The Objectives of the Prohibition of Riba By: Elhadi Habbani

What is wrong with Debt:
The main general problem with interest that make it injustice coming from its association with Debt whether it is new issued or existing one and its invalid assumption that debt can create value while debt is not a real asset.
The following are some characteristics of debt that make it invalid for commercial and for profit activities:

1. Debt in nature is a benevolent and represents an inter-personal transaction between the giver and taker of the debt (loan). So it is illogically to handover a charity to someone with charge above the required amount of the loan.
2. Debt also, by nature, is an abstract asset. Once handed over to the taker It become an obligation or liability on him and, in the same time, become an abstract asset to the giver with no real tangible or touchable existence although it will be counted as part of the wealth of the giver.
3. Debt has no intrinsic utility or built-in benefit.
4. It is unable to increase or decrease, or to produce increments or add value because it is abstract asset that has no inherent usefulness. So it deserves no compensation or any additional charge. It can't grow or decline except in our imagination or in the debt market which is subjective, elusive, unreal, tend to take from the whole economy without any capability to add value just like any parasite creature who live dependent on the production of other creature devoid of any kind of give-and-take sense. Said Prof. Monzer Kahf "By its nature and in real life a debt is not liable to increase or decrease; it is not able to produce increments because it has no intrinsic utility other than being an ingredient of wealth. In other words, debt can’t have different values at different times and places unless we create additions in the form of assumptions; that is by creating a debt market and valuating or assessing debts in relation to time. Additionally the amount of an increment in a debt is also assumptive; it depends on the conditions and externalities in the imaginary market that we create for debts" .
5. It constitute a sacrifice from giver to the sake of taker deserves no compensation. Any compensation to the giver as a price for his sacrifice will violate ownership principal because loan, by nature, transfer ownership although it doesn’t add any value. When the loan handed over to the taker he immediately become the owner of the property or the money loaned, and therefore he has an exclusive authority on his property enjoying its benefit and bearing its risk. The giver who become an owner of abstract debt once he handed the loan to the taker, has no right to claim any increment charge otherwise it will be authorized infringement to the private ownership of someone else which is not permissible in Islamic Shariah. The personal loan, as said Prof. Monzer Kahf "must remain personal and deserves thanks, gratitude and appreciation from the borrower and may be a reward from God too but it is not a contributor to value creation" .

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