Ey iymon keltirganlar, Allohdan qo'rqing va agar mo'minlar bo'lsangiz, qolgan sudni tark eting.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.

Agar (bundan) voz kechmasangiz, u holda Allah va Uning Rasuli tomonidan urushga e'lon qilinganingizni bilib qo'ying. Agar tavba qilsangiz, sizga asl mablag'ingiz qaytariladi — shunda na zulm qilasiz, na zulm ko'rasiz.212

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.212

Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh روايت qiladi: Allohning Elchisi ﷺ foiz yeyuvchini, uni to‘lovchini, uni yozuvchini va uning ikki guvohini la’natladi va dedi: “Ular barchasi (gunohda) tengdirlar.”213 O‘tmishda ham, hozirda ham odamlar foizli bitimning xavfini kamsitib kelganlar, ayniqsa u o‘zaro rozilik asosida amalga oshirilganda. Biroq Ilohiy donolik bizning kalta nazarimizdan ustundir va foizli bitimlarga kirishishni katta gunoh deb hisoblaydi. Bugun biz foizga asoslangan tizimlar millatlarni tuzatib bo‘lmas darajada vayron qilganini o‘z ko‘zimiz bilan ko‘ryapmiz; Nigeriya va Yamayka iqtisodiyotining halokati esa, millat yillik byudjetining shunchalik katta qismi qarzni to‘lashga yo‘naltirilganda nima bo‘lishining ikki achinarli misolidir.214 Foiz evaziga qarz berishning yovuz tabiati ayon: u tez pul topish yo‘li bo‘lib ko‘rinadi, lekin ko‘pincha odamlarni va davlatlarni yanada chuqurroq qarzga botiradi. Xavfning asosiy qismini qarzdorga yuklaydi, qarz beruvchi esa “sarmoya kiritib” qarz berish orqali kam xavf ostida qoladi. Shuningdek, Aristotel ta’kidlaganidek,215 mehnat va hunarmandchilikni emas, balki pulning o‘zi pul tug‘dirishini nazarda tutib, unumdorlikni va mehnatni kamsitadi. Natijada boylar barqaror ravishda boyib, kambag‘allar barqaror ravishda kambag‘allashadi — ko‘z oldiga keltirib bo‘lmas darajadagi halokatgacha, bu esa moliyaviy inqirozlar va quyi tabaqaning qo‘zg‘olonlari uchun turtki bo‘ladi; tarix davomida ular ko‘plab millatlarni yutib yuborgan, Aflotun esa buni bir vaqtlar ogohlantirgan.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh  reports that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم cursed the consumer of interest, its payer, its documenter, its two witnesses, and said, “They are all equal [in sin].”213 Past and present, people have downplayed the danger of an interest- bearing transaction, especially when effected by mutual consent. However, the wisdom of the Divine transcends our short-sightedness and deems engaging in interest-based transactions an enormity. Nowadays, we observe firsthand how interest-based systems have destroyed nations beyond repair, with the debacle of the Nigerian and Jamaican economies being just two tragic examples214 of what happens when such an enormous part of a nation’s annual budget is apportioned to debt repayment. The villainous nature of dispensing loans for interest is clear; it appears to be an avenue for quick funds, but it often buries people and countries further in debt. It places the bulk of the risk on the debtor and little risk on the creditor who “invests” by lending. It also disparages productivity and labor, as Aristotle argued,215 since money is what begets money here, not effort or craftsmanship. As a result, the rich steadily get richer while the poor steadily get poorer—to points of unthinkable devastation, which then become catalysts for financial meltdowns and uprisings by the underclass which have historically devoured many nations, as Plato once warned.

