Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣadiq (as): when asked by Hisham b. al-Hakam about the reason behind the prohibition of usury, replied, Were usury to be permissible, people would abandon their trading and other necessities, so Allah prohibited usury in order that man may flee from the unlawful [means of earning] to trade, and resort to buying and selling, and this in turn facilitates borrowing from each other [instead of practicing usury]. Biḥār al-Anwār