This is the thirty-second installment of our translation of al-Tafsir al-Muyassar‘s explanation of surah al-Baqarah, covering ayaat 274-281. This section follows up the previous section on charity with a strong warning against riba. See the series guide here for more information about this series and other installments.
الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا ۗ وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا ۚ فَمَن جَاءَهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ فَانتَهَىٰ فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Those who spend their wealth, at night and day, secretly and openly, will have their reward with their Lord and they will not fear nor will they worry. * Those who consume riba will only stand like someone being beaten by the shaytaan‘s touch stands. That is because they said, “Riba is like trade,” but Allah has allowed trade and forbidden riba. Whoever has received a strong reminder from his Lord and then stops, then he can have what has passed and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever reverses, then those ones are the people of the Hellfire; they will remain in it forever. [2:274-275]
الذين يُخْرجون أموالهم مرضاة لله ليلا ونهارًا مسرِّين ومعلنين، فلهم أجرهم عند ربهم، ولا خوف عليهم فيما يستقبلونه من أمر الآخرة، ولا هم يحزنون على ما فاتهم من حظوظ الدنيا. ذلك التشريع الإلهي الحكيم هو منهاج الإسلام في الإنفاق لما فيه مِن سدِّ حاجة الفقراء في كرامة وعزة، وتطهير مال الأغنياء، وتحقيق التعاون على البر والتقوى؛ ابتغاء وجه الله دون قهر أو إكراه الذين يتعاملون بالربا- وهو الزيادة على رأس المال- لا يقومون في الآخرة من قبورهم إلا كما يقوم الذي يتخبطه الشيطان من الجنون؛ ذلك لأنهم قالوا: إنما البيع مثل الربا، في أن كلا منهما حلال، ويؤدي إلى زيادة المال، فأكذبهم الله، وبيَّن أنه أحل البيع وحرَّم الربا؛ لما في البيع والشراء من نفع للأفراد والجماعات، ولما في الربا من استغلال وضياع وهلاك. فمن بلغه نهي الله عن الربا فارتدع، فله ما مضى قبل أن يبلغه التحريم لا إثم عليه فيه، وأمره إلى الله فيما يستقبل من زمانه، فإن استمرَّ على توبته فالله لا يضيع أجر المحسنين، ومن عاد إلى الربا ففعله بعد بلوغه نهي الله عنه، فقد استوجب العقوبة، وقامت عليه الحجة، ولهذا قال سبحانه: {فَأُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ} . ـ
274-275. Those who give their wealth to please Allah both at night and day and secretly and openly, they will have their reward with their Lord. They will not fear what awaits them in the hereafter, nor will they grieve over what they missed out on in this worldly life.
That perfect Divine legislation is the Islamic way of spending as it addresses the needs of the people with generosity and dignity, purifies the wealth of the wealthy, and achieves cooperation in goodness and taqwa as while seeking Allah face. This is in contrast to the coercion and oppression that happens when dealing with riba, which is charging something in addition to repaying the initial amount of a loan.
Those who deal with riba will only rise up from their graves in the hereafter like one who was struck by the shaytaan with madness would stand. That is because they said, “Riba is just trade” in that both both of them are allowed and both lead to an increase of wealth, but they spoke falsely on behalf of Allah. Allah made it clear that He has allowed trade but prohibited riba due to the benefits that buying and selling brings about for both individuals and society at large and the exploitation, waste and ruin that riba brings about.
So whoever learns of Allah’s prohibition of riba and then refrains from doing it, then he can keep whatever he earned before he learned of the prohibition without being sinful for that; Allah has only ordered him to practice this going forward, and if he continues to be repentant, then Allah will never do away with the rewards of the good-doers.
But whoever goes back to dealing in riba and does that after having learned of Allah’s prohibition against it, then he has brought punishment on himself and established a proof against himself. That is why Allah said, “those ones are the people of the Hellfire; they will remain in it forever.”
يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ أَثِيمٍ
Allah destroys riba and fosters charity. And Allah does not love any obstinately disbelieving sinner. [2:276]
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