ٱلَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ ٱلَّذِى يَتَخَبَّطُهُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ مِنَ ٱلْمَسِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا ٱلْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ ۗ وَأَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ ۚ فَمَن جَآءَهُۥ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ فَٱنتَهَىٰ فَلَهُۥ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ 275
Translations
Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allāh has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allāh. But whoever returns [to dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
Transliteration
Alladhīna ya'kulūna al-ribā lā yaqūmūna illā kamā yaqūmu al-ladhī yatakhabbaṭuhu al-shaytānu min al-mass. Dhālika bi-annahum qālū innamā al-bay'u mithlū al-ribā. Wa-aḥalla Allāhu al-bay'a wa-ḥarrama al-ribā. Faman jā'ahu maw'iẓatun min rabbihi fa-intahā falahu mā salafa wa-amruhu ilā Allāh. Wa-man 'āda fa-ulā'ika aṣḥābu al-nār. Hum fīhā khālidūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns those who consume ribā (usury/interest), describing their spiritual state as being shaken and confused like a person seized by demonic possession. The Qur'ān clarifies that while trade (bay') is permissible, ribā is categorically forbidden—a distinction the people of Jāhiliyyah tried to blur. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurṭubī note that the graphic imagery emphasizes the severe spiritual corruption ribā causes, and the ayah concludes with a merciful provision: those who repent after receiving guidance are forgiven their past, while those who persist in ribā face eternal punishment.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Medina as part of the detailed financial regulations Allah prescribed for the Muslim community. It appears in the context of Surah Al-Baqarah's comprehensive guidance on transactions and deals, addressing a practice deeply embedded in pre-Islamic Arabian commerce that the early Muslims needed clear instruction to abandon.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa-sallam) said: 'The Messenger of Allāh cursed the one who consumes ribā, the one who gives it, the one who witnesses it, and the one who records it' (Sunan Ibn Mājah). Additionally, Jābir reported that the Prophet cursed ten categories of people related to ribā transactions (Sunan Ibn Mājah and others).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that financial exploitation through ribā is not merely a legal transgression but a spiritual disease that clouds the heart and mind; it simultaneously offers hope through the door of repentance, reminding believers that returning to obedience after understanding the truth brings forgiveness and resets one's account with Allah.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالُوا۟ لَن تَمَسَّنَا ٱلنَّارُ إِلَّآ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَةً ۚ قُلْ أَتَّخَذْتُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَهْدًا فَلَن يُخْلِفَ ٱللَّهُ عَهْدَهُۥٓ ۖ أَمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And they say, "Never will the Fire touch us, except for [a few] numbered days." Say, "Have you taken a covenant with Allāh? For Allāh will never break His covenant. Or do you say about Allāh that which you do not know?"
وَوَصَّىٰ بِهَآ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَـٰبَنِىَّ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰ لَكُمُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], "O my sons, indeed Allāh has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims."
مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِى كُلِّ سُنۢبُلَةٍ مِّا۟ئَةُ حَبَّةٍ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allāh is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allāh multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allāh is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلْمَلَإِ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰٓ إِذْ قَالُوا۟ لِنَبِىٍّ لَّهُمُ ٱبْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُّقَـٰتِلْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَـٰتِلُوا۟ ۖ قَالُوا۟ وَمَا لَنَآ أَلَّا نُقَـٰتِلَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِن دِيَـٰرِنَا وَأَبْنَآئِنَا ۖ فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوْا۟ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Have you not considered the assembly of the Children of Israel after [the time of] Moses when they said to a prophet of theirs, "Send to us a king, and we will fight in the way of Allāh"? He said, "Would you perhaps refrain from fighting if battle was prescribed for you?" They said, "And why should we not fight in the cause of Allāh when we have been driven out from our homes and from our children?" But when battle was prescribed for them, they turned away, except for a few of them. And Allāh is Knowing of the wrongdoers.