The Quran

275

الَّذينَ يَأكُلونَ الرِّبا لا يَقومونَ إِلّا كَما يَقومُ الَّذي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيطانُ مِنَ المَسِّ ۚ ذٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُم قالوا إِنَّمَا البَيعُ مِثلُ الرِّبا ۗ وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ البَيعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبا ۚ فَمَن جاءَهُ مَوعِظَةٌ مِن رَبِّهِ فَانتَهىٰ فَلَهُ ما سَلَفَ وَأَمرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَن عادَ فَأُولٰئِكَ أَصحابُ النّارِ ۖ هُم فيها خالِدونَ

Muhammad Asad

THOSE who gorge themselves on usury¹ behave but as he might behave whom Satan has confounded with his touch; for they say, "Buying and selling is but a kind of² usury" - the while God has made buying and selling lawful and usury unlawful. Hence, whoever becomes aware of his Sustainer's admonition,³ and thereupon desists [from usury], may keep his past gains, and it will be for God to judge him; but as for those who return to it - they are destined for the fire, therein to abide!

For a discussion of the concept of riba ("usury"), see note 35 on 30: 39, where this term occurs for the first time in the chronological order of revelation. The passage dealing with the prohibition of riba, which follows here, is believed to have been among the last revelations received by the Prophet. The subject of usury connects logically with the preceding long passage on the subject of charity because the former is morally the exact opposite of the latter: true charity consists in giving without an expectation of material gain, whereas usury is based on an expectation of gain without any corresponding effort on the part of the lender.
Lit., "like".
Lit., "he to whom an admonition has come from his Sustainer".