Give five examples of interest (riba).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Hire purchase for shopping
2. [1] Credit card repayments
3. [1] Mortgages
4. [1] Bank loans
5. [1] In some opinions, returning borrowed goods with added extra
6. [1] Interest on savings
7. [1] Accept personal examples.
8. [10] Mark according to the AO1 – 10-mark levels of response marking grid for knowledge and understanding.
9. [Content] Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.
10. [Content] The Islamic prohibition on interest (riba) is common to different schools of thought, however there are differences on what defines interest; these may be differences of individual scholars and their followers as much as schools of thought overall. Credit any reasonable perspective.
11. [Content] Interest charged on a loan of money is known as usury. This was defined a type of interest called riba an-nasiya. This is generally regarded as prohibited. Scholars quote the first source of Islamic law, the Qur'an, in several places as justification for this prohibition, such as Qur'an 2:275– 2:280.
12. [Content] Interest in the form of asking back for more goods than were borrowed, or similar exchange which is unequal, is classified by some scholars as a form of usury. Examples of this might be given and explained.
13. [Content] Hadiths of Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned several situations in which interest was taken, which was the norm under the pagan society of the time. These have been categorised by some jurists into different types of interest (riba).
14. [Content] Muhammad (pbuh) forbade trading of different amounts of the same thing, referring to six things: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates and salt. Some traders were using greater amounts of low-quality gold to pay back a loan of high-quality gold, which was an opportunity for cheating. This form of interest was called riba al-fadl.
15. [Content] Hanafi fiqh said all of these things could be weighed, so the ruling applied to anything which could be weighed or measured. Shafi'i jurists said this applied to food and forms of money. Maliki jurists said this applied to foods and goods which could be stored.
16. [Content] Banks in the Islamic world have led the way in making shariah-compliant bank accounts, loans and financial products. Instead of charging interest, charges for operating an account can be made. Investors agree to share profit and loss made from a loan.
17. [Content] Some modernist scholars, such as Fazlur Rahman Malik, argue that the main point is to forbid exploitation. Interest itself is not necessarily forbidden provided the extremes of exploitation of the pagan Meccans are avoided.
18. [10] Mark according to the AO2 – 10-mark levels of response marking grid for analysis and evaluation. Answers may refer to any religious theory or teaching. Candidates may propose, analyse and evaluate some of the following arguments. All relevant arguments must be credited.
19. [Content] Mortgages are loans taken to pay for a house. There are many different forms of mortgage, including interest bearing mortgages and Islamic banking mortgages.
20. [Content] Mortgages involve either paying back more than is loaned or some similar arrangement, which constitutes interest (riba), so may be considered forbidden (haram) for Muslims.
21. [Content] Muslims could be advised to find other ways to secure accommodation. For example, by renting property and saving up first, to avoid taking a loan. Muslims often live as extended families with their parents, which means they can care for each other as well, so there are advantages in not taking mortgages.
22. [Content] Advisors might point out the risks involved in mortgages, such as repossession and losing one's home; it might be considered good advice to try to find other ways to secure property.
23. [Content] Islamic banks are now producing shariah-compliant mortgages, by which they mean a special arrangement in which the value of the property is shared and paid as a form of rent until the part owned by the bank is bought out. In practical terms, the same payments system as mortgages takes place, but it is not considered interest (riba), so is permitted (halal). These might be recommended.
24. [Content] Some scholars do not forbid mortgages if they are, in practice, needed in order to gain housing or are considered a fact of society in places where few, if any, alternatives exist.
25. [Content] A Muslim might face a difficult situation with no other realistic option; it should be remembered that finding a home, especially for a family, is also a duty so it might be a matter of balancing what is possible.
26. [Content] Candidates should come to a personal judgement on the basis of their argument about what advice they might give to Muslims considering taking a mortgage.