⦗130–136⦘ “O you who believe, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied. Be mindful of Allah so that you may prosper. And guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for the disbelievers. Obey Allah and the Messenger so that you may receive mercy.”
It was stated in the introduction to this commentary that, with respect to both himself and others, a servant must give due regard to the commands and prohibitions ⦗148⦘. When Allah Most High commands him to do something, he must first understand its limits and precisely what he has been commanded to do, so that he can fulfill it. Once he understands that, he must exert himself and seek Allah’s help in fulfilling it, both personally and with respect to others, to the best of his ability and capacity. Likewise, when he is forbidden to do something, he must understand its limits and what does and does not fall within it; then he must strive and seek his Lord’s help to avoid it. This must be observed with regard to all divine commands and prohibitions.
These noble verses contain commands and virtuous qualities that Allah has commanded [them to observe] and urged them to practice, together with an account of the reward awaiting those who possess them. They also contain prohibitions that He urged them to avoid.
The wisdom—and Allah knows best—behind inserting these verses into the account of Uhud may be that Allah Most High had previously promised His believing servants that, if they remained patient and mindful of Him, He would grant them victory over their enemies and cause their enemies to fail against them. Allah Most High says: “If you remain patient and mindful of Allah, their schemes will not harm you in the least.”
He then said: “Yes, indeed! If you remain patient and mindful of Allah, and they come against you in this sudden rush, your Lord will reinforce you”—and the verses that follow.
It is as though people’s souls then yearned to know the qualities of mindfulness of Allah through which victory, prosperity, and happiness are attained. Allah therefore mentioned in these verses the most important of those qualities. If a servant upholds them, he will all the more readily uphold the others. What supports our explanation is that Allah mentions the word “mindfulness” three times in these verses: once without qualification, in His words, “prepared for those who are mindful of Allah,” and twice with qualification, in His words, “Be mindful of Allah” and “Guard yourselves against the Fire.”
Regarding the words of Allah Most High, “O you who believe,” every passage in the Quran in which Allah Most High says, “O you who believe,” followed by a command to do or refrain from something, indicates that faith is the motive and compelling cause for obeying that command and avoiding that prohibition. This is because faith is complete affirmation of everything that must be affirmed, and it necessarily entails the actions of the limbs.
Allah therefore forbade them to consume usury, doubled and multiplied. This was the customary practice of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and of all who disregard the commands of the revealed law. When a debt owed by an insolvent debtor fell due and nothing could be recovered from him, they would say, “Either pay the debt you owe, or we will extend the term and increase the amount you owe.” The poor debtor would thus be compelled to ward off his creditor and accept this arrangement in order to secure immediate relief. Consequently, the amount he owed would increase many times over, though he received no benefit in return.
The words “doubled and multiplied” draw attention to how appalling this practice becomes as the amount increases. They also point to the wisdom behind its prohibition: Allah prohibited usury because it entails injustice.
Allah has required that an insolvent debtor be granted respite and that the amount he owes remain unchanged, without any increase. To require him to pay more than that is compounded injustice. A believer who is mindful of Allah must therefore abandon usury and not even approach it, for avoiding it is one of the requirements of mindfulness of Allah.
Prosperity depends upon such mindfulness. Allah therefore says: “Be mindful of Allah so that you may prosper. And guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for the disbelievers,” by abandoning everything that leads to entering it, whether disbelief or acts of disobedience in their varying degrees. All acts of disobedience—especially grave sins—drag one toward disbelief; indeed, they are among the traits of disbelief, for whose people Allah has prepared the Fire. Abandoning sin therefore saves one from the Fire and protects one from the wrath of the Almighty, while acts of goodness and obedience lead to the pleasure of the Most Merciful, admission into the Gardens, and the attainment of mercy. Allah therefore says: “Obey Allah and the Messenger” by carrying out the commands in obedience and avoiding the prohibitions, “so that you may receive mercy.”
Obedience to Allah and His Messenger is among the causes by which mercy is attained, as Allah Most High says: “My mercy encompasses all things, so I shall ordain it for those who are mindful of Allah and give zakat”—and the verses that follow.