This fatwa defines interest (fa'idah) as something additional incurred as part of a financial loan transaction, calculated pursuant to a principal loan without taking into account the principal outcome, purusant to a particular timeframe, calculated definitively in advance, and expressed as a percentage. It defines riba as an additional charge without a dividend that is incurred because of a delay of payment previously agreed to. The fatwa declares the practice of interest as meeting the criteria of riba, as per the time of the Prophet, which is haram (forbidden).