𝘡𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯: 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘖𝘸𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘰 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴.

“There is a widespread belief that emerged in the 19th century, which states that Jews were forced into money lending because they were not allowed to own land. In reality, in most parts of Europe, we could own land, but we didn’t want to. Owning land meant being trapped in the place where we lived, and if you were evicted from the country, you would have no recourse. On the other hand, we were urban, literate, and numerate. We had the skills to convert knowledge into cash and currency, which could be easily carried and transported, making it a very appealing option with many pragmatic applications.”

The reason Jews have been expelled from many places historically, particularly in Europe, is that they lent money at interest. When the debt burden became too great, people preferred to expel the Jews rather than pay the debts they owed.

Both Jews and Christians are wrong in the above scenario. God prohibited interest, and Islam teaches that one should not charge interest on a loan or take on an interest-bearing loan oneself. Those who support interest often respond by saying, “What about credit? People need credit.”

Islam encourages truly fair free markets and business investments (which interest distorts) where risk and reward are equally shared. In this way, wealth is circulated fairly across society, and the economy avoids the financial crises that occur in interest-based systems (such as boom-and-bust cycles).

Instead of making money from interest, Islam promotes risk-sharing business investment agreements. It also encourages helping one another through interest-free loans, for the sake of Gods pleasure, ensuring that wealth is used in a way that benefits society as a whole. This strengthens local communities and, by extension, nations.

The prohibition on interest exists to protect people’s wealth and create a fairer economic system, which is a significant part of what Islamic law aims to achieve.

Contrast that with Judaism, which states that you can’t charge a Jew interest ,that you should give a fellow Jew an interest-free loan; however, it is acceptable to charge non-Jews interest on a loan. Islam prohibits charging interest to both Muslims and non-Muslims.