Why is Riba' forbidden? For Ribaa, I needed Quranic references that give reasons for forbidding Ribaa as the arguments for selfishness are little debatable if we consider it to be interest? What about renting, does it have any real difference with ribaa? Reply Before I give the Qur'anic references for the reason of forbidding riba', let us first examine the difference between riba' and rent of a property. Rent refers to the charge for the "use" of some property. A person who rents a house, for instance, receives a specific periodical payment for providing such service. The house that has been provided, although depreciates over time, but is not consumed. At the end of the rental agreement, the lessee returns the possession of the house to the lessor, in the particular form that the house now is. In this case, he does not have to reproduce the house. He only has to deliver the possession of the on "as is" basis to its owner. Riba', on the other hand is a specific periodical charge for the "consumption" of an item. This consumption may be personal or commercial. A person, for instance, lends some money to another. The lender, in return of his money, which would not merely be used by the borrower, but actually be consumed - personally or commercially - by him, asks for a specific periodic charge and also demands from the lender to reproduce his money and pay it back to him at a specified time. This would actually be like giving someone your house on rent for a specified period of time and asking for an undepriciated new house at the end of the rental period. Which obviously, would not be fair. Thus, we may say that rent is a periodic charge for the "use" of an item for a specific period of time, at the end of which the item is handed back to its owner. While riba' is a periodic charge for the "consumption" of an item for a specific period of time, at the end of which lender demands the reproduction and return of the consumed item as well. One of the reasons specified by the Qur'an for the prohibition of riba' (Al-Baqarah 2: 279) is that taking riba' is based on injustice. Another reason that can be derived from the placement of the directive regarding prohibition of riba' is that it makes a person apathetic towards the needs of other human beings, the society in general and Allah's deen. Riba' has the potential of inculcating in a person the spirit of indifference towards the needs of others, which could have extremely adverse effects on the individual as well as the collective morality of a people. This reason, as I have stated earlier, can be derived from the placement of the directive regarding the prohibition of riba' in the Qur'an. The Qur'an, in about all the places that it has mentioned the prohibition of riba' has contrasted it with spending for the help of Allah's deen or for the needs of another person or for the needs of the society, in general. For instance, in surah Al-Baqarah, Allah has directed Muslims to spend for the needs of others as well as for the cause of Islam (261 - 274). After this directive, Allah has mentioned those who in their greed of earning riba' hold back from spending their money for the general good of the society and Allah's deen (275 - 281). The contrast of the spirit inculcated by riba' with that which is required for succeeding in the life hereafter has been specifically made in verse 276. The same contrast has also been made in A'l Imran 3: 130 - 134 (especially with reference to the needs of Allah's deen, with particular reference to those who held back from spending in Allah's way at the time of the battle of uhd) and Al-Ru'm 30: 38 - 39 (especially with reference to the needs of a person's relatives and the destitute). In a nutshell, the reasons for the prohibition of riba', as derived from the Qur'an are: 1) It is a 'zulm' - injustice; and 2) It adversely effects the spirit of empathy towards others, which is required for success in the life hereafter. I hope this helps. Regards The Learner