with its legs. “From the touch”—that is, madness. One says, “The man has been touched,” when he is insane. Its meaning is that the one who consumes ribā will be raised on the Day of Resurrection like one who has been struck down.

Abu Sa‘id Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Sarakhsī informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labī informed us; Abdullah ibn Hamid informed us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Abdullah ibn Yahya informed us; Ya‘qub ibn Sufyan informed us; Isma‘il ibn Salim informed us; ‘Abbad ibn ‘Abbad informed us, from Abu Harun al-‘Abdī, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudrī, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said concerning the account of the Night Journey:

“Gabriel, peace be upon him, took me to many men, each of whom had a belly like an enormous house. They were lined up along the path of Pharaoh’s people—and Pharaoh’s people are exposed to the Fire morning and evening. He said: They come on like ravenous camels, crashing into stones and trees, unable to hear or understand. When the people with those bellies sense them, they rise, but their bellies cause them to lean over and they fall. Then one of them rises, but his belly causes him to lean over and he falls. They are unable to move away until Pharaoh’s people overwhelm and trample them as they come and go. That is their punishment in the barzakh, between this world and the Hereafter. He said: ⦗49/b⦘ Pharaoh’s people say, ‘O Allah, never establish the Hour!’ He said: And on the Day of Resurrection it will be said, ‘Admit Pharaoh’s people into the severest punishment.’ (Ghafir 46) I said, ‘O Gabriel, who are these?’ He replied, ‘These are those who consume ribā. They will not rise except as one whom Satan drives to madness by his touch.’” (1)

His saying, exalted is He: “That is because they say, ‘Trade is only like ribā.’” That which befell them was due to this statement of theirs and to their deeming it lawful. For in the pre-Islamic period, when a debt owed to one of them became due, he would demand it from his debtor. The debtor would say to the creditor, “Give me more time, and I shall increase the payment for you.” So they would do this, saying, “It makes no difference to us whether the increase comes at the outset of the sale as profit, or at the time payment falls due because of delay.” Allah refuted them and said: “Allah has permitted trade and forbidden ribā.” And know