title: Mileena

text: In Jerome Preisler's novelization of "Mortal Kombat Annihilation", based on the film's scripts, Mileena has teamed up with Smoke, but she is still killed by Sonya after an ensuing fight scene, albeit by different means. In Preisler's novel, Mileena appears in a scene similar to this in the film but instead set in a mist-covered jungle wilderness. She ambushes Sonya while Smoke attacks Jax, and she is depicted as being an unmasked "angular, exotic-looking woman with eyes like burning coals, and a body as tautly well-conditioned as her smile was vicious", laughing a burst of insane and inhuman laughter. Mileena scissor-grips Sonya's neck with "her powerful thigh muscles" before being thrown off by Sonya. She then introduces herself after this initial confrontation, adding that she does not appreciate being confused with her "virtuous half-sister." Eventually, Sonya fatally strangles Mileena with the handle of her own sai after a second fight, and when she and Jax examine Mileena's corpse, Sonya wonders if Mileena was just "another cyborg" after spotting a shoulder tattoo similar to the mark found on Cyrax.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena appeared in the 1999 episode "Shadow of a Doubt" of the television series "", in which she had no direct relation to Kitana and was here depicted as an initially very repulsive and aggressive Outworld warrior sent by Shao Kahn to assassinate the weakened Kung Lao, with a magic spell placed over her to give her Kitana's look (for a while, he even called her his "new daughter"). Mileena, wearing a green costume, succeeded in seducing Kung Lao, but could not bring herself to kill him during their night of passion. She makes excuses for Kahn and later fights an inconclusive duel against Kitana, broken by Shao Kahn. As punishment for her taking too much time in her mission, Kahn allows Mileena to keep her beauty with the exception of making her teeth exaggeratedly pointed. She then starts to wear her signature mask, which Kahn gives her before banishing her from his sight. In "Konquest", Mileena was portrayed by Meg Brown and Audie England played Mileena pretending to be Kitana. Mileena's costumeis very similar to that in "Annihilation" but she has different hair.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was supposed to return in the third "Mortal Kombat" film that has not been made despite multiple attempts, including the early 2010s reboot project by Kevin Tancharoen. In 2018, she was revealed as included in a current reboot project, planned to be directed by Simon McQuoid in the script written by Greg Russo.


title: Mileena

text: Another alternative and younger version of Mileena appears in Tancharoen's 2011 live-action webisode series "", portrayed by martial artist Jolene Tran in her acting debut. Their story is told in the two-part episode "Kitana & Mileena," which featured both animated and live-action sequences. Mileena is shown to be a Shang Tsung-created clone like in the games, but of an age similar to Kitana's, as they were together since their infancy, and her scarred but otherwise normal-looking mouth (with lips, except as a baby) changes as her teeth grow when she is overcome by a cannibalistic rage. The adolescent Mileena is clad in violet, does not appear to be Kitana's twin, and is seen wearing a mask only in some of the animated sections (in which both of them are wearing outfits similar to those in "Mortal Kombat II"). She is shown spar-dueling against Kitana and losing to her, then killing and devouring a palace guard in a fit of insanity, as well as killing impostors of King Jerrod, Kitana's biological father, in a team together with Kitana. When the two are eventually sent by Shao Kahn on a mission to assassinate the actual King Jerrod, Mileena kills him with a double sai throw to the chest when he was talking to Kitana. Mileena returned for the 2013 second season of "Legacy" with actress Michelle Lee (Ada Wong in "Resident Evil 6") replacing Tran, who had posted on Twitter without explanation that she would not be returning. Lee called Mileena "such an awesome character" while playing her was her "dream come true." Mileena fights and beats Johnny Cage before being defeated and decapitated by Kitana, who rescues an injured Cage just as he is about to die.


title: Mileena

text: In DC Comics' 2015 "Mortal Kombat X" prequel miniseries, Sonya Blade is asked by Emperor Kotal Kahn to help him defeat Mileena, his rival to the throne of Outworld. She has joined forces with Reiko, who becomes her advisor and lover. When Goro disappears after being sent in pursuit of Mileena, Kotal Kahn sends his father, Kotal K'etz—armed with Shao Kahn's magic hammer—to kill both her and Reiko. However, Kotal's most trusted warriors are ambushed and slaughtered by Mileena's forces that include Mavado's Red Dragon mercenaries. K'etz himself is then killed by Goro recruited by Mileena. After Ermac later informs Mileena of Kahn's machinations in Outworld, and Rain—recuperating under Mileena's care after having been burned by Kahn in the seventh chapter—reveals Reiko's true allegiance with Havik, Mileena forms a temporary alliance with Kahn and the Earthrealm warriors to stop Reiko and the Red Dragon. Upon reaching Shang Tsung's island, she defeats Skarlet with assistance from Ermac, then smashes Reiko's head with Shao Kahn's war hammer, a blow he survives due to Havik's "Blood Code" curse.


title: Mileena

text: In October 2004, Mileena was featured in a spread in the special edition of "Playboy" magazine that spotlighted provocative video game characters. A famous promotional picture of her, known as "Sexy Mileena" (a topless picture in her alternative costume from "Mortal Kombat: Deception") was created for this purpose by Midway Games artist Pav Kovacic. This image did not actually appear in "Playboy" (in which a fairly common picture of Mileena in her primary costume in "Deception" was published instead) but was used as an unlockable picture for an in-game gallery. There was also another image which was made for a later "Playboy" issue. A full-clothed image of Mileena was used as one of five alternative cover arts for "Kollector Edition" limited version of "Deception" for the Xbox video game console and a pin-up of Mileena was featured in IGN's "Hotlist" publication in 2006. Michelle Lee filmed a short gag clip for Machinima.com titled "Mileena's Lunch," as part of the promotion of the second season of "Legacy".


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was extensively used to promote the "Mortal Kombat" reboot game in 2011–2012. She was one of the only four playable characters in the demo version and was featured in several trailers, including "A Night Out With Mileena" in which several NetherRealm Studios employees tongue-in-cheek-style answered the question where they would take her on a date. As part of this promotional campaign, fitness model Danni Levy portrayed Mileena in the live-action trailer "Kasting" and a photo session, attending "The Gadget Show: World Tour" for the European 2011 championship in "Mortal Kombat". Levy also portrayed Mileena in the 2012 live-action commercial for the PlayStation Vita version of the game; first in a teaser trailer, and then in the full trailer together with Kitana. "Playboy" model Jo Garcia dressed up in Mileena's colors to play as her in a sponsored photo session and video in 2011. Another model dressed as Mileena also promoted the 2011 game in Brazil for Warner Bros. and Saraiva Mega Store. A "Mortal Kombat II" style costume for Mileena was first added exclusively for the Vita version of "Mortal Kombat 2011", before being later included in the "Komplete Edition" release for the other platforms.


title: Mileena

text: A figurine of Mileena ("the evil twin") from "Mortal Kombat II" came out exclusively with a special issue of the Argentinian magazine "Top Kids" in 1995. A 7.5-inch action figure that was also based on her design in this game was released by Infinite Concepts in 1999, with a detachable mask. A ten-inch polystone statue of her "Mortal Kombat 2011" incarnation was released in Syco Collectibles' Enchanted Warriors series in 2012. Pop Culture Shock Collectibles released a 1/4 scale statue of "Klassic" Mileena from "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" in 2015, followed by a 1/3 scale (28 in / 71 cm tall) statue from "Mortal Kombat X" in 2018.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was one of the faces of "Mortal Kombat: Deception" during and after its release, including the game's special edition for the Xbox that featured her likeness, and a promotional metal card with her biography. She was featured in the 1995 collectible card game "Mortal Kombat Kard Game", as well as in the 2006 crossover collectible card game "Epic Battles" where she is one of the characters representing the "Mortal Kombat" universe that were featured already in the Premiere Edition. An electronic music track called "Mileena's Theme" by Tokimonsta was released in 2011 as the first of three singles that were compiled on the album "". Mileena is one of several "MK" characters featured on 2.5" x 3.5" collectible magnets by Ata-Boy and Halloween costumes of her have been also sold.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena has made several homage cameo appearances outside of the "Mortal Kombat" franchise, including in the comic book series "Gen13" in 1995, in the episode "Another Bad Thanksgiving" of the animated series "The Cleveland Show" in 2010, and in a comedy sketch by Animation Domination High-Def in 2015. In the 1996 martial arts film "Book of Swords", there is a nod/tribute to Mileena in a minor role by Katalin Zamiar herself. Furthermore, Mileena might have served as an inspiration in some other cases.


title: Mileena

text: The "celebrities" who have cosplayed as the character have included Canadian film maker Sylvia Soska at Fantastic Fest 2011, the Fourth Vice-Miss Poland (Teenagers) 2013 Adrianna Schneider, professional wrestler and model Eden Stiles (Brandi Runnels) for Halloween in 2013, American model and media personality Adrianne Curry at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 and later at Fan Expo Canada 2014, American MMA fighter Roxanne Modafferi at Invicta Fighting Championships weigh-ins, and Polish boxer Ewa Brodnicka at a before-fight gala in 2017, Also to promote "MK2011", UFC's Playboy's Jo Garcia dressed up in a purple costume and played as Mileena in the game in a "Playboy" vlog. Gail Kim dressed up as Mileena for Impact Wrestling's Halloween photoshot along with Velvet Sky as Kitana. American professional wrestler Zelina Vega, among others. In November 2020, American rapper Megan thee Stallion cosplayed as Mileena to promote her addition as DLC in "Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition". Some people even named their children after Mileena, which became popular in 2015.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena's addition to the series was well received and she quickly became one of the most popular and recognizable "Mortal Kombat" characters. Her debut appearance in "Mortal Kombat II" was met with a favorable critical reception, with for example "Nintendo Power" characterizing her as "beautiful, graceful, beguiling and strong, but most of all, deadly." "The Miami Herald" called Kitana and Mileena an "interesting step toward political correctness" as "a far cry from Little Miss Muffet" and "Austin American-Statesman" described them as "far nastier than that martial-artless aerobics instructor from the first game." Similarly, "GamesMaster" opined that it is a "naughty streak in Mileena that makes her so attractive. Coupled with a pair of firm biceps." Some publications regarded her as the symbol of the game, including "Consoles+" and "Video & Games" that each positioned her as an equivalent of, respectively, Cammy and Ryu from "Super Street Fighter II". A retrospective article by IGN's Richard George listed "the hot chicks" as one of the reasons why "MKII" "is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series," while UGO named the both "busty ninja sisters" as front characters of the franchise.


