سُوْرَةُ البَقَرَةِ
Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 276
يَمْحَقُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ وَيُرْبِى ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ أَثِيمٍ ﴿276﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Allâh will destroy Ribâ (usury) and will give increase for Sadaqât (deeds of charity, alms, etc.) And Allâh likes not the disbelievers, sinners.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
يَمْحَقُ
yamḥaqu
Destroys
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟
l-riba
the usury
وَيُرْبِى
wayur'bī
and (gives) increase
ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتِ ۗ
l-ṣadaqāti
(for) the charities
وَٱللَّهُ
wal-lahu
And Allah
لَا
lā
(does) not
يُحِبُّ
yuḥibbu
love
كُلَّ
kulla
every
كَفَّارٍ
kaffārin
ungrateful
أَثِيمٍ
athīmin
sinner
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
276. Allah destroys usury and nurtures charities [395]. And Allah does not like any ungrateful [396] evildoer.
[395] Although apparently it seems that taking interest increases wealth and giving charity decreases it, in reality, the opposite is true. One aspect of this is that there is no blessing in wealth gained through interest, and it becomes a case of “wealth acquired unlawfully departs unlawfully.” On the other hand, when one gives charity, Allah Almighty grants him a substitute from such a place that he himself could not have imagined, and this is a reality that has been experienced by many people repeatedly. Nevertheless, this can also be proven through rational arguments. The second aspect can be proven from the perspective of economics, and that is: in a society where the system of charity is prevalent, the purchasing power of the poor class (which is generally the majority in every society) increases, and the circulation of wealth becomes much faster, resulting in prosperity and the development of the national economy. In contrast, in a society where interest is prevalent, the purchasing power of the poor class decreases, and the wealth is drawn by interest towards the rich class, whose numbers are few, causing the circulation of wealth to become extremely slow. This leads to recurring economic crises, increases the class divide between rich and poor, and sometimes the poor, out of frustration, begin to rob and kill the rich. A constant atmosphere of tension prevails between master and laborer, rich and poor, which can result in many kinds of disastrous consequences.
[396] Here, the ungrateful person refers to the usurer who possesses more money than his needs. He is not willing to help his needy brother, nor does he want to give him charity or a goodly loan; rather, he wants to extract from him, through interest, the hard-earned wages of his labor. Whereas this surplus money was merely Allah’s favor upon him, and by giving charity or a loan, he should have shown gratitude for Allah’s favor. But instead, by putting the surplus money on interest, he showed extreme ingratitude for Allah’s favor. Therefore, what could be a greater wrongdoing and sin than this?
[395] Although apparently it seems that taking interest increases wealth and giving charity decreases it, in reality, the opposite is true. One aspect of this is that there is no blessing in wealth gained through interest, and it becomes a case of “wealth acquired unlawfully departs unlawfully.” On the other hand, when one gives charity, Allah Almighty grants him a substitute from such a place that he himself could not have imagined, and this is a reality that has been experienced by many people repeatedly. Nevertheless, this can also be proven through rational arguments. The second aspect can be proven from the perspective of economics, and that is: in a society where the system of charity is prevalent, the purchasing power of the poor class (which is generally the majority in every society) increases, and the circulation of wealth becomes much faster, resulting in prosperity and the development of the national economy. In contrast, in a society where interest is prevalent, the purchasing power of the poor class decreases, and the wealth is drawn by interest towards the rich class, whose numbers are few, causing the circulation of wealth to become extremely slow. This leads to recurring economic crises, increases the class divide between rich and poor, and sometimes the poor, out of frustration, begin to rob and kill the rich. A constant atmosphere of tension prevails between master and laborer, rich and poor, which can result in many kinds of disastrous consequences.
[396] Here, the ungrateful person refers to the usurer who possesses more money than his needs. He is not willing to help his needy brother, nor does he want to give him charity or a goodly loan; rather, he wants to extract from him, through interest, the hard-earned wages of his labor. Whereas this surplus money was merely Allah’s favor upon him, and by giving charity or a loan, he should have shown gratitude for Allah’s favor. But instead, by putting the surplus money on interest, he showed extreme ingratitude for Allah’s favor. Therefore, what could be a greater wrongdoing and sin than this?
