Surah Ar-Room (30) — Ayah 39

39. And whatever you give as interest to increase your wealth through the wealth of others, it does not increase with Allah [44]. But whatever you give as zakat, seeking Allah’s pleasure, it is such people who multiply their wealth [45].

[44]
Usury Destroys National Economy and Zakat Causes It to Flourish:

This is the first verse revealed in the series condemning usury. Then, according to verse 130 of Surah Aal-e-Imran, Muslims were prohibited from compound usury. Then, four months before the passing of the Prophet ﷺ, according to verses 275 to 281 of Surah Al-Baqarah, it was declared completely forbidden. Just as with alcohol, usury was deeply ingrained in the Arabs. Therefore, the complete eradication of such evils was only possible gradually. Now, coming to the main issue, it apparently seems that wealth increases through usury, whereas the reality is the opposite. In any society, the number of wealthy people is much less compared to the number of poor, and those who take usury are the wealthy, while those who pay it are the poor and needy. Thus, only one person benefits from usury, while hundreds of poor people suffer loss. In the sight of Allah, all His creation is equal; in fact, He cherishes the interests of the poor more than those of the wealthy. The usurer, through usury, draws the wealth of countless poor people, making them even more destitute and impoverished. Allah has expressed this reality in these words: wealth does not increase through usury, rather it decreases. This is one aspect of the issue. The second aspect is that it is an established principle of economics that the greater the circulation of wealth in a society, the more prosperous that society will be and the more its national wealth will increase. If the flow of wealth is from the poor to the rich, this circulation will greatly decrease, because the number of rich people is very small. In this respect as well, usury has a devastating effect on the national economy. If the flow of wealth is from the rich to the poor—and this is only possible in the form of zakat and charity—then the circulation of wealth will speed up. Firstly, because the number of poor is much greater, and secondly, their needs are stuck only due to lack of money. Therefore, due to the acceleration in the circulation of wealth, not only will the whole society become prosperous, but there will also be a positive effect on the national economy. This is the reality that Allah Almighty has expressed in these words:
﴿يَمْحَقُ اللّٰهُ الرِّبٰوا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقٰتِ﴾ [276:2]
That is, in the society where usury prevails, there will be no blessing; it will ultimately become bankrupt. The number of poor people will keep increasing day by day, and in order to feed themselves, they will attack the rich class by lawful and unlawful means and snatch their wealth from them. For this purpose, if theft, robbery, and looting suffice, then fine; otherwise, they will not hesitate even from murder and bloodshed.

The Foundation of the Islamic Economic System: Two Things

There are extensive writings available in the market on Islamic economics or the Islamic economic system. I say that the basic principles of the Islamic economic system are only two: one, the elimination of usury from the country, and two, the promotion of the system of zakat and charity in its place. Usury is the curse that is the lifeblood of the capitalist system. With its elimination, the lifeblood of capitalism is automatically removed. Whatever remains is eliminated by Islam’s law of inheritance. After the elimination of usury, when the system of zakat and charity takes its place, class division automatically ends, and society becomes prosperous. To understand this, there is no need to read books on economics or understand its principles; rather, only experience is needed, and every person can at least experiment within his own family and observe its fruits and blessings with his own eyes. Although on such a small scale, the full benefits of eliminating usury and promoting zakat and charity cannot be achieved, still, the condition of such a family can become much better than before. The ugly feelings of hatred, envy, and malice of the poor towards the rich subside, and in their place, high values such as kindness, sympathy, and brotherhood begin to develop. As a result, instead of tension, an atmosphere of love is created in society, and the unequal distribution of wealth is especially reduced, ensuring that every individual in society at least continues to receive the basic necessities.

[45]
How Does Wealth Increase Through Zakat?

One meaning has already been mentioned above: those who give zakat and charity for the pleasure of Allah cause society to prosper. The purchasing power of the poor increases, which ultimately benefits the wealthy traders and industrialists themselves, and the benefit they gain in this way is much greater than what they would get by lending money on interest. The second meaning is that those who pay charity and zakat for the pleasure of Allah will receive a much greater reward for it on the Day of Judgment. This reward can be tenfold, seventyfold, seven hundredfold, or even more. There are also some principles with Allah regarding the increase or decrease of this reward. For example, to what extent was the needy person whose need was fulfilled actually in need? How sincere was the intention of the giver? And after doing this good deed, did he do anything to nullify his reward? Or was there any element of showing off at the time of giving? And were the instructions of the Shariah observed at the time of spending, or not? And so on.