Why interest is such a great sin in Islam?

[MJavedIqbal]

A Quranic verse declares war on those who do not give up interest taking/paying
and a hadith declares interest of even a dirham (a currency) is like committing
Adultery 36 times.

Is it also forbidden in earlier religions of Abraham and considered such a great
sin?

 

[sparky_dy]

Probably because Muhammed had a bad experience with a loan shark.

Interest is *just* a hire charge on borrowed money, no more, no less. Nobody thinks it's unreasonable for a TV shop to to charge rent on a TV set, or a vehicle hire company to charge rent on a car. Nor does anybody think there's anything wrong with being paid to do a job.

Anyone who opposes interest but not other forms of hire charge or work for wages is simply a massive hypocrite.

 

[FatherTucker]

Charging interest on a debt is considered a sort of enslavement--which it is, in a sense. Consider how many people in the United States have massive credit card debts, mortgages and car payments, lines of credit and so on. I think it's safe to say that most people, over the full course of their lives, will end up paying over a million dollars for absolutely nothing. That's a hell of a lot of forced labour--forced because with the current economic model, it's virtually impossible to get anywhere in life without paying tonnes of interest.

 

[Semaj]

I don't have a scholarly opinion but I always felt interest, aka riba is a way of being paid for being generous or kind. By that I mean if I had the means to lend you some money or property but charge you a fee then it wouldn't be my intent to lend this to be kind.
But, here is a classical example of how interest can destroy. Lets say you have two coins and these two coins represent all the money in your society. You say you will give society these two coins but eventually they have to pay you back three coins. Where is the other coin going to come from? Interest represents the third coin but the third coin does not exist. See where this can go?