Al-Baqarah: (276) Allah destroys usury...

Know that when the Almighty intensified the prohibition of usury (Riba), and had already emphasized commanding charity (Sadaqat) in the preceding verses, He mentions here what serves as an incentive to abandon usury and practice charity, and clarifies the corruption inherent in usury.

This is because the incentive for practicing usury is the pursuit of increasing worldly gains, while the deterrent from charity is the fear of decreasing one's wealth. Therefore, the Almighty clarified that although usury appears as an increase in the present state, it is, in reality, a decrease. Conversely, although charity appears as a decrease in form, it is an increase in meaning. Since this is the case, it is fitting for an intelligent person not to heed the impulses and deterrents dictated by nature and the senses, but rather to rely on the incentives and deterrents prescribed by the Divine Law. This is the rationale for the connection (between the verses).

In this verse, there are several issues:

The First Issue: The Meaning of Mahq (Destruction/Blotting Out)

Mahq means the gradual decrease of a thing, state after state. From this root is al-muḥāq concerning the crescent moon (waning). It is said: "Allah maḥaqahu (blotted it out), so it became inmaḥaq and imtaḥaq." It is also said: "The midday heat (hajīr) maḥaq when it decreases everything with its heat."

The Second Issue: The Scope of the Destruction of Usury and the Growth of Charity

Know that the destruction (maḥq) of usury and the growth (irbā’) of charity can be understood to occur in this world, or in the Hereafter.

The destruction of usury in this world occurs in several ways:

1. The ultimate outcome is poverty: Usually, even if the usurer's wealth increases, his end results in poverty, and the blessing (barakah) is removed from his wealth. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Though usury may be great, it ends up small."
2. Reputational and Moral Loss: Even if his wealth does not decrease, the consequence is condemnation, loss of status, forfeiture of trustworthiness (adālah), acquisition of the name of a transgressor (fāsiq), harshness, and severity.
3. Cursing by the Poor: The poor people who witness him taking their wealth through usury curse him and hate him, praying against him. This becomes a cause for the removal of goodness and blessing from him in his person and his wealth.
4. Target for Exploitation: When it becomes known among people that he accumulated his wealth through usury, greedy individuals and every oppressor and transgressor will target him, saying that the wealth is not truly his, and thus it will not remain in his possession.

The usury is a cause for destruction in the Hereafter for several reasons:

1. Rejection of Deeds: Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the meaning of this destruction is that Allah does not accept from him any charity, striving (Jihad), Hajj, or maintaining kinship ties.
2. Loss of Worldly Wealth: The wealth of this world does not remain at death, but the accountability and punishment remain, which is the greatest loss.
3. Delayed Entry to Paradise: It is established in the Hadith that the rich will enter Paradise five hundred years after the poor. If this is the case for the rich earning from lawful means, then consider the state of the rich earning from unlawful means, whose prohibition is certain—that is the destruction and decrease.

This growth can also be understood to occur in this world or the Hereafter.

In This World:

1. Divine Support: Whoever is for Allah, Allah is for him. If a person, despite his poverty and need, is kind to the servants of Allah, Allah will not leave him neglected in this world. In the Hadith we previously mentioned, an angel calls out every day: "O Allah, grant a replacement to every spender, and grant ruin to every hoarder!"
2. Increased Status and Esteem: His honor and good reputation increase daily, as does the inclination of hearts towards him and people's reliance on him, which is better than wealth, along with the opposite of these conditions.
3. Prayers of the Poor: The poor support him with righteous supplications.
4. Protection from Greed: People cease to covet his wealth. When it becomes known that he is dedicated to reforming the affairs of the poor and the weak, everyone refrains from disputing with him. No oppressor or greedy person would dare take anything from his wealth, except rarely. This is what is meant by the growth of charity in this world.

In the Hereafter:

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah accepts charity, and He accepts only the good from it. He takes it with His right hand and causes it to grow, just as one of you raises his foal or young camel, until a morsel becomes like Mount Uhud."

The confirmation of this is clear in the Book of Allah:

{Do they not know that it is Allah Who accepts repentance from His servants and takes the charities...} (At-Tawbah: 104) {Allah destroys usury and gives increase to charities...} (Al-Baqarah: 276)

Al-Qaffal, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The likeness of His saying, {Allah destroys usury} is the parable He struck earlier concerning a rock covered with dust, which was struck by a heavy rain, leaving it smooth and bare. The likeness of His saying, {and gives increase to charities} is the parable Allah struck concerning a seed that sprouts seven ears, and in every ear are a hundred grains.

Regarding His Saying: {And Allah loves not every disbelieving sinner}

Know that kuffār (disbelieving) is the active participle from kufr (disbelief), meaning one who habitually does this. The Arabs name someone who persists in a matter by this form, saying: "So-and-so is a faʿʿāl (doer) of good, commanding it." And athīm (sinner) is an intensive form meaning one who commits sins, and it is also an exaggeration for persistence in acquiring sins and continuing therein.

This description is fitting only for one who denies the prohibition of usury, thus being a denier (jāḥid).

There is another interpretation: that kuffār refers to the one who denies the prohibition (i.e., the disbeliever in the ruling), while athīm refers to the one who practices it while believing in its prohibition. In this case, the verse encompasses both groups.

{Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds and established prayer and given zakāh—they will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will come upon them, nor will they grieve.}