title: Mileena

text: Like Chun-Li from "Street Fighter", Mileena also quickly became a popular among female audience, including the actress Samantha Jo when she was a child. In 1996, Reyda Seddiki from French magazine "Player One" noted that the "wickedly gracious" Mileena has always been his preference of all the characters since her introduction. The Birthday Massacre vocalist Chibi (Sara Elaine Taylor) described Mileena as one of her "heroes" when she announced her plan of getting a tribute tattoo, saying she likes her "because she's pretty insane and vicious and seems like she'd be very attractive, but then has this mouth full of heinous sharp teeth." Rapper Princess Nokia (Destiny Frasqueri) also listed Mileena among her favourite female game characters.


title: Mileena

text: UGO rated Mileena 17th on their 2012 list of the top 50 "Mortal Kombat" characters, citing her then-rare presence as an evil female player character (a taboo-breaking novelty in video games at the time of her 1993 "MKII" debut) while stating that her brutal attacks and "slutty" outfits made her a fan favorite. Den of Geek placed Mileena fifth (14 spots ahead of Kitana) in their 2015 rating of the series' 73 playable characters. IGN, in 2011, listed her as one of the series' "four main characters" alongside mainstays Liu Kang, Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Anurag Ghosh and Bill Fulks of Bright Hub included her among the top ten "awesome" "Mortal Kombat" characters as well as one of the sexiest ("second only to the gorgeous Kitana"), and CraveOnline's Dread Central called her "without question" one of the "most beloved" characters in the "Mortal Kombat" universe. Fans voted her the series' 20th greatest character in a 2013 online poll hosted by Dorkly. Marcin Górecki of "Secret Service" placed her ninth on his list of the best female fighters in the fighting genre's history in 1996.


title: Mileena

text: Reception to the character's conflicting looks and psychotic and later (in the 2011 reboot) also childish behavior has been mixed, though with elements such as her sexual allure and shock value well received, particularly in regards to her Fatalities. GamesRadar UK recalled about "Mortal Kombat II": "we had two nigh-identical twins of svelte, slinky sex and gore...But then Milly took off her mask and it all went wrong. Horribly, nightmarishly, ball-shrinkingly wrong." As told by Joey Esposito of MTV, "Mortal Kombat II" "added ... sexually suggestive characters in Mileena and Kitana, but the tables were turned" with Mileena's "Man Eater" Fatality, which he ranked among the nine "Mortal Kombat" Fatalities "that warped your childhood." "CU Amiga" called it "the kiss of death to end all kisses". Mileena shared seventh place with Kitana on GamesRadar's 2006 list of top seven "girls kissing girls" in 2006, and Paul Drury of "Retro Gamer" elected "Kitana's and Mileena's deadly kisses" as his favorite Fatalities. In 2011, Topless Robot's Ryan Aston ranked Mileena as the sixth-most goofy "Mortal Kombat" character for her absurd "Man-Eater" finisher, but nevertheless calling her "quite the looker". "Complex" ranked Mileena's biting off an opponent's head as the eighth-best finishing move in the series, noting "a sexual element that was creepily out of context." In 2012, Game Rant ranked Mileena's "just sick" 'Yummy' finisher from "Mortal Kombat: Deception" as the series' second-best Fatality of all time. Kotaku included her "Nail Shooter" Fatality from "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" among their choices of the "most gruesome" video game deaths in 2013, commenting it was "not necessarily the bloodiest one, but definitely one of the funniest." GamesRadar's Jack DeVries called the Vita version of "MK2011", "as pretty as Mileena minus mask, but overall, just as viciously fun."


title: Mileena

text: In spite of her disfigured face, Mileena has been often rated among the most attractive characters in video games. Brazilian magazine "Ação Games" placed her and Kitana at the eight spot on their list of "Top Girls" in 1997. UGO Networks counted Mileena among the best-looking female ninja-type characters in all media, further ranking her as the "seventh-finest" female fighter in 2010, despite "that big scary demon mouth she keeps under the skarf." Alongside Mileena and Jade, Kitana was included on the list of the "hottest chicks" of 2011 by Univision. That same year, Ben Kendrick of Game Rant ranked Mileena as the "fourth-most awesome" character of the series and one of the "most disgusting yet alluring" game characters ever created. Mileena's breasts placed 31st and ninth on the lists of the finest chests in gaming by GameFront's Ross Lincoln in 2011 and by "Complex's" Drea Avellan in 2012, respectively. In 2012, Gadget Review's Kristie Bertucci rated Mileena as the "sixth-hottest" female video game character and noted her being "usually always at the top of the list as one of the most popular female characters (not to mention sexy)" in all video games. Larry Hester of "Complex" ranked Mileena herself as the "eighth-hottest" video game character in 2012, writing "Mileena is what some guys would call a paper bagger" due to the stark contrast between her body and her mouth. while "Playboy" included Mileena, Kitana, and Jade together in their list of "the hottest video game breasts of all time" at 19th place. She was one of the most searched game characters on Pornhub in 2016.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena has been renowned as a notable female villain in video gaming. In 2009, Gelo Gonzales of "FHM" listed the "menacing" character in his selection of the nine sexiest "bad girls of videogame land." "Complex" ranked her eighth on their list of the "most diabolical video game she-villains" in 2011, while Polish web portal Wirtualna Polska featured Mileena among the top ten villainesses in gaming in 2014, describing her as "absolutely phenomenal, simply dripping with sex" but advising to skip trying to check under her mask. The staff of Gameranx rated "this Mortal Kombat femme fatality" as the second-sexiest female villain in gaming for not only how "gorgeous" but also how "badass" she is. Placing Mileena 18th on his 2013 list of the most brutal fighters in "Mortal Kombat", Hanuman Welch of "Complex" described her as a "deadly mixture of Kitana's agility and seduction, and Baraka's impulsive behavior." Mileena and Kitana were among the top ten "hottest" female villains in gaming and "old-school hotties that still got it" by Travis Hubert of Cheat Code Central in 2014. Márcio Pacheco Alexsandro of Brazil's Game Hall placed them both at second spot of his top list of female ninja characters in games, calling Mileena "beautiful and monstrous" and adding that there was nothing more "cool" than a ninja who is both sexy and insane.


title: Mileena

text: An often commented, and referenced, aspect of Mileena is her cannibalistic tendencies. The University of Sydney's Kate Robertson analyzed Mileena's cannibalism as one of examples how "the connection between women and cannibalism reflects the common trope of the danger inherent within the female body" regarding "allure, fear and revulsion provoked by such a display of female power." Ranking 1992's "Mortal Kombat" as the second-most controversial violent video game in history, CNN's Doug Gross noted that in the reboot, "options include eating an opponent's head." "X360" chose her "MK2011" Fatality, "in which she tears a man's head off then chows down upon it," to represent cannibalism on their list of the top ten video game crimes. Praising the 2011 reboot game for its inclusion of "iconic" characters and "the quite remarkable violence," "GamesMaster" opined one "simply cannot watch" Mileena decapitate an opponent "and then take repeated bites out of his face like a dog on death row without deeply desiring this game." In 2015, Andrea Subissati from horror magazine "Rue Morgue" selected "making out with Mileena" as one of the best Fatalities in the 23 years of "Mortal Kombat". Mileena's finishing move of devouring a still-living opponent in "MKX" was chosen as the most "hardcore" in the game by French website JeuxActu. Her own gruesome demise in the story mode of "Mortal Kombat X" was ranked third on Dutch XGN's 2016 list of the top death scenes in video games. In a VentureBeat humor article by Jason Lomberg, Mileena "tried her hand at stripping, modeling, and a stint on "The View". But none of them could satisfy her insatiable desire for carnage and human flesh," so she became Donald Trump’s co-host on "The Apprentice".


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was described by "Computer and Video Games" as "equally erotic and repulsive." According to IGN, "at first blush she seems like your quintessential sultry video-game vixen, but the mask comes off and she's got a gaping mouth filled to the brim with dagger-like teeth." Placing Mileena and Kitana eleventh on his list of the best palette-swapped video game characters, "GamePro"'s Aaron Koehn wrote that "if you gauge Mileena's attractiveness simply based on the size of her baby-feeders, be ready for some disappointment when she removes her mask." In 2008, IGN's Scott Collura listed "Mileen-ewwwwww" as one of "top 50 chicks behaving badly," while GamesRadar included her on the list of "gaming's most repellent anti-babes." Comparing the "Mortal Kombat" characters to the seven deadly sins in "Dante's Inferno", Chris Holt of "GamePro" chose Mileena to represent Envy. ScrewAttack ranked her as seventh on their list of the top ten "ugly chicks in games" for her horrific looks when unmasked, but otherwise calling her "the ultimate woman." Virgin Media included her on their list of the ten "game girls you wouldn't dare to date" for being attractive "until she rips off her veil and reveals her monstrous form beneath." On the other hand, "EGM"'s Eric L. Patterson wrote that Mileena's face is actually one of the reasons why he prefers her over Kitana. Ranking Mileena as second on his 2013 list of ugliest video game characters, Alex Langley of Arcade Sushi wrote: "If ever there were a time to use the term 'butterface' it would be with Mileena because everything about her is hot...but her face. Her face will friggin' bite "your" face off, which is never a sign of a good date." Ramon Hagenbeuk of XGN included Mileena among the top ten "ugly game chicks" in 2015 due to her face despite "her nice figure." French magazine "Retropolis" placed Mileena second in a 2013 ranking of the sexiest girls in fighting games in which her bust was the criteria for her "reverse décolleté" approach to fashion after "Mortal Kombat II" while comparing the character to shrimp in regards to her physical appearance: "Everything is good except for the head."


