ٱلَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ ٱلَّذِى يَتَخَبَّطُهُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ 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 فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ
“Those who swallow usury cannot rise up save as he ariseth whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: Trade is just like usury; whereas Allah permitteth trading and forbiddeth usury. He unto whom an admonition from his Lord cometh, and (he) refraineth (in obedience thereto), he shall keep (the profits of) that which is past, and his affair (henceforth) is with Allah. As for him who returneth (to usury) - Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the metaphor of 'rising' in the verse describes how those who consume riba will be shaken and rise uncontrollably from their graves on the Day of Judgment like a person struck by Satan or possessed by a jinn. Furthermore, based on the linguistic root of the word 'riba' meaning 'increase/surplus', it is explained that interest is the excess taken in exchange for extending a loan's maturity date; this is differentiated from legitimate profit increases in commerce.
يبعث آكل الربا يوم القيامة مجنونا يخنق
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
In this text, Râzî addresses the methodological discussion related to the riba verse: according to the Hanafi view, he conveys that restricting the general wording of the Qur'an to six things through an isolated report (khabar-i wahid), and then extending the ruling to other things through analogical reasoning based on these six things, means preferring a weak proof to a strong one. Additionally, the text includes various reading differences (masculine-feminine, plural-singular forms) and linguistic explanations; these are clarifications regarding pronoun and verb concordance in the verse.
فكان هذا تخصيصا لعموم نص القرآن في الأشياء الستة بخبر الواحد ، وفي غيرها بالقياس على الأشياء الستة ، ثبت الحكم فيها بخبر الواحد ، ومثل هذا القياس يكون أضعف بكثير من خبر الواحد ، وخبر الواحد أضعف من ظاهر القرآن ، فكان هذا ترجيحا للأضعف على الأقوى ، وأنه غير جائز
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî explains in this verse the pre-Islamic Arab practice regarding riba (when a loan matured, either payment was made or interest was added and repayment was deferred); he states that Allah prohibited this practice and that the Prophet on the Day of Arafah abolished all pre-Islamic riba, beginning first with that of his uncle Abbas. Additionally, he transmits four different interpretations of the pronoun in the expression 'whoever receives an admonition from Me and refrains' (it may refer to riba, the past, the riba creditor, or the one who repents) and reports the narration in which Aisha evaluated a transaction of Zayd b. Arkam using this verse.
وهذا الربا هو الذي نسخه النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بقوله يوم عرفة لما قال : ( ألا إن كل ربا موضوع وإن أول ربا أضعه ربانا ربا عباس بن عبد المطلب فإنه موضوع كله ( فبدأ صلى الله عليه وسلم بعمه وأخص الناس به وهذا من سنن العدل للإمام أن يفيض العدل على نفسه وخاصته
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Ibn Kesîr, this verse indicates that those who consume riba will rise from their graves on the Day of Judgment like someone struck or possessed by a jinn, and that this rising is not an ordinary one but resembles the rising of a madman. Furthermore, he conveys that one who continues riba after Allah has forbidden it deserves punishment, while one who repents and desists will have his previous dealings belong to him.
أي لا يقومون من قبورهم يوم القيامة إلا كما يقوم المصروع حال صرعه وتخبط الشيطان له وذلك أنه يقوم قياما منكرا وقال ابن عباس آكل الربا يبعث يوم القيامة مجنونا يخنق
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the rising of those who consume riba like the Satan-struck (possessed) on the Day of Judgment mentioned in the verse stems from Allah enlarging and burdening the riba in their bellies; this is not from corruption of their intellect. Furthermore, the polytheists' saying that 'buying and selling is like riba' is refuted, demonstrating that treating these two transactions as equivalent in reaching profit is an invalid analogy, and Allah's permitting buying and selling while forbidding riba invalidates this analogy and equation.
لا لاختلال عقولهم ولكن لأن الله أربى في بطونهم ما أكلوه من الربا فأثقلهم
Comparison
Common ground
Taberî, Ibn Kesîr and Beydâvî agree that the manner of 'rising' of those who consume riba at the Resurrection is an uncontrolled shaking like that of a person struck by Satan or possessed by a jinn. Kurtubî and Taberî emphasize the practice of riba in the pre-Islamic period and that the linguistic root of 'riba' contains the meaning of 'increase/surplus', differentiating it from commercial profit; on this point there is a shared linguistic/lexical foundation.
Differences
While Taberî and Ibn Kesîr follow a narration-based method relying on reports from the Companions and Successors, Râzî transfers the subject to the discussion of legal methodology (isolated reports, analogy, general statements-specific restrictions), following a more theoretical line. Kurtubî combines both narration and juristic reasoning, elaborating on how the Prophet abolished pre-Islamic riba and the various interpretations of pronouns. Beydâvî, by attributing the Satan-struck metaphor not to corruption of intellect but to the heaviness of riba in the belly, offers a different interpretation, and addresses the invalidity of the polytheists' analogy on a linguistic and logical basis. These differences largely stem from the school each exegete belongs to (narration-based exegesis, legal methodology, theology-rhetoric) and the scholarly priorities of the period in which they lived.
Historical context
From the earliest exegete Taberî to the most recent Beydâvî, the fundamental message of the verse (the prohibition of riba and the shocking condition seen at the Resurrection) remained constant; however, over time the exegetical method evolved from narration to juristic-methodological discussions and linguistic/theological deepening. This reflects the maturation process of exegetical science and the contributions of various branches of knowledge to exegesis.
Modern connection
This comparative reading reminds us that the line between legitimate and illegitimate gain in economic relations must be examined both linguistically and in terms of intention (sincerity). The way different exegetes labored over the same verse with multifaceted approaches points to the value of harmony between knowledge and faith and of patient, in-depth thinking. From a social solidarity perspective, gain can also be encouraged to be based not on others' harm, but on just and constructive sharing.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar