What Does the Quran Say About Interest? A Cross-Faith Comparison

Not applicable in the strict Quranic sense. The concept of riba as defined and prohibited in the Quran is specific to Islamic scripture and jurisprudence, with no direct Jewish counterpart term or ruling.

That said, Judaism does address interest-bearing loans. The Torah prohibits charging interest (neshekh) to fellow Israelites (Leviticus 25:36–37, Deuteronomy 23:20), though lending at interest to non-Israelites was permitted. The Talmud (Bava Metzia tractate) elaborates extensively on these rules. Medieval rabbinic authorities, including Maimonides (12th century), codified these restrictions in the Mishneh Torah. A legal workaround called the heter iska — a partnership agreement rather than a loan — was later developed to facilitate commercial lending within Jewish communities without technically violating the prohibition.

Not applicable in the strict Quranic sense. The Quran's prohibition of riba is a distinctly Islamic scriptural and legal concept with no direct New Testament equivalent.

Christianity, however, has a long history of concern about usury. The Old Testament passages inherited by Christians (Exodus 22:25, Psalm 15:5) discourage charging interest to the poor. Early Church councils — including the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) — banned clergy from lending at interest. Medieval scholastics like Thomas Aquinas (13th century) argued that charging interest on money was intrinsically unjust because money itself is consumed in use. The Protestant Reformation, particularly John Calvin's writings in the 16th century, began to soften this stance, allowing moderate interest in commercial contexts. Modern mainstream Christianity generally does not prohibit interest outright, though concern for predatory or exploitative lending remains a live ethical issue.

The Quran's stance on interest — referred to as riba (literally 'increase' or 'excess') — is one of the most emphatic financial prohibitions in Islamic scripture. The condemnation appears across multiple surahs and escalates in severity across the Meccan and Medinan revelations.

The foundational prohibition appears in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:275–279), where Allah declares that those who consume riba 'will not stand except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity.' The verse famously draws a sharp contrast: 'Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest.' Verse 2:278–279 then issues a stark ultimatum to believers to abandon all remaining riba or face war from Allah and His Messenger — language that classical scholars like Al-Tabari (9th–10th century) and Ibn Kathir (14th century) considered among the most severe warnings in the entire Quran.

Surah Al-Imran (3:130) specifies the prohibition with additional detail Quran 70:24: 'O you who have believed, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied, but fear Allah that you may be successful.' This verse targets the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of doubling a debt when a borrower couldn't repay on time — a compounding mechanism scholars like Yusuf al-Qaradawi (20th century) argue is the core evil riba seeks to eliminate.

Surah Ar-Rum (30:39) adds a spiritual-economic dimension, contrasting riba with charitable giving: interest may increase wealth in worldly terms, but it yields no increase with Allah, whereas charity does Quran 2:262.

Classical Islamic jurisprudence divided riba into two main categories: riba al-nasi'ah (interest on loans, the primary Quranic target) and riba al-fadl (unequal exchange of the same commodity, derived from hadith). All four major Sunni legal schools — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali — unanimously prohibit both forms, making this one of the rare points of total jurisprudential consensus (ijma').

In the modern era, Islamic finance has developed instruments like murabaha (cost-plus financing), ijara (leasing), and musharaka (profit-sharing partnerships) to enable commerce without riba. Scholars disagree, however, on whether bank interest in contemporary economies constitutes riba in every case — a debate that remains active among institutions like the Fiqh Academy of the OIC and individual scholars like Muhammad Taqi Usmani Quran 2:264.

Not applicable. Concerns Islamic scripture/practice; no direct counterpart.

Not applicable. Concerns Islamic scripture/practice; no direct counterpart.

The provided Quranic passages emphasize ethical spending and the integrity of charity, but do not directly mention interest (riba). They commend those who spend in the path of God without following it with reminders of generosity or harm, promising them security and reward. Quran 2:262 They also warn that causing hurt or seeking showiness nullifies the value of charity. Quran 2:264 Additionally, they indicate that there is a known due in one’s wealth, underscoring social responsibility. Quran 70:24 Within these retrieved texts, the focus is on sincere giving and avoiding injury to recipients, not on lending at interest; any claim about riba would require verses not included here, so it isn’t made. Quran 2:262 Quran 2:264 Quran 70:24