Interest

[akbarkhan]

Sangar Jaanem

What is the logic behind it being such a big sin?

For example, Pre-marital sex = spread of diseases, aids,
lying = deceiving people, ruining peoples lives.

What is the problem with interest. I understand that Islam has forbidden it. I just want to understand why.

I read all three of those points.

There are many reasons for this but the critical one is the following:

Islam encourages the circulation of wealth in society, it gives everyone the chance to acquire wealth not just selected few. Riba/Interest monopolizes wealth by making sure the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

[tor_khan]

Sangar Jaanem

What is the logic behind it being such a big sin?

For example, Pre-marital sex = spread of diseases, aids,
lying = deceiving people, ruining peoples lives.

What is the problem with interest. I understand that Islam has forbidden it. I just want to understand why.

I read all three of those points.

Almost every war that has ever taken place throughout time immemorial (from the ancient times till now) has been based on power and capital gain. War is costly business, but the gains have almost always been financial whether it has been through land acquistion or political/economic takeover, so when we consider the US presence in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, despite all the talk about big government spends, in a more sinister sense businesses have driven these occupations by creating the conditions and then fulfilling a false need. The result is they have shamelessly profiteered through exploitation and their earnings have found their ways into high-interest bank accounts.

And because we live in a joined-up money-go-round world, every drop of that money sitting in banks is tainted with the blood, hunger and suffering of the innocents. Banks do not behave with any sense of humanity because when they lend, they expect more back in return so "compasionate" loans to poor African states must be paid back of course. The net result is that these countries become tied to the banks who will watch people starve, but demand payment (with interest) as these countries get caught in a vicious cycle in which they end up borrowing more from other banks as they struggle to pay off their debts to the first banks.

Islamic Rulings that declare Riba haraam are absolutely correct, because if you end Interest, paying off debts becomes more realistic. Similarly the profit that you charge on goods and services is about the cost of the goods and the earning that you would reasonably expect to make.