This contribution provides a summary of a specific type of legal debate —that which discusses economics and, in particular, Islam’s prohibition of charging interest (riba)— that has taken place within the framework of Islamic law throughout history, from medieval times to the present, insofar as these discussions continue to occur in relation with the development of Islamic banking, above all regarding certain transactions whose legality was already discussed by Muslim legal scholars centuries ago. The different methods used to attempt to attenuate the prohibition of riba are be analyzed so as to paint an accurate portrait of the flexibility and adaptability which characterize Islamic law.
Islamic finance, usury, riba, interest, Islamic law.