Concept of time in Islamic economics

Abstract EN

In Surat Al-Baqarah) Chapter II of the Qur'an) God, the Almighty, says: "And God has allowed sales and forbidden riba) "verse 275).

This verse compels us to contemplate and examine the differences between sale and riba .Comparing the two, we see that Islam forbids any conditional increase in the principal of a loan in return for deferred repayment.

However, the juristic consensus is that in a sale contract, the price of an item may be increased in case of deferred payment.

At first glance, it appears that Islam sets double standards by viewing time differently in these two cases :on the one hand, it makes it part of the price in the case of deferred sales but strips it of any value in the case of loans.

We believe that the matter requires more comprehensive consideration to figure out, beyond this apparent duality, the real Islamic perception of the economic role of time.

This paper, therefore, seeks to explore and determine this perception by looking closely at juristic opinions and judgements relating to two categories of financial transactions involving time: loans and credit sales