The Prohibition of Ribā

Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

Ṣalât al-Fâtihi (translated)

O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad,
the Opener of what was closed,
the Seal of what came before,
the Helper of the Truth by the Truth,
and the Guide to Your straight path.
And upon his family,
according to his immense worth and the greatness of his rank.

If you wish to follow the path that leads to Allah, be disciplined and obedient.

Allah — Exalted is He — says:

‎ قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
“Say: If you truly love Allah, then follow me;
Allah will love you and forgive your sins.”
(Āl ʿImrān, 3:31)

Our beloved master, Seyyidinā Shaykh Aḥmad Tijānī (may Allah sanctify his precious secret), used to say:

“O you who seek the path to the Beloved…
Know that among the signs of sincere love is the earnest pursuit of His pleasure, conformity to His commands, avoidance of His prohibitions, and adherence to His words and actions through the example of His Beloved, Muhammad ﷺ.”

Seyyidinā Shaykh Tijānī also said:

“All goodness lies in following the Sunnah.”

And he often recited this poem:

You disobey God while claiming to love Him?
This is indeed a most strange contradiction!
If your love were genuine, you would obey Him,
for the lover naturally obeys the one he loves.

The revelations concerning ribā came gradually.

Allah says:

“Whatever ribā you give so that it may increase in people’s wealth does not increase with Allah.”
(Ar-Rūm, 30:39)

He says regarding the People of the Book:

“And because of their practice of ribā, though they had been forbidden from it…”
(An-Nisāʾ, 4:161)

Then:

“O believers! Do not consume interest, multiplying it many times over.”
(Āl ʿImrān, 3:130)

Finally, the total prohibition was revealed:

“Allah has permitted trade and forbidden ribā.”
“And if you do not desist, then be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger.”
(Al-Baqarah, 2:275–279)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the one who consumes ribā, the one who gives it, the one who records it, and the witnesses to it. They are all the same.”

He also said:

“One dirham of ribā knowingly consumed is more grievous before Allah than thirty-six acts of fornication.”

And he said:

“Ribā has seventy degrees, the least of which is like a man committing incest with his own mother.”

Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported:

“On the Day of Resurrection, the one who consumed ribā will be told: ‘Take up your weapons for war.’”
(Reported by al-Ṭabarī, with an authentic chain)

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“No major sin has received a threat comparable to this. Ribā is among the gravest of major sins.”

Ash-Shawkānī said:

“The sin of ribā is of extreme repulsiveness, exceeding all limits of horror.”

Seyyidinā Aḥmad Tijānī (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) gave this fundamental counsel:

“Abandon the use of illicit wealth for eating, clothing, and housing, for what is lawful is the axis around which the stars of worship revolve. Whoever seeks the lawful with knowledge and scrupulousness will encounter no difficulty in finding it.”

In truth, the path to Allah rests upon obedience to Allah and adherence to the noble Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Whoever seeks a pure sustenance walks in light,
whereas whoever approaches the unlawful — and especially ribā — exposes himself to war from the Lord of the worlds and from His Beloved Prophet ﷺ.

Let whoever aspires to the Love of Allah purify his heart and hold firmly to the prophetic path,
for all goodness lies in following the Sunnah of the Beloved Muhammad ﷺ,
as taught by Seyyidinā Aḥmad Tijānī (may Allah sanctify his precious secret).

⸻

O Allah, purify our hearts so that our possessions may be purified as well.
Keep us away from ribā in all its forms,
open for us the doors of the lawful,
strengthen our hearts in obedience,
and make us walk in the footsteps and in the light
of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ
and of Seyyidinā Aḥmad Tijānī (may Allah sanctify his precious secret).

You alone matter, O Allah.
All else has neither value nor importance,
for everything is vain and perishing,
and only Your Majestic Face remains.

“Everyone upon it shall perish,
and there will remain the Face of your Lord,
full of Majesty and Generosity.”
(Ar-Raḥmān, 55:26–27)

And such is our final aim: to turn solely toward You, toward Your Noble Face, by Your Grace and Your Mercy.

⸻

The poor servant in Allah and disciple of Shaykh Aḥmad Tijānī
(may Allah sanctify his precious secret),
Mohammed El Mansour El Mohieddine Tidjani