Shuning uchun Payg'ambar Muhammad ﷺ qarzlardan dunyoviy ma'noda foyda olishni taqiqlab: "Foyda javobgarlikka (zarar ko'rish ehtimoliga) bog'liqdir", dedilar.216

Hence, the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم outlawed profiting in the worldly sense from loans by saying, “Profit is contingent upon liability (the possibility of loss).”216

Qarzdorlarga foiz olish man etilgani bilan birga, qarz oluvchilarga ham bunday qarzlar olish man etilgan. Bu qarz oluvchilarni o'z imkoniyatlaridan ortiq yashashdan saqlaydi, shu bilan ularning qarzdorlar tomonidan ekspluatatsiya qilinishini kamaytiradi hamda iste'molchilikdan kelib chiqadigan ekologik zararni yumshatadi. Ribo (foiz) xavflariga haddan tashqari spekulyatsiya (gharar) xavfini qo'shsak, ya'ni Payg'ambar ﷺ ham taqiqlagan narsani, unda iqtisodiy inqiroz uchun barcha omillar mavjud bo'ladi. 2008 yilgi moliyaviy inqiroz buning nisbatan yaqindagi misoli bo'ldi. Shu sababli Yevropada va boshqa joylarda Islom moliyaviy qoidalari iqtisodiy muammolar uchun yangicha alternativa va davo bo'la oladi, degan global tendentsiya paydo bo'lmoqda.218 Pulga nisbatan Qur'onda Alloh bu qoidalarning asosiy maqsadini shunday ta'kidlaydi: "...toki u sizlardan boylar o'rtasida doimiy aylanib yuradigan bo'lib qolmasin."219 Bu davoning yana bir tarkibiy qismi zakot tizimi orqali boylikning to'planib qolishini kamaytirishdir.

In addition to lenders being prohibited from charging interest on loans, borrowers are also prohibited from such loans. This prevents borrowers from living beyond their means, which mitigates their being exploited by lenders, and the ecological damage caused by consumerism. When you add to the perils of usury those of excessive speculation (gharar), which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade as well,217 you have all the ingredients of an economic crisis. The 2008 financial meltdown was a relatively recent example of this. For this reason, a global trend is emerging in Europe and elsewhere that recognizes that Islamic financial regulations offer a refreshing alternative and remedy for economic woes.218 Highlighting a primary objective behind these regulations, Allah says about money in the Qur’an, “…so that it will not become a perpetual circulation [solely] among the rich from among you.”219 Another component of this remedy is the lessening of wealth concentration through the Zakat system.

Zakot Islomning besh asosiy ustunlaridan biri bo‘lib, katta miqdordagi mol-mulkdan farz qilingan sadaqa bo‘lib, uning 2,5 foizi har yili qayta taqsimlanishi lozim; asosan kambag‘allarga, shuningdek boshqa olijanob maqsadlarga beriladi. Albatta, zakot tizimi bu boylikni to‘g‘ridan-to‘g‘ri muhtojlarga yetkazganligi sababli, hukumatlar boylarning mol-mulkiga soliq solish orqali ortiqcha daromad olayapti, degan ko‘p tilga olinadigan xavotir o‘z-o‘zidan yo‘qoladi. Shuningdek, davlat soliqlaridan farqli o‘laroq, zakot tizimi insonning Alloh huzuridagi shaxsiy mas’uliyatini ta’kidlaydi; ya’ni soliqdan bo‘yin tovlaydigan va mol-mulkini mamlakat tashqarisiga ko‘chirадиган ayyor kishilar aldashi mumkin bo‘lmagan, hamda ko‘pincha soliq tekshiruvchilarini aldab yuboradigan Zot huzurida mas’uliyat.

Zakat is one of Islam’s five foundational pillars; an obligatory charity due on significant amounts of capital, whereby 2.5% must be redistributed annually, primarily among the poor but also to other noble causes. Of course, with the Zakat system funneling this wealth directly to those in need, the oft-cited concern of governments being overfed by taxing the rich’s wealth vanishes. Also, unlike governmental taxation, the Zakat system emphasizes one’s personal accountability before God; the One who cannot be deceived the way government auditors often are by creative evaders who move their assets outside of the country.