What is "riba"

n. (sense: Muslim finance) interest or usury, which is haram (sinful) according to sharia law.

Riba ( , ) can be roughly translated as " Usury", or unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business under Islamic law. Riba is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39 and perhaps most commonly in 2:275-280). It is also mentioned in many hadith.

While Muslims agree that Riba is prohibited, there is disagreement over what it is. It is often used as an Islamic term for interest charged on loans and this belief is the basis of a $2 trillion Islamic banking industry. However not all scholars equated it with all forms of interest, and among those who do there is also disagreement over whether it is a major sin and against sharia (Islamic law), or simply discouraged ( makruh).

Riba is also applied to a variety of commercial transactions. Most Islamic jurists describe two kinds of Riba:

• Riba an-nasiya: an excess (riba) charged for a loan in cash or kind.
• Riba al-Fadl: the simultaneous exchange of unequal quantities or qualities of a given commodity.

Riba or RIBA may refer to:

• Riba, an Arabic word meaning usury
• Royal Institute of British Architects