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was noted for her alternate costume apparel, in particular, her unmasked and near-naked "Flesh Pits" outfit from "MK2011" that Destructoid's Hamza Aziz called "the new winner for skimpiest 'outfit' in a videogame ever." GamesRadar's Matt Bradford included it on his 2012 list of gaming's "most ridiculous" alternate fighting costumes, commenting that it "overclocks our absur[d]-o-meter." IGN featured the unmasked Mileena on their list of worst-dressed video game characters of 2011, commenting that "the term 'butter face' doesn't even begin to describe this nightmare." On the other hand, UGO ranked the "Sexy Mileena" from "Deception" as second-best on the 2011 list of the gaming's "most stylin' alternate costumes" and called her one of the most interesting characters in the game for having "a perfect 10 body" but "a -22 face," adding that this outfit "ramps up the sex appeal to volcanic levels." Including Mileena's "Nudality" rumor from "Mortal Kombat II" on her 2014 list of the top seven nude-code rumors, Ashley Reed of GamesRadar said it was "the talk of middle school hallways and sleepovers everywhere." Kotaku's Patrick Klepek, in 2015, recalled hearing about "Mileena’s sexality" while playing the game at arcades.


title: Mileena

text: Mileena was one of the characters cited by Guy Aoki as allegedly perpetuating existing stereotypes of Asians as martial arts experts. In their 1996 book "Interacting With Video", which condemned the violence of video games as supposedly affecting social behavior and causing real-life violence, Patricia Marks Greenfield and Rodney R. Cocking used the "two Asian twin sisters, Mileena and Kitana," as an example of a "highly eroticized dragon lady" trope, with Mileena's "Man-Eater" Fatality described as "a high-powered kiss that evokes "vagina dentata"." The authors wrote that despite the inclusion of "characters of color" such as the two and Jax, "we cannot assume that this greater diversity represents a more progressive identity politics, for one could argue that it merely increases the racist and sexist potential of individual fights." Critical studies professor Marsha Kinder similarly accused "Mortal Kombat II" of "allowing you to have a misogynistic aspect of combat," alleging that "some of the most violent possibilities are against women," whose own "fatality moves are highly eroticised." Kinder singled out Mileena to describe how the character can kill her opponent "by sucking him in and spitting out his bones. Talk about Spider-Woman!" Feminist-oriented criticism of the series and of Mileena's character, in particular, has continued in the following decades, eventually also in video game journalism. Destructoid's Brad Nicholson called her "the worst character ever created in a fighting game" in 2008.


title: Mileena

text: Some commentators admitted that they found themselves too distracted by her mouth. In 2010, "Game Informer" included her among the palette swap characters not wanted by them in the future "Mortal Kombat" games, later describing her in the 2011 game as being "as creepy as ever." When American radio host Howard Stern mocked a "Mortal Kombat" fan who admitted that he masturbates to Mileena, Matt Helgeson of "Game Informer" called the latter "insane" as "onanism and Mileena should not mix." Mike Harradence of PlayStation Universe wrote that "as for the date theme [in the reboot game's trailer], frankly we can't really see the appeal – she's not a patch on Sheeva, after all." GameDaily praised the "superb fashion sense" of "Soulcalibur"s Taki by contrasting her with Mileena. In an anti-sexualization paper, Federal University of Santa Catarina's Gustavo Soares Izidoro compared Mileena with Ivy Valentine from "Soul Calibur".


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: Ogilvy was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive David Ogilvy, and actress Aileen Raymond (who had previously been married to actor John Mills). His grandfather, Francis John Longley Ogilvy, was born in Argentina and a self-taught Gaelic-speaker who was a classics scholar and a failed financial broker. He was educated at Sunningdale School, Eton College, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He is best known as the star of the television series "Return of the Saint" (1978–79), in which he assumed the role of Simon Templar from Roger Moore (1962–69).


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: The role led to his being considered a leading contender for the role of James Bond in the early 1980s, when Moore announced his intention to leave the role. He never played the part (in part due to Moore's reconsidering his resignation on several occasions), although he did play a Bond-like character in a series of North American TV commercials broadcast in the early 1990s. At least once, in an episode of "", "Dragon's Wing II", he played a Bond-like British agent, complete with white dinner jacket.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He recorded a series of readings of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels in the early 1980s, which were released on audio cassette by the "Listen for Pleasure" label.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: Ogilvy has had an extensive career in the theatre playing leading roles in many London West End productions, including "Design for Living", "Happy Family", "Three Sisters", "Rookery Nook" by Ben Travers, "Run for Your Wife", "The Millionairess" by Shaw, "The Waltz of the Toreadors", and others. He has also worked widely in the American theatre. Among his films, Ogilvy had a major part in the 1970 epic film "Waterloo".


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He co-starred with Boris Karloff in "The Sorcerers" (1967); with James Mason, Bobby Darin, and Geraldine Chaplin in "Stranger in the House" (also 1967); with Vincent Price in "Witchfinder General" (also known as "The Conqueror Worm", 1968); with Tom Courtenay and Candice Bergen in "The Day the Fish Came Out" (1967): with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn in "Death Becomes Her" (1992); with Peter Cushing in two films for horror specialists Amicus and with Richard Dreyfuss and Nia Vardalos in "My Life in Ruins" (2009) – among others.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He was a friend of the film-maker Michael Reeves and starred in all three of Reeves's films: "Revenge of the Blood Beast" (1966), "The Sorcerers" and "Witchfinder General". He also had a role in the short-lived 1990s American soap opera, "Malibu Shores". He has had roles in over one hundred television shows, often appearing as a guest star. He appeared in the television series "Upstairs, Downstairs" (as Lawrence Kirbridge).


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He guest-starred in "The Avengers" in the 1968 episode "They Keep Killing Steed" as Baron Von Curt, and on the BBC in Somerset Maugham's "The Door of Opportunity", opposite Marianne Faithfull.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: In 1976, he featured in the pilot episode of the television comedy series "Ripping Yarns", co-produced by former "Monty Python" members Michael Palin and Terry Jones. He also appeared in "I, Claudius" (1976, as Drusus), and guest-starred in 6 episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" and 4 episodes of "Diagnosis Murder". He appeared as Edgar Linton in a film version of "Wuthering Heights" (1970) and as Owen Gereth in BBC dramatisation of "The Spoils of Poynton" (also 1970).


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: In the 1990s, he guest-starred in the American television series "Babylon 5", in the episode "In the Kingdom of the Blind" (1998). The series' star, Bruce Boxleitner, is the former husband of Ogilvy's second wife, actress Kathryn Holcomb. In 2000 he guest starred in Dharma and Greg series, Season 3 Episode 15, "The trouble with troubadours", as the sarcastic British hotel night manager.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: Ogilvy is also a playwright and novelist, currently working on a series of children's books: "Measle and the Wrathmonk", "Measle and the Dragodon", "Measle and the Mallockee", "Measle and the Slitherghoul", and "Measle and the Doompit". The books have been translated into at least 15 languages.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: He has written and published two novels – "Loose Chippings" and "The Polkerton Giant" – and two plays: "A Slight Hangover" and "Swap!", currently running in Poland in its third successful year. His memoir, "Once a Saint", was published by Little Brown/Constable, in May 2016.


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: His book of film reviews 'Withering Slights', based on his Facebook page, was published by Spiteful Puppet in 2020


title: Ian Ogilvy

text: Ogilvy was married to Diane Hart from 1968–83; they had one child. He married Kathryn Holcomb in 1992, and later became a naturalised United States citizen.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: The Ladykillers is a 2004 American black comedy crime thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The Coens' screenplay was based on the 1955 British Ealing comedy film of the same name, which was written by William Rose. The Coens produced the remake, together with Tom Jacobson, Barry Sonnenfeld, and Barry Josephson. It stars Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J. K. Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst, and marks the first time that the Coens have worked with Tom Hanks and the first remake by the Coens. This was the first film in which Joel and Ethan Coen share both producing and directing credits; previously Joel had always been credited as director and Ethan as producer.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: "The Ladykillers" received mixed reviews and grossed $76 million worldwide. Many critics consider it one of the Coen brothers' weaker efforts, negatively comparing it to the British classic.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: Mrs. Marva Munson, a strict, religious and elderly widow, meets "Professor" Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, a classics professor who expresses interest in the room she has for rent and asks to use her root cellar for rehearsals of an early music ensemble he directs, to which she agrees. The fellow musicians in the pretend ensemble are actually a gang of criminals. The band are composed of a dim football player named Lump as the "muscle", the overconfident movie effects technician Garth Pancake as the "jack of all trades" (who suffers from IBS), the crass and sloppy Gawain McSam as their "inside man", and the Vietnamese, tough-as-nails General as their "tunneling expert" (who hides his chain smoking from the disapproving Mrs. Munson by concealing his cigarette in his mouth). The group of criminals plan to dig a tunnel through the exposed wall in the cellar in order to break into the underground vault for a nearby riverboat casino. The dirt they remove is taken out at night and tossed off a bridge onto a garbage barge as it passes below.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: A series of mishaps threaten to derail their plan, including "inside man" Gawain losing his janitorial job at the casino, Mrs. Munson's cat Pickles running off with Garth's finger when he accidentally sets a plastic explosive off in his hand, and a visit from the local sheriff. Nonetheless, the group manages to break through the wall of the vault and snatch the loot. Before the group can get away, Mrs. Munson uncovers the plot and tells Dorr to return the money and go with her to church on Sunday, or face the authorities. Dorr attempts to persuade her otherwise, by claiming that the casino's insurance company will replace the money, resulting in each shareholder losing only a single penny. He also claims he will donate a full share of the stolen funds to Bob Jones University, a Bible college which Mrs. Munson admires, but she insists on her judgment.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: The gang decides they have no choice but to murder her. None of them are eager to kill an old woman so they draw straws. The task falls to Gawain but he fails to go through with it after he realizes Mrs. Munson reminds him of his mother. This starts a fight between Garth and Gawain which results in Gawain being fatally shot with his own gun; the group dumps his body off the bridge onto the trash barge. Garth then attempts to steal the entire sum of money and escape with his girlfriend, "Mountain Girl," but the General kills them both with a garotte wire and discards their bodies onto the barge. After drawing lots again, the General is about to kill Mrs. Munson in her sleep, concealing his cigarette in his mouth as per usual. He is suddenly startled by a cuckoo clock, accidentally swallowing his cigarette. In a frenzied search for water, The General trips over Mrs. Munson's cat and falls down the stairs to his death. As Lump and Dorr dispose of The General's body onto the barge, Lump has a change of heart and tells Dorr he wants to do what Mrs. Munson says. When Dorr refuses, Lump attempts to shoot him with a revolver but the chamber is empty; he peers down the barrel and accidentally shoots himself with the round that was in the next chamber, falling off the bridge onto the barge. Dorr, now alone, pauses to admire a passing raven and recite poetry until the raven dislodges the head of a crumbling gargoyle on top of the bridge. The head falls, knocking Dorr over the railing, and his cape gets caught on the ironwork and breaks his neck, killing him instantly. As the barge passes under the bridge, the fabric tears and he too falls onto it.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: Finding the stolen money in her basement, Mrs. Munson believes that the criminals have fled and left it behind. She informs the police about the money, but they think she is insane and tell her to keep it; she decides to donate it to Bob Jones University. "The Ladykillers" ends by showing Pickles dropping Garth's severed finger onto the barge.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: At one point the film was to have been directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the Coens' former cinematographer. The Coens were originally commissioned to write the screenplay only. When Sonnenfeld backed out, the Coens were eventually hired as directors, with Sonnenfeld retaining a producer credit.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: In the sequence where the gang begins to dump the corpses into the river to dispose of them, a garbage barge catches each fallen robber as he falls from the bridge, replacing the goods train used in the original 1955 British film classic.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: The gag of the portrait changing expressions is taken from Preston Sturges' film "Sullivan's Travels" (1941). In an early adventure, Sullivan (Joel McCrea) escapes the advances of a sexually aggressive widow (Almira Sessions) by making a rope out of his bed sheet. The portrait of the late husband is duly shocked. In the original "The Ladykillers", a photograph of the late captain "at the salute" is seen. Two of the Coens' previous films, "Intolerable Cruelty" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", were also heavily influenced by Sturges.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: "The Ladykillers" received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 54% based on reviews from 192 critics, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The site's consensus states: "Hanks' performance in the lead role is inspired, but this is a relatively minor offering from the Coen brothers." On Metacritic the film has a score of 56/100 based on reviews from 40 critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C on scale of A to F.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 2.5 out of 4, and wrote: "Not content to be funny, it wants to be FUNNY!" He praised Hall's performance as the most successful in the film, but said the other roles "are over-the-top in a way rarely seen outside Looney Tunes."


