The Art of RF (Riba-Free) Islamic Banking and Finance: Tools and Techniques for Community-Based Banking, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 2 The Faith-Based Judeo-Christian-Islamic Foundation of the Prohibition of Interest and the RF (Riba-Free) Banking System

This chapter studies in some detail the fundamental issue of the prohibition of riba (interest) in Islam and researches its foundations by tracing it back to its origins in the Jewish and Christian faiths and Bibles. An introduction to the religion of Islam is included at the beginning of this chapter to familiarize the reader with an overview of the fundamental foundation of Islam as revealed in the Qur'aan, the teachings of Muhammad (pp) as well as its links to the revelations to the teachings of Moses (pp) and Jesus (pp).

Charging interest (called riba in the Qur'aan and ribit in the Torah) is divinely prohibited in Judaism and Christianity as it is also clearly and strictly prohibited in Islam. That is why it is believed that this can present the followers of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) with a wonderful window of historic proportions to cooperate together to bring to market a credible, efficient, fair, and equitable financing and banking system—The RF (riba/ribit-free) banking and finance system—which uses the Judeo-Christian-Islamic RF banking and finance discipline. It is important to study, learn, and reflect upon the history of the prohibition of interest from the original teachings of Moses (pp) in the Torah (Jewish Bible), the teachings of Jesus (pp) in the Christian Bible, and the teachings of Muhammad (pp) ...