The Ruling on Investment Riba and Its Form

The Shaykh : But the economist comes to you and says to you: There is no harm in investment riba, because it is not injustice. Investment riba is when a person establishes a company and does not have money, so he goes to the merchant or the bank and says: Give me one hundred thousand riyals in cash, and I will give you one hundred and twenty thousand. Then he buys with that hundred thousand, buying equipment and other things to invest in. So the economist says: This is permissible, this is permissible, and there is no harm. Why? He said: Because both parties, what? They benefited. The bank benefited and the owner of the enterprise benefited, and this is economic development... There is no injustice in it; each of them benefited. And does the Shari'ah forbid profit? What do you say? No, or yes? Does it forbid benefit? Let people work; this is in his enterprise, he establishes a company, he benefits himself and benefits people... He benefits. And riba was only forbidden because of the injustice in it, and this has no injustice, no injustice, it has benefit. Yes, what do you say?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : ... Yes, what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : He says that riba in which both parties benefit is not a problem, because there is no injustice in it. And its example is that you take one hundred thousand riyals from the bank to establish a manufacturing company, in which you benefit and you benefit people through the industry, and the bank benefits from the increase; it will take one hundred and twenty thousand instead of the hundred thousand. And this is good and beneficial investment that benefits the economy, yes, and people move forward. How many workers work in this company? The world benefits. How do you say this is forbidden? Does the Islamic Shari'ah not support everything that has benefit? You will say no, or yes? If he tells you that the Islamic Shari'ah supports everything that has benefit, what do you say?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Listen, I say: If he says this, do you agree or do you not agree? Do you agree that the Islamic Shari'ah supports everything that has benefit?
The student: No.

The Shaykh : No! You agree. The Islamic Shari'ah supports everything that has benefit; rather, it did not come except for the interests of the servants in the Hereafter and in this world. But what remains is: what is the standard? What is the measure by which benefit is weighed? Is it the minds or the Shari'ah? This is where the disagreement lies. If you say that it is the mind, then at that point you dispense with the Shari'ah, you set the Shari'ah aside, and you say: I manage with my mind. And if we say that the one who determines benefit from harm is the Shari'ah, then at that point we return to the Shari'ah, is that not so? We return to the Shari'ah and we say: This transaction that you claimed raises the economy and is investment and is good, this transaction is forbidden, because it leads to riba in which there is no benefit except for the one who takes riba only. And the evidence for this is So he invalidated the contract in it, even though this transaction has no injustice, it has no injustice. The owner of the good dates benefited by quantity, and the owner of the bad dates benefited by what? By quality and manner. There is no injustice, there is no riba, there is no monopolizing of the benefit; each of them benefited. And yet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Look at the word He invalidated the contract even though the benefit in it is for both parties. And by this and this, the argument of the one who said that investment riba is not a problem and that it is permissible is refuted. So the result now is that we return to the foundations we mentioned, that forbidden transactions revolve around three things: injustice, gambling, and riba, even if there is no injustice, and riba, even if there is no injustice. Yes, may Allah guide us and you to beneficial knowledge and righteous action.