Interest or Usury: Ottoman Credit History and the Transformation of Murabaha

Credit relations in the Ottoman Empire developed within the framework of the Islamic prohibition of riba. In this context, murabaha, was used by the Ottomans in the sense of a legitimate (free from riba) return on loans along with its classical jurisprudential meaning. However, especially since the second half of the nineteenth century, murabaha was also burdened with the meaning of usury, which signifies riba. This article aims to analyse the transformation of murabaha in the nineteenth century Ottoman Empire and examines how meanings changed and transformed as a result of social reality permeating daily language. In this context, Ottoman credit terminology and the socio-economic history of credit relations will be analysed in the Late Ottoman Empire. Archival documents, writings of Ottoman authors in newspapers and books, translations from foreign languages and dictionary sources as well as sharia court records and fatwas will be used in the research. In the light of the mentioned sources, it is aimed to correct some misconceptions in Ottoman historiography regarding credit relations. In addition, the development of credit relations in the Ottoman Empire and how these relations were shaped will be revealed by tracing the evolution of murabaha in Ottoman history.