because ignorance has become overwhelmingly prevalent and corruption has spread among the people.
16 — The Spread of Usury:
Among these signs are the emergence and spread of usury among people, and their indifference to consuming unlawful wealth. In a hadith, Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Shortly before the Hour, usury will become widespread” (1).
It is also narrated in the Sahīh from Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “A time will surely come upon the people when a person will not care how he acquires his wealth—whether lawfully or unlawfully” (2).
These hadiths apply to many Muslims in this age. One finds that they do not take care to earn only what is lawful; rather, they amass wealth from both lawful and unlawful sources. Much of this results from the intrusion of usury into people’s financial dealings. Banks dealing in usury have proliferated, and many people have fallen into this grave affliction.
An indication of Imam al-Bukhārī’s jurisprudential insight, may Allah have mercy on him, is that he cited the preceding hadith of Abū Hurayra under the chapter heading containing the words of Allah Most High: “O you who believe, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied (130)” [Āl ʿImrān: 130]. His purpose was to show that consuming usury at multiplied rates results from indulging extensively in it when people are unconcerned about the means by which they amass wealth and fail to distinguish