In the context of interpretation of Quranic term "Riba", it is very important to have "Taqwa" i-e one should be conscious of the express or implied commands of Allah (SWT). As there is no respite from pretense or ignorance. Following two references are very much relevant.
Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the Evil One by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord desist shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who repeat (the offence) are companions of the fire: they will abide therein (for ever).
Aya 275 Sura Al-Baqara
Narrated Anas
The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection the Believers will assemble and say, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our Lord.' So they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).' Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, 'Go to Noah, for he was the first Apostle, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.' They will go to him and Noah will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, 'Go to the Khalil-r-Rahman (i.e. Abraham).' They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Moses, the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah.' So they will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, 'Go to Jesus, Allah's Slave, His Apostle and Allah's Word and a Spirit coming from Him. Jesus will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the Slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.
' So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord's Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed: '(Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me to intercede whom I will let into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and will say, 'None remains in Hell but those whom the Quran has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.' " (The compiler) Abu 'Abdullah said: "But those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned in Hell," refers to the Statement of Allah:
"They will dwell therein forever." (16.29)
Sahih Al-Bukhari 6:3
These two quoted references are self explanatory and need no further explanation than one should have extreme care in interpreting the meaning of term "Riba" otherwise the consequences are extreme and there is no respite.
The word "care" does not capture the entire behavior and the spirit that is required. The word that can capture the required behavior is "Taqwa". The very first order by Allah (SWT) in Quran is in Aya 21 of Sura Baqara, which says "O ye people! adore your Guardian-Lord who created you and those who came before you that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness." The comment on this Aya from Abdullah Yousuf Ali is worth reading.
"I connect this dependent clause with "adore, etc." above, though it could be connected with "created". According to my construction the argument will be as follows. Adoration is the act of the highest and humblest reverence and worship. When you get into that relationship with Allah, Who is your Creator and Guardian, your faith produces works of righteousness. It is a chance given you: will you exercise your free will and take it? If you do, your whole nature will be transformed." The very first guidance from Allah (SWT) for the mankind is to learn "Taqwa" because without having it one can't come to possess the understanding of His message, the way He wants to be understood.
So in matters of Allah (SWT), there is no other way except to have "Taqwa". Following are some of the interpretations of the term "Taqwa", which shall make it clear what is required while interpreting the literal meaning and terms of Quran.
Tafseer ibn Kathir mentions that Atiyah As-Sa’di said the Propeht (pbuh) said, “The servant will not acquire the status of those with taqwa until he abandons what is harmless out of fear of falling into that which is harmful.” [Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi]
Sayyiduna Ali (R.A) defined Taqwa as being the ‘fear of Jaleel (Allah), acting upon the tanzeel (Quran), being content with qaleel (little), and preparing for the day of raheel (journeying from this world).
Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab (R.A) once asked Hazrat Ibn Ka’ab (R.A) the definition of taqwa. In reply Hazrat Ibn Ka’ab asked, “Have you ever had to traverse a thorny path?” Hazrat Umar replied in the affirmative and Hazrat Ka’ab continued, “How do you do so?” Hazrat Umar (R.A) said that he would carefully walk through after first having collected all loose and flowing clothing in his hands so nothing gets caught in the thorns hence injuring him. Hazrat Ka’ab said, “This is the definition of taqwa, to protect oneself from sin through life’s dangerous journey so that one can successfully complete the journey unscathed by sin.”
The confusion around the interpretation of the term "Riba" is intentional one to mislead people for the purposes of some ulterior motives. Some of them have taken refuge in the comments of Hazrat Umar (R.A) about the interpretation of the term "Riba". These people have taken Hazrat Umer’s (RAA) remarks to mean that Riba is a vague term whose meanings were not obvious even to the closest companions of the Prophet (PBUH). They further claimed that whatever has been written on Riba is the personal interpretation of religious scholars and jurists.
The tradition which reports the remark by Hazrat Umar (RAA) that he could not check full details of certain kinds of Riba with the Prophet (PBUH) also includes the words “so give up Riba and whatever may appear akin to Riba.” Hazrat Umar (RAA) himself followed his recommendation to the hilt “We have given up 90% of all legitimate transactions for the fear that an element of Riba might be present in them.” (Reported By Imam Shafi)
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