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: While Carter Burwell composed the film score for "The Ladykillers", continuing his long-time collaboration with the Coen Brothers, much of the soundtrack is devoted to African American gospel music. The film's executive music producer was T Bone Burnett, who had previously worked with the Coens in sourcing soundtrack music for "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: The soundtrack does not actually contain any pieces of Renaissance music. Similar to his work on "O Brother," Burnett chose a mix of vintage songs by Blind Willie Johnson, The Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones and Bill Landford & The Landfordaires, along with recordings of contemporary black gospel artists, including Donnie McClurkin, Rose Stone, Bill Maxwell and church choirs, made especially for the film soundtrack. Hip hop songs by Nappy Roots and Little Brother are also featured.


title: The Ladykillers (2004 film)

text: The soundtrack was praised for helping to set the tone of the film, distance it from the 1955 original and complement the contemporary Southern United States setting and gospel music atmosphere.


title: Nick Szabo

text: Nicholas Szabo is a computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer known for his research in digital contracts and digital currency. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in computer science and received a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School. He holds an honorary professorship at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín.


title: Nick Szabo

text: The phrase and concept of "smart contracts" was developed by Szabo with the goal of bringing what he calls the "highly evolved" practices of contract law and practice to the design of electronic commerce protocols between strangers on the Internet. In 1994, he wrote an introduction to the concept and, in 1996, an exploration of what smart contracts could do. Nick Szabo envisioned a digital marketplace built on these automatic, cryptographically secure processes. A place where transactions and business functions can happen trustlessly — without intermediaries. A current example of Smart Contracts in practise is on the Ethereum chain, where its team put Szabo's vision into effect.


title: Nick Szabo

text: Szabo argued that a minimum granularity of micropayments is set by mental transaction costs. At one time Szabo was a proponent of "extropian" life extension techniques.


title: Nick Szabo

text: He was active in pre-Bitcoin "bit gold" technologies and is viewed as a potential Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.


title: Nick Szabo

text: Nick has a daughter, Kara Szabo, a Computer Scientist who has published on the topic of cryptocurrency attacks based upon economic negative incentive models.


title: Nick Szabo

text: In 1998, Szabo designed a mechanism for a decentralized digital currency he called "bit gold". Bit gold was never implemented, but has been called "a direct precursor to the Bitcoin architecture."


title: Nick Szabo

text: In Szabo’s bit gold structure, a participant would dedicate computer power to solving cryptographic puzzles. In a bit gold network, solved puzzles would be sent to the Byzantine fault-tolerant public registry and assigned to the public key of the solver. Each solution would become part of the next challenge, creating a growing chain of new property. This aspect of the system provided a way for the network to verify and time-stamp new coins, because unless a majority of the parties agreed to accept new solutions, they couldn’t start on the next puzzle.


title: Nick Szabo

text: When attempting to design transactions with a digital coin, you run into the "double-spending problem." Once data has been created, reproducing it is a simple matter of copying and pasting. Most digital currencies solve the problem by relinquishing some control to a central authority, which keeps track of each account’s balance. This was an unacceptable solution for Szabo. "I was trying to mimic as closely as possible in cyberspace the security and trust characteristics of gold, and chief among those is that it doesn’t depend on a trusted central authority," he said.


title: Nick Szabo

text: In 2008, a pseudonymous person or group under the name Satoshi Nakamoto released a proposal for bitcoin to a cypherpunk mailing list. Nakamoto’s true identity remained a secret, which led to speculation about a long list of people suspected to be Nakamoto. Although Szabo has repeatedly denied it, people have speculated that he is Nakamoto.


title: Nick Szabo

text: Research by financial author Dominic Frisby provided circumstantial evidence but, as he admits, no proof exists that Satoshi is Szabo. In a July 2014 email to Frisby, Szabo said "I'm afraid you got it wrong doxing me as Satoshi, but I'm used to it."


title: Nick Szabo

text: Nathaniel Popper wrote in "The New York Times" that "the most convincing evidence pointed to a reclusive American man of Hungarian descent named Nick Szabo." In 2008, prior to the release of bitcoin, Szabo wrote a comment on his blog about the intent of creating a live version of his hypothetical currency.


Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 was a scheduled domestic flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. On 22 May 2020, the Airbus A320 crashed into Model Colony, a densely populated residential area of Karachi only a few kilometres (miles) from the runway, while on a second approach after a failed landing with landing gear not deployed. Of the 91 passengers and 8 crew on board the aircraft, 97 were killed, and two passengers survived with injuries. Eight people on the ground were also injured in the accident, one of whom later succumbed to her injuries.


title: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303

text: The flight, piloted by captain Sajjad Gul and first officer Usman Azam, took off from Lahore at 13:05. and was near the end of its 90-minute journey, when it crashed at around 14:45 (09:45 UTC) into the densely-populated neighborhood of Model Colony around from the airport. The aircraft's wings were reported as being on fire in the moments before the plane crashed into rooftops. The crash damaged buildings in the area, some of which caught fire. The crash was captured on video by a CCTV camera of a nearby building, which shows the aircraft just before crashing into the neighborhood.


text: The aircraft initially made an aborted landing attempt, apparently with the landing gear not deployed. One of the pilots subsequently radioed air traffic control (ATC) reporting landing gear issues and the failure of both engines. ATC confirmed to the pilot that he was cleared to use either of the airport's two runways, requesting, "Confirm your attempt on belly?" According to PIA's CEO, Arshad Malik, a technical fault prompted the aircraft to make a go-around rather than land, even though both runways were available. One of the pilots told the controller, "we are returning back, sir, we have lost engines." Twelve seconds later, one of the pilots declared a mayday emergency, which was the final communication with the aircraft.


text: According to officials from Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), complications had arisen during the aircraft's first descent. The landing gear was still in the retracted position when the aircraft attempted its first landing. Friction marks on the runway suggested there had been some ground contact; at the runway's mark, the plane's left engine is believed to have scraped the runway; at the mark, the right engine made contact. When the pilot went around, it is believed damage had already been caused to both engines from this contact, leading to engine failure after the go-around. This made it impossible for the aircraft to maintain altitude, causing it to crash during its return to the airfield. This is supported by the conversation between the aircraft and air traffic control which indicates that the aircraft was constantly losing altitude. Observers noted that the plane's backup ram air turbine (RAT) was deployed, the purpose of which is to supply power to the aeroplane's control systems when both engines have failed and without the auxiliary power unit (APU) running.


text: "The Economic Times", an Indian publication, reported that the pilots had ignored warnings from air traffic control about the height and speed of the aircraft on approach. At 14:30, the plane was from Karachi, at Makli, flying at an altitude of instead of the recommended , when ATC issued its first warning to reduce altitude. Instead of descending, one of the pilots responded by saying that he was satisfied with the descent profile. When only from the airport, the aircraft was at an altitude of 7,000 feet instead of . ATC issued a second instruction to turn to descend. One of the pilots responded again by stating that he was satisfied and able to handle the situation, and that he was prepared for landing. The pilot had a flying experience of 18,000 flight hours.


text: The narrow streets and alleys comprising the area inhibited the rescue services. ISPR, the Pakistani military's media wing, reported that special forces of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers had set up a cordon. Video footage of the crash scene showed emergency teams trying to reach the scene amid the rubble, clouds of black smoke and flames in the background.


text: Residents said it is not uncommon for aircraft on final approach to pass so close to building rooftops that they "feel... we can touch it", given the proximity of the runways. Jinnah Airport is surrounded by urban areas on all sides save for the north side, which leads to a scenario very similar to San Diego or Kai Tak with jets having to pass low over urban buildings before landing on one of the two runways. Edhi Foundation's Faisal Edhi said at least 25 houses suffered damage due to the crash. PIA's spokesman Abdullah Hafiz Khan has said that 18 houses were destroyed or badly damaged. According to a witness statement collected by Reuters, the plane hit a mobile phone tower in the vicinity of the airport as it crashed.


text: The crashed aircraft was an Airbus A320-214, built in 2004, with manufacturer's serial number 2274, and owned by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). It made its maiden flight on 17 August 2004 and was leased to China Eastern Airlines as B-6017 between 2004 and 2014. It was then leased to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by GECAS on 31 October 2014, with registration AP-BLD. The plane was powered by CFM56-5B4/P engines, which were most recently installed in February and May 2019. The landing gear was installed in October 2014 and was next due for major servicing or replacement after 10 years in 2024.


text: The PIA's engineering department reported that the last routine maintenance check on the plane was conducted on 21 March 2020, and the most comprehensive check was last performed on 19 October 2019, during which no defects were found in its engines, landing gear or avionics. From 22 March to 7 May 2020, the plane had remained grounded owing to flight cancellations amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. From 7 May onward, the plane had conducted six flights. The Civil Aviation Authority had declared the aircraft fit for flight until 5 November. On the day prior to the incident, the plane had operated a flight from Muscat to Lahore and had logged 47,124 flight hours.


