Quran Garden

Session 306

Chapter 2

Verses 278 & 279

You who believe, be mindful of God: give up any outstanding dues from usury, if you are true believers. If you do not stop, then be warned of war from God and His Messenger. You shall have your capital if you repent, and without suffering loss or causing others to suffer loss.  (Chapter 2: Verses 278, 279)

The phrase “You who believe,” is the master key of faith.  How, you may ask? We answer that Allah does not issue commands of ‘do’ and ‘do not do’ to all mankind; He only addresses those who have willingly believed and declared faith in Him.  When you declare your faith in God, you entrust Him as your Lord, the All-Wise, All-Knowledgeable.  Only then, does He address you with ‘do so’ and ‘do not do so.’  This is the essence of every act in religion.  I fast the month of Ramadan, not because it makes me experience the hunger of the poor, but because God, my trusted Lord, instructed me to do so.  I perform ablution before prayer, not to cleanse my skin, but because God, my Lord, instructed me to do so.  I entrust my Lord with my affairs and follow His commands even when –at times- I may not understand the wisdom behind these commands. 

             So, if someone asks you: ‘Why do you pray five times a day?’ do not fall into the trap of explaining the reason behind prayers, or the reason behind abstaining from Alcohol.  The simple answer is: ‘My Lord instructed me to do so.’  Your faith in God is the answer.  You may know a few reasons behind certain acts of worship, but God, your creator, knows all the reasons. 

             Should you stay away from gambling only after you and your family are hurt by addiction? Or should you entrust your Lord when He tells you not to gamble?  We obey God’s commands even if the wisdom behind them is not immediately apparent.  When you see entire communities suffering from the financial and social ills of gambling and addiction, you thank your Lord who protected you from the very beginning.

This brings us back to the verse.  God says: “You who believe, be mindful of God: give up any outstanding dues from usury.”  God’s command to the believers is: “be mindful of God” translated from the Arabic origin “Itaqoo Allah.”  The word ‘Itaqoo’ is very rich in meaning, and the translation “be mindful” does not quite do it justice.  In fact, If you were to look up this word in a dictionary you will find it encompassing all the following meanings: to be mindful of, to shield yourself from, to guard yourself, to be vigilant, and to fear.  It is mentioned numerous times in the Quran.  Let’s look at two examples:

O you who believe! Guard yourselves and your families against a Fire whose fuel is human beings and stones (66:6)

And twice in the following verse:

You who believe! Be mindful of God, and let every soul consider carefully what it sends ahead for tomorrow; and fear God, for God is well aware of everything you do.(59,18)

Here we have two verses, one is asking us to be mindful and shield ourselves from hellfire, and the other is asking us to shield ourselves from God, both translated from the same word ‘Itaqoo.’  How can this be?  How can the same word apply to both God and hellfire?

The answer is simple.  To shield yourself from hellfire, you would avoid that which angers God.  Mindfulness and good deeds are your best tools to build this shield between you and the fire.  

The second verse advises ‘to be mindful of, and to fear God.’  How do you shield yourself from God while you are connected to Him? How do you fear and shield yourself from the one you love?  We answer that God Almighty has both the attributes of majesty and the attributes of beauty.  His attributes of majesty are apparent in His names: the Mighty, the Compeller, the Avenger and so on.  On the other hand, the attributes of beauty are apparent in his names: the Most-Forgiving, the Most-Compassionate, the Most-Merciful and many more.  Hence, you should fear God’s attributes of majesty because they could result in punishment in hellfire.  And you should seek God’s attributes of beauty through mindfulness and good deeds.  

             The verse continues: ‘give up any outstanding dues from usury.’  To ‘give up’ means to leave behind, to stop, and completely forget about usury.  A person dealing in usury should stop now and ask God to replace it with something better.    

             In the 275th verse of ‘The Cow,’ God gave us a ruling about past earnings from usury.  He says: ‘Whoever is given advice by his Lord and then desists, may keep what he received in the past and his affair is Allah’s concern.’  In the verse under study, God is commanding us to cease and desist any future dealings.  He says: ‘You who believe, be mindful of God: give up any outstanding dues from usury, if you are true believers.’  Do not say: ‘I signed a contract before I was aware of this ruling; I have to honour my contract first, then I will stop.’  God made it very clear: such a contract is not acceptable, and any future usury is forbidden.  He says: ‘give up any outstanding dues from usury.’   

Allah continues

If you do not stop, then be warned of war from God and His Messenger. You shall have your capital if you repent, and without suffering loss or causing others to suffer loss.

(Chapter 2: verse 279)

             Within the 279^th verse is a universal law that many people wilfully neglect.  It is a law protecting the weak from the overreach of the strong.  It was set after the poor and disadvantaged were exploited by the rich and powerful through interest bearing and predatory loans.  The Quran came to set the scales of justice, stop the exploitation, and give the rich back their capital without any increase.  

             Allah issued a warning about usury; He says ‘If you do not stop, then be warned of war from God and His Messenger.’  When you do something counterproductive at home or work, you may be warned by your boss or parents.  However, your parents may not come through with their warning even if you do not stop.  Your boss may not have full authority to punish you, or may be overruled by a higher manager.  However, when the warning comes from God, rest assured that He, Almighty, will come through and you will suffer dire consequences.

             God’s soldiers are infinite and unknown.  He says in the 31^st verse of chapter 74:

No one knows the soldiers of your Lord but Him.

So you cannot evade God’s punishment.  The war of the Prophet is more evident because it is a brought on by the believers who are tasked with fighting corruption in society.  God is threatening those who deal with usury and interest with a full assault on their affairs from all sides. 

             Take note that God is warning of a war for justice, not a war of aggression or humiliation.  The phrase: ‘You shall have your capital if you repent, and without suffering loss or causing others to suffer loss,’ clarifies that the lender has no right in doubling, or tripling his or her money.  In fact, he or she has no right to even a 1% increase.  Any increase is considered unjust as it causes the poor to suffer a loss. 

Here you may wonder: why did God protect the rich and greedy lender from ‘suffering loss’?  We answer that Allah wants to stop the cycle of injustice.  When the rights of the poor are restored, they may feel empowered and ask for more to make up for the injustice they suffered.  They may consider it their right to treat the usurious lender as they were treated.  But God does not want to correct what was wrong with a new wrong.  He wants to stop the current injustice, give each party their due right, and prevent any future injustice.  At the end all should be made whole.  Otherwise, the cycle of injustice would never stop.

             It is important to pause and point out a pitfall many societies and revolutions fall into.  When an oppressor is stopped and the rights of the oppressed are restored, people should not overreach and start oppressing their previous tormentors.  Just as God gave you the power to overcome your oppressors, make sure you respect His words that say: ‘You shall have your capital if you repent, and without suffering loss or causing others to suffer loss.’  It is the only way to stop the cycle of oppression and corruption.  Everyone is equal before God and before the law.  

             So, a just fight against corruption should have two clear goals: First, to stop the oppressor; and second to restore the rights of the oppressed.  Sadly, often, the result of fighting corruption and oppression is revenge and reverse oppression.  The old oppressed become the new oppressors and the pot begins to slowly boil again.  We always say that the best punishment for those who wronged us is to treat them justly.  God says: ‘You shall have your capital if you repent, and without suffering loss or causing others to suffer loss.’