﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوا۟ ٱلرِّبَوٰٓا۟ أَضْعَٰفًۭا مُّضَٰعَفَةًۭ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴾

“O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not gorge yourselves on usury, doubling and re-doubling it - but remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state;”

Engaging in usury is the ultimate in money worship. A usurer thinks day in and day out as to how to double and quadruple his money. But what he ought to pursue relentlessly is not the acquisition of material things but his entry into Paradise in the Hereafter. He ought to be ever eager to attain God’s mercy and blessing, but not by increasing his worldly wealth in order to guarantee himself a life of grandeur in this world. Honour and success are of no importance when compared to Paradise, the pleasure and enjoyment of which are immeasurable. Wise is the one who pursues God’s Paradise. Hastening towards it means giving away more and more of one’s wealth for the cause of God. The way to worldly success is to increase one’s riches, while the way to success in the Hereafter is to decrease one’s riches. If the inspiration to tread the former path is the love of money, the inspiration towards the latter is the love of God and His Messenger. If the ‘wealth’ of the former is worldly profit, the ‘wealth’ of the latter is the profit of the Hereafter. Where those desirous of riches have the fear of worldly loss, those of a spiritual bent of mind fear loss in the Hereafter.