The 365 · Verses · Day 103 · Justice
Riba does not grow with Allah, even if it grows in the world. Zakāh multiplies with Him, even if it shrinks in the world.
Qur'an Q 30:39
وَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُم مِّن رِّبًا لِّيَرْبُوَا۟ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ فَلَا يَرْبُوا۟ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُم مِّن زَكَوٰةٍ تُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَ ٱللَّهِ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُضْعِفُونَ
“Whatever you lend out in usury to gain value through other people's wealth will not increase in God's eyes, but whatever you give in charity, in your desire for God's approval, will earn multiple rewards. (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: Vad ni lånar ut i ockersyfte för att det skall växa [i värde] på bekostnad av [andra] människors egendom, växer inte [i värde] inför Gud; men det ni ger till de behövande för att vinna Guds välbehag [välsignar Han] med en mångdubbel belöning. (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathir cites Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk, Qatādah, ʿIkrimah, and Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb on this verse: it refers to gifts given expecting greater return, which earn no reward with Allah even if the worldly return materializes. Some scholars (Ibn ʿAbbās in some narrations) extended the meaning to include outright riba transactions; others (Mujāhid) restricted it to gift-with-expectation. Either way, the verse establishes the principle: any wealth-transaction whose underlying intent is unjust gain at others' expense does not grow with Allah. Ibn Kathir then cites the Bukhārī hadith: 'No person gives in charity the equivalent of a date earned in a lawful manner, but ar-Raḥmān takes it in His Right Hand and takes care of it for its owner, just as any one of you takes care of his foal or young camel, until the date becomes the size of Mount Uḥud.' (Bukhārī 1410, Muslim 1014.) The hadith is the operational complement: a date given for Allah's Face becomes a mountain.
In the language
لِّيَرْبُوَ (li-yarbuwa, 'so that it may grow') is from r-b-w, the same root as ribbā. The Quran is making the linguistic pun explicit: the giver intends r-b-w (growth via riba), but the divine accounting denies the growth. The verse's word for charitable growth is الْمُضْعِفُونَ (al-muḍʿifūn, 'those who multiply'), from ḍ-ʿ-f, the root of doubling. Riba-givers are not muḍʿifūn even when their balance grows; zakāh-givers ARE muḍʿifūn even when their balance shrinks.
Why this verse
Q 30:39 names the structural inversion: what looks like growth (riba) does not grow with Allah; what looks like depletion (zakāh for Allah's Face) is the actual growth. The verse is the Makkan-period parallel to the Madinan riba prohibition (2:275-276). The Quran was preparing the believers for the prohibition years before formalizing it.
Bring it into today
When deciding between an investment vehicle that involves riba and a charitable contribution that does not, the verse names the calculation. Riba's worldly growth does not grow with Allah; the contribution's worldly cost is multiplied with Him. Choose the divine ledger. Where riba is structurally embedded (mortgages, credit, banking), exit gradually but deliberately. The transition is a multi-year discipline; begin now.
A reflection to carry
The verse is the believer's economic compass. Two ledgers run in parallel: the worldly ledger (where riba-balances appear to grow and charity-balances appear to shrink) and the divine ledger (where the inverse is true). The believer aligns with the divine ledger. The hadith of the date-as-mountain (Bukhārī 1410) is the operational image: the smallest sincere charity, taken into ar-Raḥmān's right hand, raised by Him until it is greater than Uḥud. The believer cannot see this growth in worldly accounts; the verse and hadith name it directly. Trust the divine ledger; let the worldly one read what it reads.
Read the longer reflection
There is theological precision in the verse's choice of zakāh (rather than ṣadaqah generally) for the contrast with riba. Zakāh is the obligatory charity; the verse names the structural alternative to riba as the divinely-mandated giving, not just voluntary giving. The implication: riba and zakāh are the two opposite poles of the Muslim's wealth-economy. The riba-consumer denies Allah's prohibition; the zakāh-payer affirms Allah's right. The verse's verb muḍʿifūn (those whom Allah multiplies) names the zakāh-payer as the structural multiplier. The believer's wealth is not what is in the bank; it is what is paid as zakāh, multiplied by Allah, awaiting on the Day of Resurrection.
Sources: Ibn Kathir. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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