يَمْحَقُ اللّهُ الْرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ أَثِيمٍ {276}

276. "Allah effaces usury and He causes charities to flourish, and Allah does not love any ungrateful sinner."

Commentary:

The Arabic word /mahq/ means 'effacement, obliteration, erasure', and the term /muhaq/, from the same root, is used for the moon when it disappears by the nights at the end of the lunar month. Then the term /riba/ 'usury interest', with the sense of gradual increase, is applied in the opposite correspondence.

This verse admonishes that though a usurer takes interest from others in order to compile wealth, Allah seizes the abundance and good results that he expects from the gross of wealth gained through usury. The property resulted from usury may not necessarily be obliterated itself, but the goals, which are considered from compiling wealth, fail.

"Allah effaces usury ..."

In the course of usury, there is no love, happiness, and security, so that many a rich person can gain no sort of comfort, peace, or amiability from their wealth. On the contrary, in the regulations, where there is charity, or donation and good loan, people enjoy of many favours. In such societies, the poor are not disappointed, and the rich are not encountered with callousness of the heart and do not mind the multiplication of wealth. So, in these regulations, the deprived do not think of revenge, theft, and the like, and the rich are not anxious about guarding and protecting their properties. This society will have a relative equilibrium accompanied with kindness, compassion, security and mutual understanding.

"... and He causes charities to flourish ..."

In Tafsir Kabir by Fakhr Razi, it is cited that when usurer obliterates equilibrium, compassion, and human justice from him, his self and his property will be cursed by the poor, and every moment, hatred, plot and theft threaten him. This is an example of that effacement which is stated in the verse.

 Explanations:

1. Do not note and gaze at only the apparent growth of wealth.

"Allah effaces usury ..."

2. Sustenance is with Allah. The possessor of wealth may be deprived of welfare while the poor may often live in the best state of peace of mind.

3. Usurer is the one who is very ungrateful, and sin has settled in his soul: "ungrateful sinner". By taking interest, he makes himself debtful to people. He makes his livelihood unlawful for himself, and also he nullifies his worships. He lets callousness, greed and avarice dominate over him.

"... and Allah does not love any ungrateful sinner."

Yes, He is a very ungrateful, as well as a sinner.

4. To efface the wealth emerging from usury is Allah's way of treatment which will be continued forever. The reference for this meaning is the Qur'anic word /yamhaqu/ 'efface' where the present tense of which, in Arabic, denotes the continuity of the verb.

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إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتَوُاْ الزَّكَاةَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ {277}

277. "Verily, those who have faith, and do righteous works, and establish prayer, and pay the poor-rates, for them shall be their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve".

Commentary:

Opposite to the manner of the usurers who are 'ungrateful sinners', this verse portraits the future of the believers, those who do righteous deeds, establish prayers, and pay the poor-rates.

People are divided into four categories:

1. A group of people believe in truth and do righteous works. These are the believers.

2. There are some people who neither believe nor do righteous deeds. These are infidels.

3. Some people believe, but do not work righteously. These are the mischievous ones.

4. There are some people who have not faith but they apparently do good deeds. These are hypocrites.

Separate from usurers, who have taken apart from the Lord and human beings, there are some believers who have faith, do righteous actions, and have relevance with Allah by the way of prayer. They communicate with people through paying the poor-rates.

"Verily, those who have faith, and do righteous works, and establish prayer, and pay the poor-rates, for them shall be their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve".

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يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَذَرُواْ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ {278}

278. "O' you who have Faith! be in awe of Allah, and forgo what remains (due to you) of usury, if you are faithful."

Commentary:

It is cited in some commentary books, such as: Majma'-ul-Bayan, Al-Mizan, and Maraqi, that when the verse upon the prohibition of usury was revealed, some of the companions of the prophet (s), like Khalid-ibn-Walid, Abbas, and Uthman, had claimed some amount of interest from people. They asked the Prophet (s) about their claims, when the above mentioned verse was revealed.

After the revelation of this verse, the holy Prophet (s) said: "My uncle, Abbas, is not rightful to demand interest either." Then, the Messenger of Allah added: "First of all, my relatives must abandon usury". He also in a sermon said: "I put all the interests of usury (belonging to) the age of ignorant under my feet, and the first one I put is the interest of Abbas." [29]

Explanations:

1. The requisite of faith is to dispense with the rights of others and the prohibited wealth.

"... if you are faithful."

2. The sign of piety is giving up the unlawful commodity.

"O' you who have Faith! be in awe of Allah, and forgo what remains (due to you) of usury..."

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[29] Fi Zilal-il-Quran, Vol. 1, p. 486