Sheikh Eyad Qunaibi comments on Egypt's IMF loan from an Islamic perspective and mentions the consequences of those who receive loans from the IMF.
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In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. Dear brothers, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
As a brief commentary on the discussion about Egypt borrowing from the International Monetary Fund, I would like to draw attention to two important points that the followers should indeed give more consideration in the discussion:
Firstly: Some people oppose criticizing the current situation in Egypt on the grounds that it weakens the new parties and presidency against the secularists and remnants. Here, it is necessary to remind that sins are much more dangerous than these enemies; Allah the Almighty said: {And if you are patient and fear Allah, their cunning will not harm you in the least} [Surah Al-Imran 3:120], and He said: {It will never harm you in the least if they plot} [Surah Al-Imran 3:120].
Political practice that lacks the fear of Allah means losing the divine protection that shields them from the schemes of their enemies. Otherwise, if we gain the support of Allah, we would not give any weight to the secularists and remnants. How can we talk about an evil that exposes us to a war from Allah? Do we not all know His saying: {O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if you are indeed believers. And if you do not, then take notice of war from Allah and His Messenger} [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:278-279].
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari mentioned in his interpretation of the verse that this warning includes the usurer and his agent, the taker and the giver. The Prophet ﷺ cursed the usurer, his agent, his writer, and his witnesses, and said: "They are all alike in sin." The war includes both the borrower and the lender; so it is strange that someone wants us not to warn against an act that exposes us to a war from Allah for fear that this warning might lead to a war from the secularists and remnants! {If Allah helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you} [Surah Al-Imran 3:160].
We strive to have Allah with us, not to do what causes His war against us. If we want Allah to bless our sustenance, we have no choice but to establish His law: {And had they established the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet} [Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:66], and His saying: {And if the people of the towns had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth} [Surah Al-A'raf 7:96]. Also, His saying: {And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect} [Surah Al-Talaq 65:2-3] is a promise to societies and states as it is to individuals.
The second point: It is superficial to discuss the problem of borrowing from the angle of usury only - although that is dangerous as mentioned - but there is another very important matter, which is that loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank come within a comprehensive methodology used by the United States to achieve the subordination of the countries of the Third World to it.
Noam Chomsky made this clear in his important book: (What Uncle Sam Really Wants) "What Uncle Sam Really Wants." We do not rely on his book because he is Jewish, but because he gathers evidence and facts that prove the American strategies he talks about. The writer mentioned this American policy in the chapter (Deterioration Abroad) where he explained that the United States uses the military institution in the countries of the Third World to create chaos and turmoil in the country that leads to an economic catastrophe, and then bequeaths the problem to the civil authority that the International Monetary Fund begins to blackmail in exchange for loans.
Thus, policies are imposed that subjugate the country economically and make its resources plundered by the United States, reduce the services that the state provides to the citizen, and deepen these policies the state of polarization in society; so that the wealth of the privileged class with loyalty to the United States increases at the expense of the oppressed majority, which does not increase except in poverty, making it easier to control the two classes.
John Perkins also confirms this meaning in his book: (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man) "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," where he explained that lending is the way for the United States to subjugate countries to its political, economic, and military desires and intervene in their affairs; lending through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The issue is not only the prohibition of usury, but we must also recall this reality: that these loans come within a comprehensive policy to enslave peoples. And I think that when Allah Almighty prohibited usury, He knew its effects in enslaving peoples.
The parties agree with us that there is no revival for this nation unless it is freed from subordination to the West, so is this loan a step towards this liberation? And if we reach the stage of justifying participation in the "war on terror," justifying the maintenance of the "Camp David" treaty, justifying the permission for two Chinese ships loaded with weapons to kill Muslims to pass through Suez, justifying borrowing from the International Monetary Fund... If we allow ourselves to justify all of that, then why not justify for other systems in the Islamic world?
Are good intentions and resonant slogans considered significant differences in Sharia that turn the forbidden into the permissible? Are these the steps on the path of applying Sharia? And what is the difference between secularists and non-secularists? Is it only the name or the personal manifestations of religiosity? Are not the policies affecting the state level the real difference that makes us describe a system as Islamic or secular?
O Allah, the affliction has lasted and the people have resorted to confusion and darkness, so finalize for the nation of Your beloved Muhammad ﷺ a matter of guidance, and guide the misguided Muslims, for You are the Most Gentle, the Most Forbearing.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.