What is the meaning of: {Fear Allah and abandon what remains of usury or interest}?

Question:
A message was received for the program from one of the listening brothers, containing a collection of questions, among which was a question about the interpretation of the saying of the Righteous, Blessed and Exalted is He: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: So if you do not, then be advised of war from Allah and His Messenger. And if you repent, then yours is the principal of your wealth; you will not wrong, nor be wronged. And if the debtor is in hardship, then wait until it becomes easy for him. And that you give in charity is better for you, if you know. [Surat al-Baqarah: 278-280] May Allah be truthful and Great. Please interpret these verses for us, if you permit, and what is the principal mentioned in this verse?

Answer:
The people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, before the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), used to engage in usury or interest. They would sell goods, such as land, camels, or other items, for a price with a deferred payment. When the due date arrived and the debtor was in financial difficulty, they would say to him: Either give us our right, or increase it. Either pay us, or increase it. The meaning is: Either give us our right now, or we will add to your debt and defer the due date, giving you more time. If he had money, he would pay them; otherwise, he would accept this.
So if the value was, for example, one hundred riyals, they would say: We will defer it for another six months or ten months, so the one hundred becomes one hundred and twenty, or one hundred and thirty. This increase is in exchange for the new due date. This is the meaning of: Either increase it, or pay us. To increase it means: you accept the increase; you give the increase, which is usury or interest. Or pay us our right now. When Allah came with Islam, He prohibited them from this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed them in the Farewell Pilgrimage and informed them that usury or interest was abolished, that each person is entitled only to his principal, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted, revealed these verses. He, the Exalted, says: So if you do not, then be advised of war from Allah and His Messenger. And if you repent, then yours is the principal of your wealth; you will not wrong, nor be wronged. [Surat al-Baqarah: 278-279].
So He, the Exalted, commanded them to abandon, meaning: to leave, what remains of usury or interest in the debts of people, and to take the principal. If the goods were worth one hundred and they deferred it and added twenty, they leave the twenty; or if they added thirty, they leave the thirty. They take only the principal and leave the increase. This is the meaning of: [Surat al-Baqarah: 278]. And if they had already received the principal and the usury or interest remained, they leave it; they do not take the usury or interest. The principal is sufficient for them. Then He said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 279], meaning: if you do not abandon usury or interest, [Surat al-Baqarah: 279], meaning: then know of war, meaning: know that you are at war with Allah and His Messenger. This is a great warning, like which has not come regarding any of the sins. It indicates the magnitude of the crime of usury or interest, that it is a great and major crime.
Therefore, it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he cursed the one who eats usury or interest, the one who gives it, the scribe, and the two witnesses, and he said: . So usury or interest is among the ugliest of the major sins. In the authentic hadith, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . They said: What are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: . He made the fourth one , meaning: the day of battle, . He made usury or interest one of the seven destructive sins, meaning: the ruinous ones.
Then He, the Exalted, said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 279], meaning: from usury or interest, [Surat al-Baqarah: 279], meaning: they have only the principal, which is the amount for which the goods were sold with a deferred payment. The increase is void. If he sold a mount or a car, for example, until Ramadan of the year 1411 for ten thousand riyals, or fifty thousand riyals, and the price became due, he takes only the principal and does not ask for an increase. If the debtor is in difficulty, we wait for him; therefore He said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 280]. If Ramadan comes and he says: I have nothing, I am in difficulty, and his difficulty is proven, then he is given time without an increase, and no usury or interest is taken. This is the meaning of His saying, Glorified and Exalted: [Surat al-Baqarah: 279]. He receives the principal and leaves the usury or interest, the increase. And if he had already received the principal and the increase remained, he leaves the increase and does not take it. By taking the increase, By preventing you from your principal. You have the principal. So you do not wrong by preventing you from your principal; no, you are given your principal. And it is not permissible for you to wrong your brother by taking usury or interest; rather, you have only the principal.
If the debtor is in difficulty and unable to pay, as proven by the legal evidence, then he is given time and not demanded an increase, due to His saying, the Exalted: [Surat al-Baqarah: 280]. If he gives him charity and absolves him, may Allah reward him with good. That is good. Otherwise, the obligatory thing is to wait until he becomes able to pay. He says: I am giving you time until you become able to pay. It is obligatory for the debtor to fear Allah. If he is truthful in his claim of difficulty, he must fear Allah and take measures to bring about the money. If he is lying, then he has wronged his brother, so let him fear Allah and fulfill his right if he claims difficulty while lying.
The point is: the debtor must fear Allah. If he is truthful in his difficulty, it is obligatory to give him time. If it is proven that he is wealthy, it is obligatory to take his right from him. The judge looks into this and cares for it. And if the creditor knows that he is in difficulty, there is no need for the court; he gives him time and waits until he becomes able to pay. If he gives him charity and forgives him, he has done much good. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , , , meaning: by giving him time, , meaning: by giving him charity. And in another hadith: . And this is a great favor.
So the believer should, if he knows that his brother, the debtor, is in difficulty, give him time or forgive the whole debt or part of it, hoping for the reward with Allah. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.