text: Pakistan International Airlines released details of the flight manifest which shows 91 passengers (51 men, 31 women, and 9 children); there were also eight crew members. The death toll was confirmed as 97, consisting solely of those on board the plane but later one of those injured on the ground died. One of the passengers was an American citizen. Among those killed is Pakistani model and actress Zara Abid. Five officers from the Pakistan Army and one from the Pakistan Air Force were also among the victims.


text: Meeran Yousaf, the spokesman of Sindh Health Department, has said eight residents of the Model Colony were injured in the crash and most victims' corpses had suffered burns. Most of the injured were women and children. Faisal Edhi said 25–30 people were hospitalized, mostly due to burns. Ten days after the accident, one of the injured residents, a child maid, died in the hospital due to burn injuries.


text: DNA testing was used to identify some of the victims. As of 10 June 2020, 95 people have been identified, per Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan. Edhi Foundation has reported about 19 bodies being taken away by relatives by force from its morgue, without providing proof to establish identity or waiting for identification through DNA testing. Some families of the victims have alleged that the DNA identification tests carried out by the authorities were improper, accusing them of delay and misidentification.


text: The Sindh Minister of Health and Population Welfare declared a state of emergency for Karachi's hospitals, while Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered all available resources to the crash site, as did the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force. Khan also announced an inquiry, while PIA was reported to have shut down its website. The President, Arif Alvi, tweeted his condolences. Public figures across Pakistan expressed their sadness and shock at the incident. Many international leaders and celebrities also sent their condolences.


text: Pakistan had allowed domestic flights to resume, following suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic, six days earlier on 16 May. Since the crash occurred during the last days of Ramadan, many people were expected to travel to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their families. The pandemic had already stretched the healthcare resources of the city and the crash intensified the burden. Consequently, one of the two survivors was moved to a public hospital in the city centre instead of hospitals closer to the crash site.


text: The government announced a compensation of (₨ 10 lakh, US$6,250) each for the families of those killed, and (₨ 5 lakh, US$3,125) each for the two survivors. One of the survivors was identified as banker Zafar Masud, who is the CEO of the Bank of Punjab.


text: On 25 June 2020, 150 of 434 pilots employed by PIA were indefinitely grounded for holding "either bogus or suspicious licenses".


text: Five days later on 30 June, PIA was banned from flying into the European Union for six months for failing multiple safety tests and for failing to properly implement a safety management system, as stated in a letter sent to PIA from the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA). The EASA stated that the decision could be appealed. The EASA also banned the airline from flying to the United Kingdom. On 9 July, PIA was banned from flying to the United States.


text: The investigation is being conducted by Pakistan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB). Airbus, the aircraft's manufacturer, stated they would be providing assistance to the investigation. Subsequently, an 11-member Airbus team visited the crash site on 26 May. The United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also stated they would assist in the investigation.


text: The aircraft's flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were recovered and flown to France.


text: Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the federal minister for the Aviation Division, said that the full results of the inquiry would be made available within three months. The engines had scraped the runway three times on the pilot's first attempt to land, causing friction and sparks. The contact with the runway may have caused substantial damage to the engines' critical components located on the underside, consequently leading to failure.


text: In a report published on 22 June 2020, both the air traffic controller on duty and flight crew's actions were reported to have been contributing factors which ultimately culminated in the crash. In the report, the Captain was cited as being "overconfident".


text: A fourteen-page preliminary report on the accident was released on 24 June. Extracts from the cockpit voice recorder suggest the pilots were preoccupied in a non-operational conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic.


text: The aircraft was at an altitude of at navigation-waypoint MAKLI, whereas it was expected to be at . The pilots disengaged the autopilot, and switched to "Open Descent" mode, in an effort to capture the ILS glide path, the aircraft momentarily achieved descent rates of over . The landing gear was extended at a height of when the aircraft was from the runway but was inexplicably retracted by the time it came to . Landing was attempted without the landing gear extended.


text: Before the first landing attempt (according to the CVR and FDR), multiple alerts including the over speed and gear unsafe warning, as well as ground proximity warning system (GPWS) all sounded, but were either missed or disregarded by the flight crew. One of the airport's CCTV cameras recorded the aircraft's first landing attempt and screenshots from the recording were used in the preliminary report. The recording shows the aircraft touching down on the runway on its engines with sparks resulting from friction with the asphalt at high speed.


text: In the footage of the crash from the CCTV camera on the building near the crash site, the aircraft's landing gear was extended at the moment of impact.


title: Riba

text: Riba ( "", ) is an Arabic word that can be roughly translated as "usury", or unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business under Islamic law. "Riba" is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39 and perhaps most commonly in 2:275-2:280). It is also mentioned in many "hadith" (reports describing the words, actions, or habits of the Islamic prophet Muhammad).


title: Riba

text: It is often used as an Islamic term for interest charged on loans, and the belief this is based on — that there is a consensus among Muslims that all loan/bank interest is "riba" — forms the basis of a $2 trillion Islamic banking industry. However, not all scholars have equated "riba" with all forms of interest, or agree whether its use is a major sin or simply discouraged ("makruh"), or whether it is in violation of sharia (Islamic law) to be punished by humans rather than by Allah.


title: Riba

text: There are two principal forms of "riba". Most prevalent is the interest or other increase on a loan of cash, which is known as "riba an-nasiya". Most Islamic jurists hold there is another type of "riba", which is the simultaneous exchange of unequal quantities or qualities of a given commodity. This is known "riba al-fadl".


title: Riba

text: The word "riba" was used by the Arabs prior to Islam to refer to an "increase". In classical Islamic jurisprudence the definition of "riba" was "surplus value without counterpart."


title: Riba

text: The difficulty of explaining what exactly "riba" means in Islam has been noted by early Islamic jurists such as Ibn Majah and Ibn Kathir, who quotes the second "Rashidun Caliph" Umar bin al-Khattab,


title: Riba

text: “There are three things, If God's Messenger had explained them clearly, it would have been dearer to me than the world and what it contains: (These are) "kalalah", "riba", and "khilafah".”


title: Riba

text: Disagreeing is Muhammad Taqi Usmani — "one of the leading" modern day "religious experts on Islamic finance" — who argues that scripture concerning "riba" "cannot" be ambiguous (or "mutashabihat") because God would not condemn a practice but leave its "correct nature" unknown to Muslims.


title: Riba

text: At least a few sources (John Esposito, Cyril Glasse, Ludwig W. Adamec) emphasize a dichotomy in what riba means or prohibits — classical scholars interpreting its meaning broadly and strictly, and others using a narrower, more easily evaded definition in practice, or at least in modern practice:


title: Riba

text: Alternatives to the strict definition of classical scholars and revivalists have been put forward by Islamic modernists who emphasize the moral aspect of any prohibition, believing that what should be prohibited was the exploitation of the needy, rather than the interest on loans itself:


title: Riba

text: According to some "ahadith", the prophet Muhammad said there are either 70, 72, or 73 varieties (depending on the ahadith) of "riba". (The ahadith do not specify what those varieties are.)


title: Riba

text: Still another source (the Takaful Basic Exam preparation of Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia and Aznan Hasan), describes two types of riba each with two sub sets. (Its definition of "Riba Nasi`ah" seems different from others.):


title: Riba

text: John Esposito describes "riba" as a pre-Islamic practice in Arabia "that doubled a debt if the borrower defaulted and redoubled it if the borrower defaulted again". It was held responsible for enslaving some destitute Arab borrowers.


title: Riba

text: Abdullah Saeed quotes the son of Zayd b. Aslam (died 136/754) on what the means by "riba" being "doubled and redoubled":


title: Riba

text: “"Riba" in the pre-Islamic period consisted of the doubling and redoubling [of money or commodities], and in the age [of the cattle]. At maturity, the creditor would say to the debtor, ‘Will you pay me, or increase [the debt]’? If the debtor had anything, he would pay. Otherwise, the age of the cattle [to be repaid] would be increased ... If the debt was money or a commodity, the debt would be doubled to be paid in one year, and even then, if the debtor could not pay, it would be doubled again; one hundred in one year would become two hundred. If that was not paid, the debt would increase to four hundred. Each year the debt would be doubled.”


title: Riba

text: Orthodox Islamic scholar and Islamic banking advocate Taqi Usmani disagrees. In describing ""riba" in the days of Jahiliyya", he makes no mention of debts being doubled, but states that "riba" "had different forms" and that "the common feature of all these transactions is that an increased amount was charged on the principal amount of a debt."


title: Riba

text: According to orthodox sources (Youssouf Fofanaa, Taqi Usmani), "some jurists" saw "riba" (which Fofanaa defines as interest) "forbidden early in Mecca, some in the year 2 AH (after Muhammad left Mecca for Medina), and some after the opening of Mecca, but the majority agreed on its prohibition". Usmani cites sources declaring that 3:129 "clearly" forbade interest and these verses were revealed in 2 AH.


title: Riba

text: Other sources — such as the "Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World" — state that early Muslims disagreed on whether all or only exorbitant rates of interest could be considered "riba", and thus declared forbidden, but the broader definition won out with a consensus of Muslim jurists holding that any loan that involved an increase in repayments was forbidden. One particular jurist (al-Jassas, d.981, who is criticized by Modernists)


title: Riba

text: is credited with establishing the orthodox definition of "riba" — stipulating that it was excess payment "in a loan or debt", (i.e. interest on debt). M. A. Khan argues that attempts to ban interest resulted in either the development of black markets and higher prices for "interest-bearing credit", which "defeat[ed] the very purpose for which interest was banned"; or in various "subterfuges to camouflage interest so as to bypass the legal sanctions".


title: Riba

text: Some (scholar Timur Kuran) attribute the basis of religious condemnation of interest on loans to the widespread practice in the ancient world of selling loan defaulters into slavery and shipping them to foreign lands. Feisal Khan argues that "all pre-modern, and not just Muslim societies" banned interest on loans, using a ban as "a simple and effective risk-mitigation mechanism for small borrowers that cannot afford the down-side risk inherent in financial transactions". Among other monotheist Abrahamic religions,


title: Riba

text: Christian theologians condemned interest as an "instrument of avarice", the Jewish Torah prohibited lending at interest to fellow Jews but allowed it to non-Jews (i.e. Gentiles) (Deut. 23:20). (Historically many Jews were led to money lending with interest as a profession because of this exemption and because they were barred from many professions in Christian territories.)


