The Criterion of Homogeneous Types in Usurious Money and Its Contemporary Applications

Abstract

This research addresses the definition and types of usury (riba), then clarifies the concept of homogeneity in usurious types, including the criteria established by the scholars of the four Islamic schools of thought for determining whether usurious types are considered the same or different. This applies to both agreed-upon and contested cases.

The research also examines the impact of the similarity in utility between two items on their classification as the same or different types, as well as the effect of manufacturing processes on usurious materials in terms of changing their type or considering them as the same type as their original form.

Furthermore, the research includes contemporary applications of usurious types, covering paper money, oil derivatives, and canned foods. The researcher employed a descriptive-analytical methodology by describing the rationale behind usury and analyzing it to establish the rules for usurious types. Additionally, an inductive approach was used to generalize rules based on the materials identified by scholars as usurious then building on them to derive general principles.