মাসিক আত-তাহরীক Publisher's note
Interest is the biggest weapon of exploitation of the capitalist economy. The system of giving loan on the basis of interest has been practised from the days unknown. The motive behind is to exploit the debtor capitalizing his miserable situation. As a result, humanitarian motivation to help the needy to provide good loan (i.e. qarz-i-hasanah) does not prevail.
All the Prophets and Messengers of Allah SWT have declared interest as a weapon of exploitation and advised all to abstain from it. During the period of the Islamic Khilafat in Medina, men first come upon the advantages of interest-free Islamic economy and during the Caliphate of Umar (R.A.) no where of Arabia any poor man was found suitable to receive Zakat. It is also feasible today if the people are conscious and the attitude of the government is changed and the economy is reformed accordingly.
It is our humble effort to make the people of the country aware of the evils of interest. ِWe are grateful to Allah SWT that we published three valuable Bengali articles of Professor Shah Muhammad Habibur Rahman, a renowned Islamic economist of the country, an honorable member of the Shariah Council of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) for 23 years and a veteran Professor of Economics of Rajshahi University. We have published those articles of Monthly At-Tahreek, Rajshahi (Oct. 2001, march & may 2008) in a book form. The author has kindly translated the book in English, thoroughly revised and updated the contents as well.
The prohibition of interest is confirmed by eight verses (Baqarah 275-76,78,79,80; Ale Imran 130, Nisa 161, Rum 39) of the holy Quran and more than twenty saheeh Hadeethes. The prophet (pbuh) said, "Whatever is the volume of money due to interest, it ends up in poverty" (Ahmad, sanad saheeh). Yet the interest-based economy has been running for ages in Bangladesh. The financial institutions are filing cases against the debtors and grilling them in jail because of failure to pay the instalments of interest in due time while the rural usurers and the workers of the NGOs are seizing tins from the roof of the debtor's house and snatching away milch cows from the cow sheds. Even the poor debtors are beaten to death and bodies are hanged from trees in order to threaten others. Against this background to rouse consciousness among the people about the oppression and exploitation of interest and to warn the Mumin about the severe punishment in the world Hereafter is the main goal of our little endeavour. If the people in general and the government in particular become aware about the evil consequences of interest and abstain from its dealing and if Allah SWT accepts our selfless effort in this regard, we would consider our work rewarding. The honoured writer has made this book waqf to the Hadeeth Foundation Bangladesh as Sadaqah jariah. May Allah SWT grant him the best rewards both in this world and in the world Hereafter. - Ameen!
Director
