What does the Quran say about money and interest?
The Qur’an permits trade and forbids ribā — usually translated interest or usury — in the same sentence Qur’an 2:275. It instructs creditors to give a debtor in hardship time until ease, and says remitting the debt is better still Qur’an 2:280. It requires debts to be written down Qur’an 2:282, forbids consuming wealth unjustly Qur’an 4:29, and warns against hoarding Qur’an 9:34. Wealth itself is not condemned; how it is obtained and what is done with it are the subject.
What does the Qur’an say about interest?
Qur’an 2:275 draws the line directly: God has permitted trade and forbidden ribā. The verse opens by describing those who consume it, and rejects the argument that trade is merely like ribā. Qur’an 2:276 states that God destroys ribā and gives increase for charities. Qur’an 30:39 makes the contrast plainer still: what you give in ribā to increase within people’s wealth does not increase with God, while what you give in zakat, seeking God’s countenance — those are the ones who multiply.
How strong is the prohibition?
Among the strongest phrasings in the Qur’an. Qur’an 2:278 instructs believers to fear God and give up what remains due of ribā, and Qur’an 2:279 continues: if you do not, then be informed of a war from God and His Messenger. The same verse then limits what may be reclaimed: if you repent, you may have your principal — you do no wrong and are not wronged. The remedy is return of the capital without the increase. Qur’an 3:130 forbids consuming ribā doubled and multiplied.
What does the Qur’an say about a debtor who cannot pay?
Qur’an 2:280 is remarkable in a passage otherwise concerned with what is owed: if the debtor is in hardship, then postponement until ease — and that if you remit it as charity, it is better for you, if you only knew. The instruction is not to pursue, restructure or penalise, but to wait; and forgiving the debt outright is named as the better course. It sits immediately after the severest verses on ribā, which is not accidental.
Does the Qur’an say to document financial dealings?
At unusual length. Qur’an 2:282 is the longest verse in the Qur’an, and it concerns writing down a debt for a specified term — instructing that a scribe record it justly, that the one incurring the liability dictate, that he not diminish anything from it, and that witnesses be brought. It adds that it is not sinful if a transaction is immediate and conducted on the spot, and cautions that neither scribe nor witness should be harmed. For a scripture, the level of procedural detail is striking.
Is wealth itself condemned?
No. Qur’an 4:29 forbids consuming one another’s wealth unjustly — while expressly permitting lawful business conducted by mutual consent. Trade is permitted in the same breath as ribā is forbidden Qur’an 2:275. What is criticised is a particular relationship to wealth. Qur’an 104:1-3 pronounces woe on the one who amasses wealth and counts it, imagining it will make him immortal. Qur’an 9:34 warns those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in God’s way. Qur’an 3:180 warns against those who are miserly with what God has given them. The consistent thread is that wealth is a trust to be circulated, not a store to be accumulated.
Common questions
- Is interest forbidden in the Qur’an?
- Yes. Qur’an 2:275 states that God has permitted trade and forbidden ribā, and Qur’an 2:278-279 instructs giving up what remains of it, allowing the return of the principal only.
- Does the Qur’an say what to do about someone who cannot repay a debt?
- Qur’an 2:280 instructs postponement until the debtor is at ease, and says that remitting the debt as charity is better.
- Is it wrong to be wealthy according to the Qur’an?
- No. Lawful trade by mutual consent is permitted Qur’an 4:29 Qur’an 2:275. What is criticised is unjust acquisition, hoarding Qur’an 9:34, and treating accumulation as an end in itself Qur’an 104:1-3.
- Does modern bank interest count as riba?
- The Qur’an forbids ribā and permits trade Qur’an 2:275 without defining the boundary for modern instruments. How contemporary banking maps onto the prohibition is debated among scholars and jurists, and this page does not settle it.
Sources cited on this page
Every claim above is traceable. Qur’an references open with several translations side by side, since translations differ. Where a point is not settled by the Qur’an itself, the narration is named so you can see what it rests on.
The Surahs this page draws on
Every verse quoted above comes from one of these chapters. Each is set out in full — why it was revealed, and what it teaches.