Three Ways People Left Riba

We know it’s wrong. We want to leave it. But we just can’t seem to get out of dealing in riba.

Maybe we work at a bank and we think that just one more year will give us ‘enough.’ Or maybe we got a mortgage thinking that it was the only option we had. Whatever our situation, we make decisions like we are immortal, and yet who can guarantee whether we live to see the end of today.

We think we’ve figured it out. But it turns out that by solving one problem (making money working at the ribawi bank or owning a home by getting a mortgage) we’ve brought ten other problems into our lives (problems in our marriage, problems with our children, problems with our health, and so on).

God will continue to send us problems as long as we are at war with Him. And who will win?

“O believers, fear you God; and give up the usury that is outstanding, if you are believers. But if you do not, then take notice that God shall war with you, and His Messenger; yet if you repent, you shall have your principal, unwronging and unwronged.”

Remember, if you leave something for the sake of God, He will give you something better.

Three Ways People Left Riba…And You Can Too

1. Rent: Just rent and relax. Living in a ribawi home is worse than stealing money to go on Hajj. Would you rather have a big house in which everyone is fighting or a small apartment glowing with love and peace?
2. Live ‘back home’: Whether ‘back home’ means a less expensive country, the small town where you grew up, or your parents’ house, this is a tried and tested option for reducing your needs. More and more people now happily work from remote locations.
3. Take a pay cut: Hand in your resignation and work somewhere else. We’ve seen investment bankers take 90% pay cuts, bank managers become teachers, and 21 year olds walk out of bank orientations after learning about riba. Use your imagination and get out of the rut: “'To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Do you have a story to share? How did you leave riba? Send us something in writing (with your name or anonymously) of any length, and we’ll try to share it with others.

For more tips on changing jobs, lifestyles, and locations, read:

• How to be Free (Tom Hodgkinson)
• Early Retirement Extreme — A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Financial Independence (Jacob Lund Fisker)
• The Four Hour Workweek — Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Timothy Ferriss)
• How to Live Without Owning a Car (Chris Balish)
• The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It (John Seymour)

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