, the real needs and problems of people. He finds solutions to new problems which he will face in the course of his profession be it working as a clerk, doctor, engineer, lawyer, laborer, businessman or any other worthy profession which he may engage in. If a person has easy access to money which he may earn by way of interest, then he may not have any motive to work in order to earn money to support himself and his family. In this case, he will slowly deteriorate mentally, physically, psychologically and even morally.
Socially, we can see in today’s world that only a few people with money control the majority of the people due to the mass of money which is in their control. There is a law which is said to operate in our daily life, which is that 80 percent of the money and power lies with 20 percent of the people and the other 20 percent is distributed among 80 percent of the populace.
Apart from taking interest directly, there are other indirect ways of taking interest which we must be aware of. There is money to be earned due to a person’s natural qualities, such as beauty, intelligence, flair for various things such as art, languages, lying, sleight of hand, etc. People should be thankful to Allah for endowing them with such talents which they should put to good use for the benefit of humanity and thus earn Allah’s pleasure, but instead they employ such skills to the minimum just in order to earn a few dollars.
There are models who earn money simply by posing before a camera and celebrities who speak a few lines before a camera without meaning them just to earn money. In fact, it has become fashionable nowadays for celebrities to earn money by product endorsement which is nothing more than using their fame which they have earned employing their talent and earning money without contributing anything to society. There are many people who have the art of using their hands to trick people and they use this art to steal from shops or other places. Women who use their bodies just to entertain people without contributing anything to their happiness in a real sense are just earning interest on the bounties of nature given to them by Allah.
Governments are also known to earn money by issuing permits or certifying goods, factories, establishments, etc., just in order to earn a few extra dollars. This is nothing more than earning interest on the power invested in the authorities in order to run the country. Lawyers, doctors, and engineers also earn money by certifying projects to which they do not contribute anything in terms of quality. This is the same as earning interest on their qualifications which have been given to them by universities in order to provide a high standard of service to people.
We should not depend upon our native or acquired talents and qualifications or our abilities, native or acquired, in order to earn money passively. We must engage in activities which are useful to humans and society as a whole not only to enrich it but also to enrich ourselves in the process. We will attain self-realization and self-actualization in the process of applying all our talents and abilities in order to earn money by contributing usefully to society. This is the concept of halal income. We will develop ourselves and attain maturity and happiness in this process and will be able to enjoy a state of achievement of having done the holy work of creating a better place for ourselves and for generations to come.
Shabbir Thingna,
Madinah
