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Riba (Arabic: ربا ,الربا، الربٰوة, ribā or al-ribā, IPA: [ˈrɪbæː]) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as "usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. Riba is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39, and most commonly 2:275-2:280).[1] It is also mentioned in many hadith (reports of the life of Muhammad).
While Muslims agree that riba is prohibited, not all agree on what precisely it is.[2][3] It is often used to refer to interest charged on loans,[Note 1] and the widespread belief among Muslims that all loan or bank interest is riba forms the basis of the $2 trillion Islamic banking industry.[7] However, not all Islamic scholars have equated riba with all forms of interest, nor do they agree on whether riba is a major sin or simply discouraged (makruh),[8][9] or whether it is in violation of Sharia law to be punished by humans rather than by God.[8][9]
The primary form of riba is the interest or other increase on a loan of cash, known as riba an-nasiya. Most Islamic jurists acknowledge another type of riba,[10] the simultaneous exchange of unequal quantities or qualities of some commodity, known riba al-fadl.[11][12]
Muslims have always agreed that riba is prohibited. What constitutes riba has, however, been a subject evoking deliberation and debate over the centuries that followed divine revelation.
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