Fatwa MUI Concerning Online Loans and Removing the Snares of Loan sharks

rewplaw.com - The government is actively controlling illegal online loans (Pinjol), including the police taking legal action. Several parties involved in these loans are currently undergoing legal proceedings. Apart from the police, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has recorded that 3,631 illegal loans have been successfully prosecuted from 2018 until now. The phenomenon of illegal lending amidst the various achievements and contributions of the legal peer-to-peer (P2P) financial technology (fintech) industry in Indonesia is quite disturbing. It also reveals a harsh reality in our society, where the online siege of loan sharks surrounds and tempts people's daily lives, especially in conditions of economic hardship.

Regarding the disturbing rise of Pinjol, the Ulama Ijtima of the Fatwa Commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which concluded on Thursday, November 11, 2021, resulted in several decisions. One of them is a fatwa regarding loans. The Ulama Ijtima determined that online lending activities are haram because they contain elements of usury, give threats, and reveal one's secrets or disgrace to fellow debtors. The MUI emphasized that loan services, both offline and online, that contain usury are haram, even if they are done voluntarily. The MUI states that the act of lending and borrowing, or receivables, is a form of tabarru' or benevolent contract based on mutual assistance, which is recommended as long as it does not conflict with sharia principles. However, if in practice the collection of receivables is carried out by giving physical threats or revealing the secrets (disgrace) of someone who is unable to pay the debt, it is haram.

Moreover, it is haram for people who borrow to deliberately delay paying their debts if they can afford to do so. The Chairman of the MUI for Fatwa, Asrorun Niam Soleh, at the closing of the Ulama Ijtima of the MUI Fatwa Commission in Jakarta, Thursday (11/11/2021), explained that providing postponement or relief in debt payments for those experiencing difficulties is a recommended action (mustahab).

Regarding the rise of online lending activities in society, the MUI recommends that the government, specifically the Ministry of Communication and Information, the National Police, and the OJK, should continue to enhance public protection, carry out supervision, and take firm action against the disturbing misuse of online loans or peer-to-peer lending (Fintech Lending) financial technology. community (Antara, November 11, 2021).

On the other hand, online loan organizers should also use the MUI fatwa as a guideline in all transactions carried out. Meanwhile, Muslims, said Niam, should choose financial services that comply with sharia principles. The MUI fatwa regarding pinjol is a reference for Muslims not to use pinjol. Therefore, sharia financial institutions must actively disseminate information to Muslims so that they do not fall into debt. The MUI fatwa will have less of a beneficial impact on Muslims if those who understand sharia financial institutions do not actively educate the public about these loan services which have been declared haram. In reality, the rise of mobile banks shows that Muslims still cannot escape this suffocating lending practice as long as an economic system based on Islamic finance cannot be widely applied in society. The need for education and socialization of sharia economics for Muslims is something that must be intensified along with the issuance of this haram fatwa regarding loans.

The current challenge for sharia financial institutions is how to massively provide an understanding of the dangers of loans that cannot be based on sharia principles. The existence of the National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas) in distributing zakat, infaq, and shodaqoh to people who are in debt or trapped by loan sharks must also be a concern. Islamic economic values with the aim of benefit must be built from an economic system of justice and mutual assistance. The reality that many Muslims are ensnared by loan sharks cannot be underestimated; it requires massive handling steps, especially now with the rise of loan sharks.

- REWP Law