Riba Re-Examined

In light of my chapter on the role of interpretation in Islamic commercial law, I was drawn to take a fresh look at the textual provisions on Riba, Bay’ and Dayn as I set out below. I became increasingly curious that though the word Riba was routinely translated as interest there was nothing in the Quran or sunna that val-idated such a translation. Likewise, the word Dayn is translated as debt yet, my examination, revealed that the word expresses a concept far wider than mere debt. Need I say the same for Bay’? Yes, my finding was that bay’ as used in the Quran expresses more than just ‘sale’ or ‘trade’.