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Prohibitions in Islam - Page 30

in for the confusion of installment plans, which are dubious or maybe even haram.

A casual approach to loans leads people to delay repayments, which in turn lead to loss and financial ruin of others. Warning of the consequences of this deed, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes people’s money with the intention of paying them back, Allah will pay him back, but whoever takes people’s money with the intention of wasting it, Allah will destroy him.” (Reported by Al- Bukhari; see Fath Al-Bari, 5/54).

People take the matter of loans very lightly, but in the sight of Allah it is a serious matter, so much so that even the shaheed (martyr), with his immense reward and high status, is not free of the consequences of debt.

Evidence of this is seen in the hadith: “Glory be to Allah, Who has revealed the seriousness of debt. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were slain in the way of Allah, then brought back to life, then killed again and brought back to life again, then killed a third time, but he owed a debt, he would not be admitted to Paradise until his debt was paid off.” (Reported by Al-Nisaa’i; see Al-Mujtabaa, 7/314, and Sahih Al- Jami’, 3594).

Now will these squanderers be deterred from such a casual approach?

Consuming haram wealth

The person who does not fear Allah does not care where he earns his money or how he spends it; his only concern is to increase his bank balance, even if it is haram and ill-gotten by means of theft, bribery, extortion, forgery, selling haram things, riba (usury), consuming an orphan’s wealth, earnings from haram work like fortune-telling, immorality or singing, stealing from the Muslim treasury or public property, taking people’s money by coercion or high-pressure sales tactics, begging when one is not in need, etc. Then he buys food, clothing and transportation with this ill-gotten money, and builds or rents a house, and furnishes it, and fills his stomach with haram food. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten gains is more deserving of being touched by Hell-fire” (Reported by Al- Tabarani in Al-Kabeer, 19/136; see also Sahih Al-Jami’, 4495).

On the Day of Resurrection, each person will be asked how he earned money and on what he spent it, and there will be doom and loss. Anyone who still has haram money should hasten to get rid of it; if it is due to anyone else, then he should hasten to return it and ask for his forgiveness before there comes a Day on which dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and all that will count will be hasanaat and sayi’aat.

Drinking khamr - even a single drop

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al-ansaab (stone altars for sacrifices to idols, etc.) and Al-azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s handiwork. So avoid (strictly) all that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.” [Al-Ma’eda 5:90]

The command to avoid these things is the strongest indication that they are forbidden. Khamr (“wine”, alcohol) is compared to Al-ansaab, which were idols of the kuffaar; there is no excuse for those who