from it. Nothing has really harmed the Muslims; the only thing that has harmed them is this riba. You will find a poor, destitute man who thinks nothing of borrowing on interest, for all it costs him is an extra sum of money. Allah alone knows his true intention—perhaps he has no plan to repay when the term falls due—yet he treats the matter lightly and goes into debt, so the liabilities accumulate without any necessity. Some pitiable, foolish, weak-hearted people even borrow just to carpet the staircase of an apartment building. Is that a necessity? It is neither a necessity nor even a real need; generations lived for long periods without carpeting stairways and suffered no harm. He borrows for trivial things—again, is there any pressing need? None at all. But Satan lures him on, and the poor soul does not realise that the creditor will show him no mercy: when the deadline arrives he will demand payment in full, or have him jailed, or double the interest, exactly as happens with many who pay no heed to Allah’s words, “And if someone is in hardship, then grant him respite until ease” [Q 2:280].

This unfortunate man is heedless of the fact that, should he die, his soul will remain suspended because of his debt until someone settles it for him. He also overlooks that when a funeral was brought to the Prophet ﷺ and he stepped forward to lead the prayer, he would ask, “Does he owe any debt?” If they replied, “Yes,” he would ask, “Has it been repaid?” If they said, “No,” he would say, “Then pray over your companion yourselves,” and would decline to pray over him—proof of how serious a matter debt is. Nor does he remember that even if a person is killed in Allah’s cause, martyrdom wipes away every sin except debt; that alone is not forgiven.

Yet many of our foolish people take the matter lightly. A man may already own a car worth twenty thousand, and it meets his needs, but he says, “That is not enough; I am going to buy a car worth eighty thousand.” When you point out that he has no money, he replies, “I will buy it on instalments, or I will devise a riba-based scheme like others do.” He goes to the showroom and asks, “How much is that particular car?” The salesman answers, “Such and such.”