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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
This is an opinion editorial by Muslim Bitcoiner, the host of the “Muslim Bitcoiner Podcast” and a contributor for Bitcoin Magazine.Before diving into the topic of Bitcoin, it’s important to explore what the sin of “riba” actually is, and how it’s entrenched in the current global monetary system. Riba is an Arabic word which most commonly refers to “usury, or charging an amount of interest on a loan.” However, riba encapsulates more than just profiting from a loan, it also can mean exchanging of the same type of item in unequal amounts. There are different types of riba, but for the purpose of this essay, we’ll focus on that aspect of riba that includes profiting through the act of lending, without putting in any kind of work.Riba is prohibited in Islam, and the Quran and Hadith use some very strong language against this heinous sin. In the Quran, Allah says:“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.” (Quran 2:275)Prophet Muhammad also warned muslims about the danger of the sin of riba:“The Messenger of Allah cursed the one who accepted usury, the one who paid it, the witness to it and the one who recorded it.” — Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, Sunan Abi Dawud 3333, Book 23, Hadith 8In another Hadith, prophet Muhammad describes the severity of engaging with riba:“There are seventy degrees of usury, the least of which is equivalent to a man having intercourse with his mother.” — Narrated from Abu Hurairah, Sunan Ibn Majah 2274Clearly, riba is a sin to be avoided at all costs and Muslims should come nowhere close to it! Riba is considered a major sin in Islam; it can be considered to be on the same level as other major sins such as committing adultery. Although, when considering the aforementioned Hadith, the case can be made that riba is in fact much worse than adultery.In any case, when you ask an average Muslim why riba is “haram” (forbidden), they’ll typically say something like, “It exploits the poor.” However, riba is something that is far more destructive than just “exploiting the poor”; such a statement misses the big picture of the corruption and depravity of riba, especially in the context of modern fiat money. In order to understand the role of riba in the current monetary system, we must first examine how riba is the key mechanism in the creation of fiat itself. Let’s explore how fiat is created and disseminated in our current global economic system.The Current Fiat SystemWhen we question how dollars are created,
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