SURAH AL-E-IMRAN: 128-132

TRANSLATION:

[3:128]
You have no authority in the matter, unless Allah forgives them or punishes them, as they are unjust. {*}
[3:129]
To Allah belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. He forgives whomsoever He wills and punishes whomsoever He wills. Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.
[3:130]
O you who believe, do not eat up the amounts acquired through Riba (interest), doubled and multiplied. Fear Allah, so that you may be successful, {44}
[3:131]
and fear the Fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers.
[3:132]
Obey Allah and the Messenger, so that you may be blessed.

INTERPRETATION:

{*} When the Holy Prophet ﷺ was injured during Ghazvah Uhud then he uttered these words that how can a nation achieve success when their Prophet is calling them towards Allah Ta’alah and they wage war on him. This verse was revealed on that occasion.

{44} Imam al-Razi RAA has written in his Tafsir al-Kabir that as, at the time of Ghazvah al Uhud the non-believers had borrowed money on interest to prepare for war, therefore, some Muslim might have thought that Muslims should adopt the same method in preparing for war. This verse warned them that it is Hara’am (illegal) to borrow money on interest. Here where it mentions about multiplying interest many times it doesn’t mean that it is allowed to charge interest at a lower rate, but because at that time this was the customary practice in interest-based loans the interest grew to be much more than the capital, therefore, this has been stated as an example. Otherwise, in Surah al-Baqarah (verses 277 and 278) it has been made absolutely clear that any increased amount demanded at the time of return of a loan is interest and is Hara’am.