Question:
In the Qur’an, Allahﷻ has forbidden interest (riba) and says: “Allahﷻ destroys interest and gives increase for charities” (Qur’an 2:276). You also mentioned in a lecture that interest is destroyed by Allahﷻ.
But when we look at reality, the one who consumes interest seems to increase in wealth—he buys houses, builds bungalows, and his wealth multiplies. The one who takes a loan with interest seems to suffer. So how does Allahﷻ destroy interest? Please clarify.
Answer:
This is a good question. The word yamhaqu in Arabic does not mean to physically annihilate or cause loss of wealth in this world. It means to deprive of blessings (barakah) and to destroy one’s good reputation and moral standing.
The one who consumes interest may have wealth, but there is no blessing in it. His wealth may increase, but it will not benefit him in the way that wealth with barakah benefits a person. His good name is ruined. In every society, the one who consumes interest is looked down upon as a thief or a corrupt person. That is the destruction referred to in the verse.
For example, in Surah Aal-Imran (3:140–141), Allahﷻ says: “If a wound has touched you, surely a similar wound has touched the people. And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people.” The word yamhaqu is used in the sense of destroying the disbelievers’ reputation and exposing them, not physical annihilation. Similarly, in the hadith, the Prophetﷺ said that swearing in business may increase sales but destroys blessings (mahaqat al-barakah).
Thus, when Allahﷻ says He destroys interest, it means He removes blessings from it, destroys the moral character and reputation of the one who consumes it, and withholds the hidden grace (barakah) that would otherwise be present. This is the correct understanding.