Riba Only On Consumable Items
Assalamu Alaykum, Many thanks for your reply. Being a Muslim we all believe that guidance from Allah (SWT) is universal and not limited to the cases of our choice. We cannot ignore a situation by just saying that it is a hypothetical case. It is our strong faith that whether it is a real or hypothetical case, guidance from AL-Quran will cover it. And the fact is that I did not put a hypothetical case rather it is a genuine real world situation. May be for developed countries such case are considered as hypothetical but if we simply go to some of the main hospitals in Pakistan we can easily find many poor people who are looking for financial assistance to get oxygen machines, patients beds, walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, nebulizer machines and all these are non-consumable items. People in remote and hilly areas are taking finances just to get portacabin houses and all these are non-consumable items. Poor laborers are paying Riba just for man-push cart, trolley cart, masonry equipment and all these are non-consumable items. So please note that from nowhere these are hypothetical cases. You have also said that ‘If such a transaction is disallowed, no trade is possible’. There is absolutely no relationship between such transactions and trade. Trade is 180 degrees different from such transactions. Such transactions are not at all trade. In trade buyers do have ability (money) and willingness to buy but in such Riba based transactions buyers (poor people) only have willingness they do not have ability to buy. We all know it very well that Allah (SWT) has allowed trade and prohibited usury (Riba). So my point is that when Ghamdi Sb says that Riba is not applicable on non-consumable items then such explanation of Quran will surely encourage greedy money lenders to exploit poor and needy people using the same trap that I mentioned in my earlier questions. If lending money on riba is haram, than how can providing non-consumable items on riba be made halal. I think we need to look into the substance of the transaction rather than its form. Jazakallah Khr Tauqeer Uddin Ahmed