Calls to Faith in al-Baqarah: From Worship to Usury and Debt

Occasion: A transcription of a lecture delivered after the ʿIshāʾ prayer at AIA on May 5, 2026, part of the series "Calls to Faith in the Qur’an" (12)Source: A transcription of a video lecture by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Editor's note: The transcript of this lecture is badly garbled, and only what follows could be established; no explanation was added that the lecture did not contain.

The session opens with a supplication: "…our livelihood, and set right for us, O Allah, our Hereafter, to which is our return; make life for us an increase in every good, and make death a rest for us from every evil. Make us firm with the firm word in the life of this world and in the Hereafter, and on the day the witnesses rise, O Lord of the worlds. Mend our hearts, ease our affairs, guide us to our paths, strengthen our hearts, and make our feet firm. O Allah, amen."

The Calls in Surat al-Baqarah

Tonight's topic is the calls to faith in Surat al-Baqarah. At its beginning he recites: ﴿الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ * وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ﴾ [البقرة: 3-4] (those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them; and who believe in what was sent down to you and what was sent down before you, and are certain of the Hereafter) [al-Baqarah: 3-4].

Then the call: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقُولُوا رَاعِنَا وَقُولُوا انظُرْنَا وَاسْمَعُوا ۗ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾ [البقرة: 104] (O you who believe, do not say "Rāʿinā" but say "Unẓurnā," and listen; and for the disbelievers is a painful punishment) [al-Baqarah: 104], and he says that these are calls relating to worship and rites. Then he mentions further calls: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾ [البقرة: 153] (O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer; indeed Allah is with the patient) [al-Baqarah: 153], and ﴿كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ [البقرة: 172] (eat of the good things We have provided for you) [al-Baqarah: 172], and ﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَىٰ﴾ [البقرة: 178] (retribution is prescribed for you in cases of killing) [al-Baqarah: 178], and ﴿كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ﴾ [البقرة: 183] (fasting is prescribed for you) [al-Baqarah: 183], and he describes them as worship and rites. Then ﴿ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً﴾ [البقرة: 208] (enter into peace completely) [al-Baqarah: 208].

Spending, Sale, Usury and Debt

Then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ ۗ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾ [البقرة: 254] (O you who believe, spend out of what We have provided for you before there comes a Day in which there is no trading, no friendship, and no intercession; and the disbelievers are the wrongdoers) [al-Baqarah: 254], and after it he mentions ﴿اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ﴾ [البقرة: 255] (Allah — there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining) [al-Baqarah: 255]. Then ﴿وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا﴾ [البقرة: 275] (Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury) [al-Baqarah: 275], and ﴿اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا﴾ [البقرة: 278] (fear Allah and give up what remains of usury) [al-Baqarah: 278], and he says: lawful and unlawful. Then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُ﴾ [البقرة: 282] (O you who believe, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down) [al-Baqarah: 282], and he mentions mutual indebtedness, lending, the good loan, and Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq.^[1]

Zakat and Charity

Then ﴿إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ …﴾ (charities are only for the poor, the needy, those who work to collect them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for freeing slaves …),^[4] then ﴿خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا﴾ (take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to grow), then ﴿وَفِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ﴾ (and in their wealth is a known right), and he follows it with the words "a right for the beggar and the deprived."^[2] And he mentions zakat, charity, and mutual indebtedness.

How Do We Derive Rulings?

Then he poses a question: how do we derive rulings? He pauses at the particle "idhā" in the Qur'an, and mentions: ﴿إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ﴾ (when the Event occurs), and ﴿إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ﴾ (when the help of Allah and the victory come),^[5] and ﴿إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم﴾ (when you contract a debt), and he links that to the Arabic language. He explains "idhā tadāyantum" roughly as: if you agree to give, if you consent to grant. Then he mentions ﴿أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا﴾, and the ambiguous verses (mutashābihāt), and the Qur'an, and the Sunnah of Muhammad ﷺ, and he concludes with "jazākum Allāhu khayran, bārak Allāh" (may Allah reward you with good; may Allah bless you).^[3]

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: It is not clear from the transcript why Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq is mentioned, nor what was said about him. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The transcript reads "and in their wealth is a known right, that is, a right for the beggar and the deprived," and it is unclear whether this is a verse he recited or an explanation of it (the phrase has a parallel in al-Maʿārij: 24-25 and al-Dhāriyāt: 19); so the location was not determined and no number was given in the text. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: The statements attributed to "idhā" are summarized from a fragmentary transcript, so nothing more than the allusion should be built upon them. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: al-Tawbah: 60 for the first, and al-Tawbah: 103 for the second; the lecturer did not name the sūrah in the transcript, and the attribution is the editor's. The transcript reads "innamā ṣadaqatuhu" and "innamā al-zakāt," then "al-ṣadaqāt." ^[5]: Editor's documentation: al-Wāqiʿah: 1, al-Naṣr: 1; the lecturer did not name the two sūrahs, and the attribution is the editor's.