title: Riba

text: With modernity and economic development, higher incomes and more complex mechanisms such as insurance eliminated the need for the ban. This, rather than religious backsliding, explains the lack of interest in the ban among the contemporary Christian and Jewish counterparts of the Islamic ulema (according to Feisal Khan).


title: Riba

text: Historically, while the Islamic states followed classical jurisprudence in prohibiting an increase in repayments on loans (interest) in theory, in practice the giving and taking of interest continued in Muslim society "at times through the use of legal ruses ("hiyal"), often more or less openly." One common Ottoman era stratagem to circumvent of the ban on interest, according to Timur Kuran, was known as "istiglal" and involved the borrower selling his house to a lender and immediately leasing it back. The proceeds of the sale served as the sum loaned, the lease/rent/mortgage payment served as principal and interest repayment of the loan.


title: Riba

text: According to Kuran, only transactions "that satisfied the letter of the ban" on interest "through stratagems" ("hiyal") were allowed. In addition, in the sixteenth century, an Ottoman sultan "limited the annual rate of interest to 11.5%" "throughout the empire" on these loans. This order "was duly ratified by a legal opinion ("fetva")." Another source (Feisal Khan) quotes several sources indicating the Ottoman empire forbid as "riba" only interest rates above a certain level (about 10-20%).


title: Riba

text: According to Minna Rozen the business of money lending was completely in the hands of Jewish Sarrafs in the Ottoman Empire. Europeans who visited Ottoman Empire stated that Ottoman economy would not function without these Sarrafs, though they sometimes were accused of cheating. In Persia, money lending was also dominated by Jewish Sarrafs. In nineteenth century Shiraz, for example, almost all Jews were active in lending money on interest.


title: Riba

text: Taqi Usmani maintains that outside of Dar al-Islam, "riba" (interest on loans) allowed the Rothschild family to "acquired financial mastery over the whole of Europe and the Rockfeller [sic] over the whole of America".


title: Riba

text: The orthodox prohibition on interest was reconsidered by Islamic Modernists starting in the late 19th century in reaction to the rise of European power and influence during the Ages of Enlightenment, Discovery and colonialism.


title: Riba

text: According to author Gilles Kepel, for many years in the 20th century, the fact that interest rates and insurance were among the "preconditions for productive investment" in a functioning modern economy led many Islamic jurists to strive to "find ways of" justifying the use of interest "without appearing to bend the rules laid down" in the Quran. In the largest Arab Muslim country, Egypt, Modernist Grand Mufti Muhammad Abduh declared collecting interest on bank deposits and loans permissible in 1900. From then up to the year 2002, successive Muftis have declared "riba" "prohibited, permissible, and prohibited and then permissible again".


title: Riba

text: In the late 20th century (mid-1970s) however, Islamic revivalists/activists/Islamists have worked to revive and rejuvenate the definition of interest as "riba", to enjoin Muslims to lend and borrow at "Islamic Banks" that avoided fixed rates, and to mobilize to pressure governments to ban the charging of interest.


title: Riba

text: In 1976, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah organized the First International Conference on Islamic Economics in Makkah. At the conference, "several hundred Muslim intellectuals, Shari'ah scholars and economists unequivocally declared ... that all forms of interest [were] riba". By 2009, over 300 banks and 250 mutual funds around the world complied with this definition of riba and disavowed interest on loans or deposits, and by 2014 around $2 trillion in assets were "sharia-compliant".


title: Riba

text: The prime example being modern scholars such as Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abd al-Aziz Bin Baz, based their fatwas about Riba definition on the basis of Ahadith that narrated by Ubadah ibn al-Samit.


title: Riba

text: Both the Quran and the "Hadith" of Muhammad mention "riba". Orthodox scholars such as Mohammad Najatuallah Siddiqui and Taqi Usmani believe Quranic verses (2:275-280) define "riba" to mean any payment "over and above the principal" of a loan. Others disagree with this definition (such as non-orthodox economists Mohammad Omar Farooq and Muhammad Ahram Khan, and scholar Fazlur Rahman Malik), and/or emphasize the importance of "ahadith" (Farhad Nomani, Fazlur Rahman Malik and Abdulkader, with Farooq stating "it is broadly agreed that the Qur’an does not define riba").


title: Riba

text: Twelve verses in the Quran deal with "riba" (although not all of them mention the word). The word (usually translated as usury) appearing eight times in total — three times in 2:275, and once each in verses 2:276, 2:278, 3:130, 4:161 and 30:39.


title: Riba

text: "And what you give in usury ("riba"), that it may increase upon the people's wealth, increases not with God;" ()


title: Riba

text: "O believers, devour not usury ("riba"), doubled and redoubled, and fear you God; haply so you will prosper." (Surah Al-i-'Imran )


title: Riba

text: Those who devour usury ("riba") shall not rise again except as he rises, whom Satan of the touch prostrates; that is because they say, 'Trade is like usury ("riba").' God has permitted trade, and forbidden usury ("riba"). Whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and gives over, he shall have his past gains, and his affair is committed to God; but whosoever reverts — those are the inhabitants of the Fire, therein dwelling forever.


title: Riba

text: God blots out usury, but freewill offerings He augments with interest. God loves not any guilty ingrate.


title: Riba

text: Those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms - their wage awaits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow.


title: Riba

text: But if you do not, then take notice that God shall war with you, and His Messenger; yet if you repent, you shall have your principal, unwronging and unwronged.


title: Riba

text: And if any man should be in difficulties, let him have respite till things are easier; but that you should give freewill offerings is better for you, did you but know. ()


title: Riba

text: According to Youssouf Fofana and Taqi Usmani, jurists do not consider the verses 30:39 and 4:161 to clearly prohibit Muslims from "riba", whereas the latter two (3:129-130 and 2:275-280) do.


title: Riba

text: Another orthodox scholar, M. N. Siddiqi, also believes 2:275-80 "establishes" that "riba" is "what is over and above the principal" and that "it is unjust".


title: Riba

text: According to Fofana, historically (most) jurists agreed on the prohibition of "riba" from these verses and termed it "riba al-nasia", distinguishing it from "riba al-fadl" (the exchange of like goods in different quantities at the same time, mentioned in a number of narrations).


title: Riba

text: On the other hand, some believe the "riba verses" (2:275-280) to be "ayat al-mujmalat" ("ambiguous" verses). These include the second caliph `Umar, (according to Al-Shafi‘i jurist Fakhr al-Din al-Razi), and a number of classical jurists, including Ibn Rushd (see below). Other Classical Islamic jurists considered the term "riba" "speculative general" rather than a "specific" ("khass"), or absolute or unqualified ("mutlaq"). They restricted the application of "riba" to "the clarification by the Tradition ["ahadith"] ...". According to Farhad Nomani, in studying scholarly "commentaries, one notes that the technical, and even to some extent the customary meaning of "riba" as a practice in pre-Islamic era, is a matter of controversy among classical jurists and the interpreters of the Qur'an."


title: Riba

text: Other classical jurists ("like al-Baji and al-Tawwafi, to name only two"), believed "riba" was "`amma", a "general term" meaning it "is definitive or free of speculative content", according to Farhad Nomani.


title: Riba

text: Umar, also declared that Muhammad died before he could explain the verse of "riba" (among 2:275-280) fully — it being the last revealed verse of the Qur'an according to a "hadith" reported by Ibn Majah. (However, according to Taqi Usmani, this "hadith" is not as authentic as that of another where one of the narrators in the change of transmission was more reliable. This "hadith" indicates that the last verse was actually 2:281 — one not mentioning "riba".)


title: Riba

text: "excess or addition — i.e. an addition over and above the principal sum that is lent." If Muslim jurists are referring to interest as usury on the basis of this literal meaning of "riba", than naturally one wonders why God Almighty used the terms `doubling` and `quadrupling` (the sum lent) as usury in 3:130 ... and why there was no further clarification of this verse in the Quran or by the Prophet.


title: Riba

text: Taqi Usmani argues that the words "doubled" and "tripled" in the verse are not "restrictive" of the prohibition of "riba", and like some other words in the Quran are not to be taken literally but are used "for emphasis or for explaining".


title: Riba

text: The background of these verses was the dispute between two clans, Banu Thaqif and Banu Amr ibn al-Mughirah. The verse is addressed to the Banu Thaqifa who insisted that they be able to collect "riba" from the Banu Amr ibn al-Mughirah for a loan made to them, despite having signed a peace treaty forgoing claims of "riba".


title: Riba

text: According to Fofana, historically (most) jurists agreed on the prohibition of "riba" from these verses.


title: Riba

text: Disagreeing with the orthodoxy is author/economist Muhammad Akram Khan who writes that since the verse ("O believers, fear you God; and give up the usury (riba) that is outstanding, if you are believers") is addressed to the Banu Thaqifa it is (according to Khan) a "specific reference" addressing a "historical situation" and does "not institute a law that could make dealings in "riba" a state crime."


title: Riba

text: While orthodox scholars believe the Quran declares interest (or any increased repayment of a loan) to be forbidden "riba", orthodox scholars (including Taqi Usmani, and Monzer Kahf) believe it specifically "allows" giving credit in a sale and increasing the price for this deferred payment in some circumstances (for example charging RS21000 for 90 days credit for an appliance that would costs Rs20000 in cash on the spot). According to Taqi Usmani, in Quran aya 2:275,


title: Riba

text: the reference to permitting "trade" refers to credit sales such as "murabaha", the "forbidden usury" refers to late fees (charging extra when the repayment is late), and the "they" refers to non-Muslims who didn't understand why if one was allowed both were not. Usmani writes:


title: Riba

text: Usmani interprets the verse to mean that it is a "misconception" to believe that "whenever price is increased, taking the time of payment into consideration, the transaction comes within the definition of interest" and thus "riba". Charging extra for "deferred" payment in a credit sale such as "murâbaḥah" is not riba, but late charges are.


title: Riba

text: Regarding "hadith", M.O. Farooq states "it is well-known and supported by many hadiths that the Prophet had entered into credit-purchase transactions ("nasi'ah") and also that he paid more than the original amount."


title: Riba

text: Scholars such as Farhad Nomani, Abdulkader Thomas, and M.O. Farooq argue that classical scholars believed that


title: Riba

text: "hadith" (the body of reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that often explain verses in the Quran) was needed to define "riba".


