Unlawful Tax, Betrayal of Trust, Lying, and Usury in Islam – Severe Warnings
Compiled by: Toheed.com
Unlawful Tax and Extortion
Taking tax, levy, or extortion from people’s wealth unjustly is strictly prohibited in Shari‘ah, and such a person is considered a grave sinner.
- Buraidah (RA): A woman from the tribe of Ghamid came to the Prophet ﷺ and confessed to committing adultery. After childbirth, she was stoned. During the stoning, blood splattered on Khalid ibn Walid (RA), and he cursed her. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“O Khalid! By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if the collector of unlawful tax were to repent with such a repentance, it would be forgiven.”
(Muslim 1695)
Betrayal of Trust (Khiyanah)
Allah ﷻ says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَخُونُوا اللَّـهَ وَالرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوا أَمَانَاتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (الانفال 27)
“O you who believe! Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray your trusts knowingly.”
- Anas (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“He has no faith who is not trustworthy, and he has no religion who does not keep his promises.”
(Musnad Ahmad 12410) - Abdullah ibn Amr (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There are four traits of a hypocrite:
① When he speaks, he lies
② When he makes a promise, he breaks it
③ When entrusted, he betrays
④ When he quarrels, he abuses
Whoever has all four is a pure hypocrite. Whoever has one of them has a trait of hypocrisy until he leaves it.”
(Bukhari 34, Muslim 58) - Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Return the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrays you.”
(Abu Dawud 3535)
Examples of Trust:
◈ Borrowed items
◈ Secrets
◈ Professional and academic duties
◈ Acting upon the Qur’an and Sunnah
Lying and Its Severe Consequences
- Ibn Mas‘ud (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Adhere to truth, for truth leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man continues to speak the truth until he is recorded with Allah as a truthful one. Beware of lying, for lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to Hell. A man continues to lie until he is recorded with Allah as a liar.”
(Bukhari 6094, Muslim 2607) - Samurah ibn Jundub (RA): The Prophet ﷺ described a vision:
A man’s face was being torn from mouth to ear with an iron hook, then the other side. This continued endlessly. He was told: “This is the one who told lies which spread far and wide.”
(Bukhari 7047)
Types of Lies
◈ Relaying Unverified Information – “It is enough of a lie for a man to repeat everything he hears.” (Muslim 5)
◈ Lying for Amusement – “Woe to the one who tells lies to make people laugh. Woe to him! Woe to him!” (Abu Dawud 4990)
◈ False Dreams – “The greatest of lies is to attribute oneself to someone other than one’s father, or to narrate a dream one has not seen, or to ascribe to me something I did not say.” (Bukhari 3509)
- Ibn Abbas (RA): “Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he did not see will be tasked on the Day of Judgment to tie two barley grains together, which he will never be able to do.” (Bukhari 7042)
Usury (Riba) and Its Severe Warnings
Usury fosters selfishness, cruelty, and exploitation, destroying compassion and generosity. Allah ﷻ declared war against it.
- Qur’an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا... (البقرہ 278-279)
“O you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains of riba if you are believers. But if you do not, then be informed of war from Allah and His Messenger.”
فَمَن جَاءَهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ... (البقرہ 275)
“Whoever stops after receiving admonition from his Lord, what has passed is forgiven. But those who return, they are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein forever.”
Severe Punishments for Riba
- Samurah ibn Jundub (RA): The Prophet ﷺ saw a man in a river of blood being pelted with stones whenever he tried to escape. He was told: “This is the one who consumed riba.”
(Bukhari 2085) - Ibn Mas‘ud (RA): “The Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it.”
(Muslim 1597) - Jabir (RA): “The Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the one who records it, and its witnesses, and said: They are all equal (in sin).”
(Muslim 1598) - Abu Hurairah (RA): “Riba has seventy levels, the least of which is like a man marrying his own mother.”
(Ibn Majah 2274)
Implications:
◈ Working in interest-based institutions
◈ Assisting in interest-based contracts
◈ Renting buildings to interest-based businesses
◈ Benefiting from interest-based money
All of these are haram.
Supplication
May Allah instill in every believer the awareness of the evil of riba, grant us protection from it, and enable the Ummah to establish a sound Islamic financial system. Ameen.
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