person receiving the money. According to the verses of Quran, God admires people who pay their wealth for servants of God by using this statement "loan to God", while this wealth is provided for people by God. A different and non-orthodox interpretation of the Quran's verses on qardh al-hasan (by M.O Farooq) is that the context of the verses does not "seem to have anything to do with qardh in general as business transactions in this world", but instead involves "the symbolic transaction between Allah and the believers". In these sorts of transactions believers can only give Allah loans, not gifts, because "Whatever we offer to Allah is ... treated as loan", since it is always returned, "doubled or even more". In contradiction to orthodox religious legal teachings that the Quranic verses prohibit Muslims from charging interest on business loans, Farooq notes that the verses "specify no detail whatsoever in regard to conditions or limitations, including whether qardh or qardh al-hasan must be without excess. On the contrary, qardh al-hasan, as a contract with God, consistently specifies an excess," (as the Quran talks of doubling the qardh hasan). In Islamic banking and finance Qardh al-hasan contracts between Islamic banks and borrowers state that the borrower only has to pay back the amount borrowed, although the borrower can pay back extra money as thanks. Loans such as this are used as an attempt to alleviate poverty and create economic growth. Also the Quran has introduced it as an outstanding element such as sadaqah, zakat and waqf, that is a necessary concept to provide the welfare of society. Qardh al-hasan supports the main principle of brotherhood. Also there are benefits such as the aid of the poor, establishing a strengthened relationship between poor and rich, the just distribution of national income between all citizens, removing caste differences and unemployment, and being an act with great reward at resurrection day. See also Verse of Loan Alms Khums Tzedakah (Judaism) References Loans Islamic banking Islamic worship Islamic banking and finance terminology Arabic words and phrases