title: Riba

text: M.O. Farooq states that "it is commonly argued" that "riba" is "defined by hadith". Thus the argument goes, textual proof for the position that all forms of interest are "riba" and hence prohibited by Islamic law is based on "hadith". (Farooq argues that hadiths are contradictory and do not yield a definition.)


title: Riba

text: Some "ahadith" offered by Usmani as prohibiting any increase in the amount "charged on the principal amount of a debt" include:


title: Riba

text: "... The classical Hanafi, some famous classical Shafi`i (e.g., al-Razi) and Maliki (e.g., Ibn Rushd) jurists were of the opinion that riba in the Qur'an was an ambiguous ("mujmal") term, the meaning of which was not clear per se, and therefore the ambiguity had to be cleared by the Tradition" (another name for "ahadith").


title: Riba

text: Different sources report different types and numbers of "riba"-related "ahadith". According to Farhad Nomani, there are "three principal types" of "ahadith"


title: Riba

text: "God has forbidden you to take riba, therefore all riba obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. God has judged that there shall be no "riba" and that all the "riba" due to `Abbas ibn `Abd al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived."


title: Riba

text: Similarly, M.A. Khan states "there are three sets of Traditions relating to "riba"", including the "riba al-fadl" and last pilgriamge sermon.


title: Riba

text: Another source, Abdulkader Thomas, states that "there are six authenticated "ahadith" that allow us to define" "riba".


title: Riba

text: And under "riba in hadith", Shariq Nisar of Global Islamic Finance, lists seven "general" "ahadith" and another six on "Riba al-Nasi'ah".


title: Riba

text: On the other hand, the ambiguity and lack of clarity of what constitutes "riba" is reported to been indicated by Caliph ʿUmar, who included it among the three concepts that "it would have been dearer to me than the world" had Muhammad "explained them clearly" (see above), and twentieth century Islamic scholar, Fazlur Rahman Malik, who sums up his analysis of the ahadith on riba saying: "In short, no attempt to define "riba" in the light of Hadith has been so far successful".


title: Riba

text: According to Farhad Nomani, "it is known that Ibn `Abas", a companion of Muhammad, "was of the opinion that the only forbidden "riba" was the pre-Islamic "riba"." Nomani state that classical jurists "all agreed" that the meaning of "riba" was not "free of speculative content", because there was a difference between


title: Riba

text: According to Abdullah Saeed, quoting Rashid Ridanone of the authentic "hadith" attributed to the Prophet in relation to "riba" appears to mention the terms, ‘loan’ ("qard") or ‘debt’ ("dayn"). This absence of any reference to loans or debts in "riba"-related hadith led a minority of jurists to contend that what is actually prohibited as riba is certain forms of sales, which are referred to in the hadith literature.


title: Riba

text: According to another scholar, the mufti of Egypt, Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, there is nothing in the Quran or "Hadith" that prohibits the pre-fixing of the rate of return, as long as it occurs with the mutual consent of the parties.


title: Riba

text: Arguing that Quran and "hadith" do not provide clear evidence that interest on loans is "riba", Farooq notes that a number of early jurists held positions that are at variance with blanketly equating riba with interest. Some note the wording of aya 3:130,


title: Riba

text: Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855 CE), believed only "Riba al-jahiliya" (where the amount owed "doubled and redoubled" each year if not paid off) was unlawful "without doubt from the Islamic viewpoint". According to Nabil A. Saleh, several companions (Sahabah) of Muhammad (Usama ibn Zayd, Abdullah ibn Masud, 'Urwah ibn Zubayr, Zayd ibn Arqam), including Ibn Abbas, one of the major companions of the Prophet and earliest of the Islamic jurists, also "considered that the only unlawful riba is riba al-jahiliyyah”.


title: Riba

text: Classical jurists and most Muslims believe "riba" to be "a general term" with a broad definition of all interest, while


title: Riba

text: Fazlur Rahman defined "riba" as "exorbitant increment whereby the capital sum is doubled several-fold, against a fixed extension of the term of payment of the debt."


title: Riba

text: Farooq also questions traditionalist and activist orthodoxy, insisting the "ahadith" commonly cited as defining "riba" as interest are not unambiguous, as they must be when used as the basis for laws with impact on "people's life, honour and property" such as a ban on all interest does.


title: Riba

text: Farooq gives examples quoting a couple of "ahadith" stating there is no "riba" "in hand-to-hand [spot] transactions”, or "except in "nasi'ah" [waiting]” — that seem to contradict the orthodox position that there is also "riba" in "riba al-fadl", i.e. the "hand-to-hand" exchange of unequal amounts of the same commodity. (Farooq notes a hadith where two Sahabah (companions of Muhammad) argue, one -- 'Ubadah b. al-Samit—stating Muhammad forbade "riba al-fadl", while another Sahabah — Mu'awiyah — contradicts him, saying he never heard Muhammad forbid such trade, "though we saw him (the Prophet) and lived in his company?”)


title: Riba

text: The "except in "nasi'ah"" hadith also seems to contradict the many "ahadith" describing Muhammad buying on credit and paying more (after "waiting") than the original amount.


title: Riba

text: The distinction sometimes made that it is not "riba" to make voluntary, gift extra payments that are not stipulated in the sale agreement — such as Muhammad gave to Jabir bin 'Abdullah by when he paid back a loan, or when he repaid the loan of a camel giving two back,


title: Riba

text: But these "ahadith" are contradicted by the "hadith" stating "every loan that attracts a benefit/advantage is riba."


title: Riba

text: as well as by "hadith" specifically forbidding accepting a gift when extending a loan. And all these "ahadith" addressing and warning the lender but saying nothing about or to the borrower, would appear to be at odds with the many "ahadith" who include comments such as "The receiver and the giver" of extra payment "are equally guilty.”


title: Riba

text: Replying to the non-orthodox, Taqi Usmani argues that scripture concerning "riba" must not be categorized as ambiguous (or "mutashabihat") because God can not "wage war against a practice, the correct nature of which" is unknown by Muslims. Consequently he would never reveal an unclear verse on the matter. Only those verses for which "no practical issue depends on its knowledge" may be ambiguous (according to Usmani).


title: Riba

text: Orthodox point to a number of "ahadith" indicating the gravity of the sin of committing "riba". Abu Huraira is reported to have narrated:


title: Riba

text: The Prophet said, "Avoid the seven great destructive sins." The people inquire, "O God's Apostle! What are they? "He said, " To associate others in worship along with God, to practice sorcery, to kill the life which God has forbidden except for a just cause, (according to Islamic law), to eat up Riba (usury), to eat up an orphan's wealth, to give back to the enemy to flee from the battlefield at the time of fighting, and to accuse chaste women who never even think of anything touching chastity and are good believers."


title: Riba

text: According to Sunan Ibn Majah, the Islamic prophet Muhammad declared the practice of "riba" worse than "a man committing "zina" (fornication) with "his own mother"".In that hadeeth, he said that there are 70 sins of riba. Of these, the minimum sin is to commit adultery with oneself's mother, and the greatest riba is dishonoring any Muslim. In another Hadith, Muhammad said that, knowingly consuming one dirham of riba is equivalent to do adultery 36 times.


title: Riba

text: How Muslims should deal with "riba" is disputed. Some believe "riba" is a violation of sharia (Islamic law) to be prohibited by the state and violators punished. Others believe it is simply a sin to be left to God to judge and punish. Orthodox jurists tend to be less strict on its prohibition for Muslims in non-Muslims lands, and strictness tends to vary throughout the Muslim world with Sudan being the most severe and Malaysia the least.


title: Riba

text: At least one scholar (Abdulkader Thomas) has stated that not only is interest in violation of sharia, but is such a menace that failure to "combat" it indicates unbelief in Islam, (potentially punishable by death). According to Thomas, "Riba is part of a broader problem of belief and behavior. Refusing to combat "riba" is akin to disbelief. Conceding the argument that money has an intrinsic value is potentially a greater act of disbelief".


title: Riba

text: Author/economist Muhammad Akran Khan has noted that contemporary orthodox scholars have argued that interest is a violation of sharia law primarily on the basis of two sources:


title: Riba

text: "the Prophet could easily have announced the broad features of such a law [against "Riba"]. The fact is that neither the Prophet nor the Qur'an has announced any law relating to interest", as they had "in the case of theft, adultery or murder. ... Neither the Prophet nor the first four caliphs nor any subsequent Islamic government ever enacted any law against riba." Attempts to do so are "quite recent".


title: Riba

text: The "authentic books of Islamic jurisprudence ("fiqh") produced throughout Islamic history" had "sections dealing with riba", discussing "its nature and what makes a transaction lawful or unlawful", but according to M.A. Khan, until recently none contained "any public law for enforcement through state machinery." The treasure of Islamic jurisprudence which has covered all facets of life, including imaginary situations, does not mention any punishment for one who indulges in riba." In 1999 a work did. The "Blueprint of Islamic financial system including strategy for elimination of Riba" by the International Institute of Islamic Economics, called for riba-based transactions to be punishable by law.


title: Riba

text: Another (non-Muslim) scholar (Olivier Roy) points out Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's book of fatawa "Tawzih al-masa'il", written before 1962,


title: Riba

text: as an example of a more traditionalist attitude toward "riba", or at least the charging of interest on loans. Rather than calling for a ban on interest, Khomeini states that lending without charging interest, "is among the good works" ("Mustahabb") that are "particularly recommended in the verses of the Quran and in the Hadiths."


title: Riba

text: According to Farhad Nomani while classical jurists had "a consensus of opinion about the prohibition of riba", they disagreed on the "interpretation of the primary Islamic sources and, consequently, over the details of the ruling on riba". They believed that the "objects of riba occur in sale, and, only by analogy they related riba to loan ..."


title: Riba

text: "Madhhab" (schools of "fiqh"), differ somewhat in their interpretation of "riba". The "Shafi'i" hold that injunctions for "riba" apply to gold and silver currency but not "fils" (non-precious metal currency). "Thus, one hundred "fils" [coins made of neither silver or gold] could be exchanged for two hundred either on the spot or on a deferred delivery basis." By extension this would apply to contemporary fiat [i.e. paper] money, according to Abdullah Saeed.


title: Riba

text: Critic of the all-interest-is-"riba" formulation, M.O.Farooq, makes a number of criticisms of logic employed using "ahadith" to establish the connection.


