The Universal Condemnation on the Practice of Riba

The purpose of this paper is to examine the notion of riba. Riba is the only transgression in the Quran which invokes war on Allah SWT and his Messenger SAW. This writeup examines riba with a threefold objective: i) to establish that riba is a universal prohibition and not just an Islamic injunction, ii to understand that riba was a widely entrenched practice during the time of the Prophet SAW, and that the abolishment of riba was done in stages according to the revelation of the Quran and, iii to explain why riba is so detrimental to society.