Interest in Islamic Economics: Understanding Riba

With Islamic banking gradually becoming a more influential factor in the West, an analysis of the concept of riba – a definition of which is not given in the Qur’an – is long overdue. This text presents readers with various interpretations of this Islamic economic concept – generally perceived as ‘interest’. Thomas provides a framework for understanding riba by examining:

• linguistics
• classical judicial analysis
• the historical context
• modern economics.

Including contributions from pr...