title: Riba

text: Farooq cites another critic, Abdullah Saeed, who complains that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence have ignored "rationale/wisdom" ("hikmah") and arrived at a legal "cause" ("`illa") to determine what was "riba" "which had nothing to do with the circumstances of the transaction, the parties thereto, or the importance of the commodity to the survival of society." One result of this legalistic thinking is that "hiyal" could be and has been used "from the medieval period to the present day", to create loans based on "fictitious transactions" charging "exorbitant rates of interest" approved by orthodox jurists as lacking "riba".


title: Riba

text: A similar argument in favor of the objectives rather than means is made by Mahmud El-Gamal. In favor of making analysis of "istislah" (public interest) rather than "qiyas," (i.e. using analogy to apply injunctions to new circumstances) "the final arbiter in the area of financial transactions", Gamal quotes the twentieth-century Azhari jurist and legal theorist Abdul-Wahhab Khallaf: “Benefit analysis and other legal proofs may lead to similar or different rulings. ... In this regard, maximizing net benefit is the objective of the law for which rulings were established. Other legal proofs are means to attaining that legal end [of maximizing net benefits], and objectives should always have priority over means.” El-Gamal quotes 14th century Maliki scholar Al-Shatibi stating that the legal ends of Islamic law "are the benefits intended by the law. Thus, one who keeps legal form while squandering its substance does not follow the law."


title: Riba

text: El-Gamal also finds it curious that classical jurists consider "'urf" (or adherence to convention or customary practice) an important "legal consideration" (for example Hanafi jurist Al-Sarakhsi writes "establishment [of rights, etc.] by customary practice is akin to establishment by canonical texts"), and one that is not fixed but changes as customary practice changes. But when it come to banking, contemporary orthodox scholars do not consider "customary practices" to constitute a "legal consideration".


title: Riba

text: Mohammad Omar Farooq argues the prevailing doctrine of interest-equals-"riba" may eventually follow other such "long-standing orthodox" but no longer accepted practices such as "hadd" capital punishment for apostasy from Islam, or that "triple talaq" (i.e. by a husband divorcing his wife by declaiming "talaq" aloud three times).


title: Riba

text: Most Muslims and most "non-Muslim observers of the Islamic world" believe that interest on loans (also on bonds, bank deposits etc.) is forbidden by Islam. (Such loans — or banks that make them — are sometimes referred to as "ribawi", i.e. carrying "riba".) This "orthodox" position


title: Riba

text: Its importance among Islamists/revivalist Muslims is reflected in the size of the Islamic financial industry built on the basis of the orthodox position (approximately $2 trillion as of 2017), and in expressions such as the uproar that temporarily shutdown the Pakistan parliament in 2004 when a Member of Parliament (MP) had the temerity to quote an Egyptian Islamic scholar decreeing that bank interest was not un-Islamic. (In response — after the parliament was reopened — an Islamist MP stated that no member of parliament had the right to question this "settled issue" since the Pakistan state Council of Islamic Ideology had decreed that interest in all its forms was "haram" in an Islamic society.)


title: Riba

text: Among some (such as Imran Nazar Hosein) interest on loans constitutes not just a sin or crime but the "grand design of hostile forces who have already made considerable progress, through "riba", in gaining control over mankind. Their aim is to gain total control and to use that power to destroy faith in Allah."


title: Riba

text: However, not all Muslims agree with the "orthodox" formulation that any and all interest — including contemporary "bank interest" (as opposed to interest charged in predatory, unfair or abusive lending) — constitutes "riba". The "thin ranks" of notable contemporary non-orthodox scholars include Fathi Osman, Nawab Haider Naqvi, Salim Rashid, Imad al-Din Ahmed, Omar Afzal, Raquibuzzaman, Abdulaziz Sachedina, Abdullah Saeed, Mahmud El-Gamal and Mohammad Fadel.


title: Riba

text: While the minority status of non-orthodox scholars is uncontested, whether there is a consensus ("ijma") in favor of orthodoxy, is. One non-orthodox economist (M.A. Khan) argues that a true consensus requires the agreement of not only most Islamic scholars but the Muslim community as a whole. Since most Muslims have failed to choose interest-free Islamic banking for most of their assets, this demonstrates (according to Khan) that they do not agree that all interest is "riba".


title: Riba

text: In answer to the question, "why has God prohibited interest?", a number of arguments have been advanced by orthodox/Islamist/revivalist scholars, preachers, writers and economists. They include that (in their view)


title: Riba

text: At the same time that orthodox analysts offer rationale for why interest is forbidden, "more than one analyst" — including medieval Quranic exegete Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and leading orthodox scholar Taqi Usmani — have stressed that ultimately, Muslims must obey the prohibition even if they do not understand the reason for it. Usmani writes:


title: Riba

text: "The Holy Qur'an has itself decided what is injustice in a transaction of loan, and it is not necessary that everybody finds out all the elements of injustice in a "riba" transaction", [or even that] "the philosophy of the law" [be] "visible in a particular transaction". ...


title: Riba

text: "There are areas in which human reason cannot give proper guidance ... [thus] it is the firm belief of every Muslim that the commands given by the divine revelations ... are to be followed in letter and spirit and cannot be violated or ignored on the basis of one's rational arguments ..."


title: Riba

text: In any case, Usmani writes, injustice ("zulm") "is a relative and rather ambiguous term the exact definition of which is very difficult to ascertain".


title: Riba

text: Critics of the orthodox position — primarily Timur Kuran, Mohammad Omar Farooq, Muhammad Ahram Khan and Feisal Khan — generally argue that not only has God/Islam not forbidden bank interest, but that interest does not harm economic prosperity, the poor, or society in general. Some of their contentions are


title: Riba

text: with its own financial sector — by which Muslims can strengthen their identity and avoid lapsing into being "partial Muslims".


title: Riba

text: The (alleged) injustice of fixed return and its (alleged) lack of risk, has been attacked by Ismail Ozsoy, M.N. Siddiqi, and M. Hameedullah. Ismail Ozsoy defines interest as "riba" and as "an unearned or unequally distributed income." He argues that both those who pay and receive interest are sinful and behaving unjustly because the interest rate is "fixed at the very beginning, but it is impossible to predict the outcome of the business at which the loan is used, profit or loss, or how much either would be." Ozsoy states that his argument is supported by .


title: Riba

text: Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi argues that charging interest on loans — whether intended for consumption or production — is forbidden exploitation. If a loan is to buy consumer goods, those who have wealth should assist those without and not charge any increment above principal. If a business borrows to invest in plant or equipment, a guaranteed return on capital is unjust because there is no sharing of profits between entrepreneur and financier, the borrower is "obliged to pay to the bank an extra amount" — i.e. interest.


title: Riba

text: M. Hameedullah and M. Ayub also argues that interest is unjust because the borrower of collateralized loans bears risk but (they believe) the lender does not, since the lenders can keep collateral if the borrower defaults, which (they believe) violates the Islamic principle that reward should require taking/being liable for risks.


title: Riba

text: Abul A'la Maududi also believed return on an investment other than profit sharing is unjust. He preached that the interest-charging lender will increase interest rates "in direct proportion" to the borrower's "misery and the extent of his need, ... if the child of a starving man is dying of illness, the money-lender will not deem an interest rate of 400 or 500% as unduly harsh.”


title: Riba

text: M.O. Farooq asks if lenders aren't "renting out" the purchasing power of their capital for the length of the loan and due interest as a form of rent much as any landlord, rental agency, or other temporary provider of something valuable/useful. M.A. Khan asks why fixed rent and fixed wages are not equally unjust despite not being forbidden by orthodox scholars. (While some Islamist thinkers have promoted the idea that 'labor owned firms would express the spirit of Islam better' than conventional ones, there is no movement to restrict businesses to profit-sharing payment for employees or even much debate on the issue.) Farooq notes that in the modern world banks compete with other lenders and subject to government regulation. Predatory lending does exist — from payday lenders, and those lending at high and variable rates. These "may be covered by "riba" and thus Islamically prohibited," but this is hardly the same as declaring all interest "riba".


title: Riba

text: Another argument against the idea that charging interest on loans exploits entrepreneurs, is that availability of capital for a modern business endeavour is one factor among many that lead to success or failure. The entrepreneur/business management involves in multiple elements — product design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, employee management and motivation, etc. Having provided its share in the process, why should financiers suffer part of the losses (if there are any) that are beyond their control; or be rewarded with profits (if there are any) that they had so little to do with? In answer to the idea that collecting interest on a business loan when the business has gone insolvent is unjust, M.A. Khan replies that in the overwhelming majority of cases both banks and lenders benefit from loans and asks if it is sensible to let the small fraction of bankruptcies dictate how finance is structured.


title: Riba

text: Feisal Khan points out that contrary to the orthodox view that collateralized loans are risk free, the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis has shown that "even AAA-rated collateral is often insufficient to ward off lender losses".


title: Riba

text: M.A. Khan cites rates of "profits" of business enterprises from developed countries over several decades, which were "consistently" higher by ""several multiples"" than the rates of interest, a reflection of capital markets compensating the greater risk of equities with greater returns (on average), and safer fixed income investment with lower returns. Fixed income accounts also provide a service for those with fixed and modest income, critics argue, and for people who need ready access to cash (that less liquid profit-making investments can't provide) but want to "put their money to work". Large, sophisticated enterprises can hardly be considered victims of exploitation when they borrow funds that originate in accounts of small savers.


title: Riba

text: Concerning the motive of fighting injustice and exploitation, M.A. Khan complains that the orthodox have never bothered to define exactly what they mean by exploitation or done the research to substantiate their claim that all interest exploits. M.O. Farooq notes that orthodox supporters frequently invoke exploitation and injustice in their polemical arguments but ignore it in studies or in depth works. Farooq further argues that in the real world profit, in contrast with interest, is as much exploitative, if not more. In a separate work, he illuminates the importance of rent-seeking in the modern world that is more widespread and with far greater consequence than interest. Farooq and others (e.g. Izzud-Din Pal and Yoginder Sikand) complain that the pursuit of justice has not been made the "underlying reason" in defining "riba" by jurists. (See above.)


title: Riba

text: Among those arguing that interest has a corrupting influence on society are Muhammad N. Siddiqi, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, medieval jurist Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Abul A'la Maududi.


title: Riba

text: Interest "corrupts" society and "demeans and diminishes human personality" according to M.N. Siddiqi.