INTEREST

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Interest in other religions, philosophy and literature

Interest was prohibited in other revealed books also. Today those books are not found undistorted. Only the holy Quran remains unadulterated or undistorted and will remain so till Akhirah (the Day of Resurrection). Because Allah SWT himself has taken the responsibility to safeguard it. The Jabur, revealed on Prophet Daud (David) (A) is untraceable.The original text of the Taurat (Torah), revealed on Prophet Musa (Moses) (A) is lost. Only the curtailed and adulterated version is available. And it is well known that over the ages a lot of changes and adulteration has been made in the original text of the the Injeel (Bible), revealed on Prophet Isa (Jesus) (A). In spite of this, the European scholars claim that the Old Testament of the Injeel i.e. the Bible is a major part of the Taurat (Torah). Even after the changes and adulteration made in the Old Testament what is left about usury is noteworthy. Let us have a glimpse of them.

(a) Directives to the Jews about usury

The followers of Moses are known as the Jews while the followers of Jesus are known as the Christians. The declarations and directives made in the Old Testament in respect of interest is equally applicable in modern times also because these are integral part of the Bible. For example:

(1) "If you lend money to any of my people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest". (Exodus 22:25)

(2) "If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit". (Leviticus 25:35-37)

(3) "You shall not charge interest to your brother -- interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest". (Deuteronomy 23:20)

(4) "One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor. If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable". (Ecelesiastes 28:8-9)

(5) "He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent, he who does these things shall never be moved". (The Psalm 15:5)

(6) "If he has not exacted usury nor taken any increase, but has withdrawn his hand from iniquity and executed true judgment between man and man, if he has walked in my statutes and kept my judgments faithfully -- he is just; he shall surely live!". (Ezekiel 18:8-9)

(7) "If he has exacted usury or taken increase -- shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him". (Ezekiel 18:13)

(b) The Church's condemnation of usury

From the advent of the Christianity, interest/usury was forbidden until the beginning of the reformation movement and separation of other churches from the Church controlled by the Pope of Rome. All the churches maintained unanimous consensus in this regard. The Church of Europe in the Middle Ages compared usurers with prostitutes for their extreme greed and miserliness. 

Pope Leo the Great (440-461) laid the cornerstone for later usury laws when he forbade clerics from taking usury and condemned laymen for it. In 850 the Synod of Paris excommunicated all usurers. The Second Lateran Council (1139) declared that unrepentant usurers were condemned by both the Old and New Testaments. Pope Urban III (1185-87) cited Christ's words "lend freely, hoping nothing thereby" (Luke 6:35).

Judicial action was taken against those openly practicing usury and the Chuch never condoned Jewish usury activity. Christian usurers who used semantic tricks in making loans were worried about excommunication and being denied the sacraments, especially burial in sacred ground.

Usurers were required to make monetary restitution to their "victims", and if they could not be found, to the poor through the Church. Vast amounts of such money were involved in death bequests. The heirs of usurers were also required to make restitution.

Pope Innocent IV (1250-1261) noted that if usury were permitted rich people would prefer to put their money in a usurious loan rather than invest in agriculture. Only the poor would do the farming and they did not have the animals and tools to do it. Famine would result. Burudian (d.1358), a professor at the University of Paris wrote: "Usury is evil ...because the usurer seeks avariciously what has no finite limits". This places its results outside of nature – often outside of the possible. St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) observed that usury concentrates the money of the community into the hands of the few.[1]

(c) Usury in Hindu religion

Usury is also condemned in Hindu religion. Hindu law givers have detested usury and Manu tops the list in this respect . His dictates, orders, rulings and advices were collected in book form known as Manusamhita or Manusmriti. This was done probably during the 200 BC to 200 AD. The social and family laws and code of conducts to be followed in the daily life are incorporated in it. Even his advice for the kings and the laws to be followed to run the kingdom were accepted with due veneration and were obeyed widely. His book was the first of its kind and still regarded to be at the top. About usury he said-

‘‘গোরক্ষকান্ বাণিজিকাংস্তথা কারুকুশীলবান।

প্রেষ্যান্ বার্ধুষিকাংশ্চৈব বিপ্রাণ্ শুদ্রবদাচরেৎ \’’

(Manusamhita, Chapter 8, Verse 102)

i.e. Behave like shudras (i.e. outcast) to the cowboys, traders, cooks, dancers, slaves and to the brahmins who devours usury. (Tr. Suresh Chandra Banarjee, Manusamhita, Ananda Publishers Ltd, Calcutta, 1999).

