تحليل الجوانب الاقتصادية لربا الفضل و مقاصده : بين النمذجة الرياضية و تداخل حقول المعرفة

Abstract EN

This article discusses a paper written by Sami Al-Suwailem on the ‘Economics of Riba al-Fadl’.

Proceeding from the idea that riba is one of the general issues that encompasses many secondary ones, the article sheds light on the epistemological posture of the paper and the limits of using mathematical modeling, thus revealing the importance of openness to different fields of knowledge that will deepen the understanding of economic phenomena beyond the fields of economics and jurisprudence and what they offer in terms of analytical tools.

Among the main results of the paper according to the mathematical model used are: The need to differentiate between the prohibition of usury and the abolition of interest; riba al-fadl includes exchanging what is vital in return for what is not really necessary and contributes to the unequal distribution of wealth and its concentration in the hands of a few.

The most important proposals that emerge from the discussion include : i) the need to take into account the fact that the economic exchanges that are ‘embedded’ in social relations are ultimately what defines the origin of human life.

This means that riba al-fadl precedes riba al-nasi’ah (historically speaking).

This prevents a developmental reading in which barter is said to have been simply a specific method by which primitive societies interacted before the emergence of currency.

This supports the validity of such a reading: the return of people to barter in various regions of the world, especially through digital platforms; ii) the difference in weight between riba al-fadl and riba al-nasi’ah according to this angle of analysis, reveals a complementary relationship between the two concepts ; iii) the decline in the fundamental role of riba al-nasi’ah based on positive interest after the appearance of the zero-interest-rate policy and the negative-interest-rate policy as a result of the global financial crisis.

Hence the necessity to reassess the claim that “riba al-nasi’ah is more clear than riba alfadl”.

The issue between these two concepts is not a question of ambiguity and clarity.

Rather, it is a matter of the scientific rooting of a social phenomenon where any aspect involved cannot be overlooked.