Prohibition of Interest Does it Make Sense.pdf

A number of people often wonder why Islam has also, like some other major religions, prohibited interest. They also wonder whether it is feasible for Muslims to abolish interest in modern times and to establish a financial system without interest. Dr. Chapra has tried answer these questions in two brief papers written in a simple style to make them easily understandable by even the layman. Those who desire a more elaborate answer may wish to read the extensive literature produced on the subject by him and other scholars during the last quarter century.
These papers were first published in the October1992 and August 1993 issues of Ahlan wa Sahlan, which is the in-flight magazine of the Saudi Arabian Airlines. They were highly appreciated because of the convincing manner in which they throw light on an important aspect of Islamic teachings. The Islamic Da‘wah Movement, therefore, requested Dr. Chapra to revise and update them for publication in the form of a booklet. He kindly acceded to our request and did the needful.
Dr. Chapra (1933- ), now a Saudi citizen, is presently serving as Research Advisor at the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Before joining IRTI in November 1999, he worked at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), from where he retired as Senior Economic Advisor after a long service of 35 years. He has also taught in the United States at the Universities of Wisconsin and Kentucky and worked in Pakistan at the Institute of Development Economics and the Islamic Research Institute. He has made seminal contributions to Islamic Economics and Finance over more than three decades in the form of 10 books and monographs and more than 70 papers and book reviews. Consequently, he has received a number of awards, including the Islamic Development Bank Award for Islamic Economics and the King Faysal International Award for Islamic Studies, both in 1990.