The above verse clearly testifies to the fact that usury was in practice and people of different classes were involved in it. But if the brahmin (i.e. the priest class) accepts usury he should be behaved like the shudras (i.e. the outcasts). In the class system of the Hindu religion the Brahmins top the list. The Khattriya (i.e. the warrior class) and the Vaishya (i.e. the trading class) followed by. The Shudras were considered of low breed and hence declared outcast. They had no place in the society. Manu was of the opinion that if the highest class of people of the society i.e. the Brahmin deals with usury he should be treated as outcast. This shows how usury was looked upon in the society in the then India. The top class honourable people should not, in any form, be associated with this detestable aspect of the economy. But if they ignore the dictate they will loose their high status.

In another important religious book of the Hindu religion it is said,

‘‘চিকিৎষস্য ভিক্ষোশ্চ তথা বার্ধুষিকস্য চ।

পাষন্ডস্য চ নৈবান্নং ভুঞ্জীত নাস্তিকস্য চ \’’

(Brihod Dharma Purana; 2nd part, Verse 63)

i.e., Do not take the food of the physicians, beggars, usururs, atheist and of the rogues.

The above verse testifies to the fact that usury was detested in the society so much so that acceptance of food from the usurers was prohibited. Alas! the Hindus of the modern days do not pay any heed to the dictates of their law givers.

(d) Great philosophers' views on usury

Famous great philosophers and humanitarians of the ancient and the Middle Ages stood firm against interest. They focused on the evil effects of interest and delivered strong statesment against it. Aristotle (384-322 BC), the great Greek philosopher, said in his famous book Politics labeling interest as unnatural profit and said that trading of money like other commodities is a kind of forgery wherefore it could not have any legitimacy. Aristotle understood that money is sterile; it does not beget more money the way cows beget more cows. He knew that ‘‘Money exists not by nature but by law’’. ‘‘The most hated sort (of wealth getting) and with the greatest reason, is usury, which makes a gain out of money itself and not from the natural object of it. For money was intended to be used in exchange but not to increase at interest. (Politics).[2]

Plato (427-347 BC), the great Athenian philosopher, blamed interest in his book Law. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the great Italian philosopher, argued against interest and said that money is a medium of exchange. It is used up when it is spent. To charge for the money and for its use is to charge for the money twice. Undoubtedly, this ‘double charging’ is unjust. He refuted the arguments of those who claim interest as the price of time saying that time is that kind of common wealth upon which everyone whether he is a lender, debtor or any one else has equal right and ownership. In this situation if the lender charges for time just for his own sake ignoring others right, then this business would simply be an unfair one.

Karl Marx (1818-1883), the German economic philosopher, was an ardent critic of capitalism and theoretical exponent of communism. He criticized interest and its users very strongly and harshly [Capital, vol.2]. He expressed the desire to uproot interest from the economy, execute severe punishment to its users and confiscate all their properties. He considered money as a weapon of exploitation of the society. That is why during the period of the War Communism (1918-1921) ruble, the currency of Soviet Russia, was withdrawn from circulation. This was done when Socialism as a socio-economic system was being established under the leadership of Lenin.[3] The motive was to uproot capitalism and exploitation as well by eleminating money from the economy.

Plutarch (c. 46-120), the great Greek historian, believed that lenders of money were more oppressive than foreign invaders.  Usurers were insulted in the literature of the world famous writers for their proverbial covetousness, cruelty and avarice. Dante (1265-1321), the immortal poet of Italy, placed the usurers in his Divine Commedy in the inner ring of the seventh circle of hell. Who had not heard the name of Shylock, a character of the drama named The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the undisputed emperor of English literature, and the name of Harpagan of the drama The Miser by Moliere (1622-1673), the great French dramatist?

(e) Usury in Bengali literature

Bengali literature also beares the testimony of how the usurers opressed and exploited their victims. Rabindranath Tagore, the only Noble laureate in Bengali literature, has written a famous short story on the usurers, Kabuliwalla. Mention should also be made of Shawkat Uthman's Eita, Abu Ishaq's Jonke. In the field of novels prominents are Shahidudllah Kaisar (Shangsoptak). Kazi Imdadul Haq (Abdullah), Jahir Raihan (Hajar Bosor Dhore), Shadhon Chatterjee (Goheen Gang), and Odaita Mallo Barman (Titash Ekti Nadir Nam). How the poor fishermen of Bangladesh are being exploited ruthlessly through usury is narrated in the later two books. How the village people irrespective of sex, cast, creed and religion suffer from untold miseries just by seeking loans on interest and finally deprived of their properties whatever they had are vividly described in the above mentioned novels.

      

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