Riba

''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as "usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business (especially banking). ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an ([https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0002%3Asura%3D3%3Averse%3D130 3:130], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0002%3Asura%3D4%3Averse%3D161 4:161], [https://web.archive.org/web/20160527110954/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/verses/030-qmt.php#0030.39 30:39], and the commonly referenced [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0002%3Asura%3D2%3Averse%3D275 2:275-2:280]). It is also mentioned in many ''hadith'' (reports of the life of Muhammad).

While Muslims agree that ''riba'' is prohibited, not all agree on what precisely it is (its definition). The term is often used to refer to interest charged on loans,|group=Note}} and the widespread belief among Muslims that all loan or bank interest is ''riba'' forms the basis of the $2 trillion Islamic banking industry. However, not all Islamic scholars have equated ''riba'' with all forms of interest; nor do they agree on whether ''riba'' is a major sin or simply discouraged (''makruh''), or on whether it is a violation of Sharia law to be punished by humans rather than by God.

The primary variety or form of ''riba'' is the interest or other 'increase' on a loan of money—known as ''riba an-nasiya''. Most Islamic jurists also acknowledge another type of ''riba'': the simultaneous exchange of unequal quantities or qualities of some commodity—known as ''riba al-fadl''. Provided by Wikipedia