http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...ve-full-life-without-paying-any-interest.html
[h=1]Free from debt: Faithful Muslims live full life without paying any interest[/h]
Published: Friday, Aug. 19, 2011 7:05 p.m. MDT
By Hal Boyd, Deseret News
0 comments
PRINT | FONT + -
AKRON, OHIO Sitting cross-legged in the prayer room at the Akron Masjid, surrounded by ornate Qurans and his fellow believers, Dr. Iftekhar Husain is all smiles.
Husain's countenance is marked by a peaceful serenity a quietude bred in part from living free of "riba."
"Riba means interest in Islam, and it has been forbidden," says Husain, whose debt-free family is an anomaly in America, where the average household has, by some estimates, more than $15,000 in credit card debt and a mortgage of more than $150,000. "Several times it has been expressed that we should not take or pay riba."
See all 3 photos | Click to enlarge
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, explained how hard it is to live riba-free in a nation so saturated with interest lending and borrowing. But he stressed that living riba-free doesn't mean business is closed for Muslims.
"Essentially you cannot make money with money in Islam," said Hooper. "But you can trade after all, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a merchant you just can't have interest."
Indeed, the Quran states explicitly: "Those who consume interest cannot stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, 'Trade is (just) like interest.' But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to (dealing in interest or usury) those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein."
With such a direct sanction against interest, Muslims find it difficult to participate in a western banking system based almost exclusively on interest lending and borrowing.
So how do Muslim-Americans get along without interest?
For starters, many Muslims "rent homes instead of taking out (interest-based) mortgages to buy them" says Husain, who rented for years until he could afford to purchase a home outright.
And what about the interest banks give in savings accounts?
Husain and Hooper both say they donate whatever interest they gain from banking accounts to charity a practice that Hooper says is common among Muslim-Americans.
In addition to avoiding the western banking system through renting their homes until they can afford to buy and donating interest to charity, there is another way for Muslim-Americans to avoid interest. It's called "Riba Free" banking a system of banking that is becoming increasingly popular, according to Yahia A. Rahman, the author of "The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance."
Their model works similar to a "rent to own" or "lease to own" purchase agreement. For example, if someone wants to purchase a home, the bank and the buyer jointly purchase the home and the buyer retains the home's title while the bank maintains a share of the property. The purchaser then agrees to buy the shares from the bank at an agreed upon price (based upon the home's rental rate) to be paid in monthly installments over a 30-year period.
See all 3 photos | Click to enlarge
While the model, outlined in Rahman's book, was originally conceived for Muslims, he is now trying to promote it to a broader market.
"We are a faith-based, socially responsible organization that serves all people of all faiths and backgrounds," said Rahman, the founder of LARIBA and The Bank of Whittier, two riba-free lending and banking institutions. "We define riba the same way it is defined in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran: lending money at an interest rate. And we believe money is not for rent, money is not for hire."
Rahman explains that Islamic riba-free banking is similar to the "building and loan" banking conducted by George Bailey, the character played by James Stewart in the film "It's a Wonderful Life."
Business continues to boom for Rahman, but back at the Akron Masjid in Ohio, few have heard of LARIBA and others are only vaguely familiar with the specifics of Islamic banking. Most of them are getting along just fine without lending or borrowing.
As Husain prepares to leave the Masjid, he pulls out the car keys to an expensive luxury vehicle.
It's a car Husain purchased in full no loans or debt. That alone, he says, is reason enough to keep smiling.
Email: [email protected]
[h=1]Free from debt: Faithful Muslims live full life without paying any interest[/h]
Published: Friday, Aug. 19, 2011 7:05 p.m. MDT
By Hal Boyd, Deseret News
PRINT | FONT + -
AKRON, OHIO Sitting cross-legged in the prayer room at the Akron Masjid, surrounded by ornate Qurans and his fellow believers, Dr. Iftekhar Husain is all smiles.
Husain's countenance is marked by a peaceful serenity a quietude bred in part from living free of "riba."
"Riba means interest in Islam, and it has been forbidden," says Husain, whose debt-free family is an anomaly in America, where the average household has, by some estimates, more than $15,000 in credit card debt and a mortgage of more than $150,000. "Several times it has been expressed that we should not take or pay riba."
See all 3 photos | Click to enlarge
Associated Press
Emarati men follow stock changes at the Dubai Financial Market in the United Arab Emirates.Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, explained how hard it is to live riba-free in a nation so saturated with interest lending and borrowing. But he stressed that living riba-free doesn't mean business is closed for Muslims.
"Essentially you cannot make money with money in Islam," said Hooper. "But you can trade after all, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a merchant you just can't have interest."
Indeed, the Quran states explicitly: "Those who consume interest cannot stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, 'Trade is (just) like interest.' But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns to (dealing in interest or usury) those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein."
With such a direct sanction against interest, Muslims find it difficult to participate in a western banking system based almost exclusively on interest lending and borrowing.
So how do Muslim-Americans get along without interest?
For starters, many Muslims "rent homes instead of taking out (interest-based) mortgages to buy them" says Husain, who rented for years until he could afford to purchase a home outright.
And what about the interest banks give in savings accounts?
Husain and Hooper both say they donate whatever interest they gain from banking accounts to charity a practice that Hooper says is common among Muslim-Americans.
In addition to avoiding the western banking system through renting their homes until they can afford to buy and donating interest to charity, there is another way for Muslim-Americans to avoid interest. It's called "Riba Free" banking a system of banking that is becoming increasingly popular, according to Yahia A. Rahman, the author of "The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance."
Their model works similar to a "rent to own" or "lease to own" purchase agreement. For example, if someone wants to purchase a home, the bank and the buyer jointly purchase the home and the buyer retains the home's title while the bank maintains a share of the property. The purchaser then agrees to buy the shares from the bank at an agreed upon price (based upon the home's rental rate) to be paid in monthly installments over a 30-year period.
See all 3 photos | Click to enlarge
Associated Press
Emarati men follow stock changes at the Dubai Financial Market in the United Arab Emirates.While the model, outlined in Rahman's book, was originally conceived for Muslims, he is now trying to promote it to a broader market.
"We are a faith-based, socially responsible organization that serves all people of all faiths and backgrounds," said Rahman, the founder of LARIBA and The Bank of Whittier, two riba-free lending and banking institutions. "We define riba the same way it is defined in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran: lending money at an interest rate. And we believe money is not for rent, money is not for hire."
Rahman explains that Islamic riba-free banking is similar to the "building and loan" banking conducted by George Bailey, the character played by James Stewart in the film "It's a Wonderful Life."
Business continues to boom for Rahman, but back at the Akron Masjid in Ohio, few have heard of LARIBA and others are only vaguely familiar with the specifics of Islamic banking. Most of them are getting along just fine without lending or borrowing.
As Husain prepares to leave the Masjid, he pulls out the car keys to an expensive luxury vehicle.
It's a car Husain purchased in full no loans or debt. That alone, he says, is reason enough to keep smiling.
Email: [email protected]
