Riba Al-Fadl (usury of excess,

Q: I am a police officer in charge of the religious affairs in the military air base of King Fahd in Al-Ta'if. I would like to inform you of a bad phenomenon that appeared inside the base. Such a phenomenon is the spread of forms entitled: Great luck. Attached are some copies of these forms. Please read the paragraphs on both sides of the mentioned paper and clarify the ruling of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) on this issue. May Allah grant you success and reward you with the best for the efforts with which you avail Islam and Muslims. The form in question reads as follows: Great luck - You are lucky to receive these instructions for very soon (Part No. 15; Page No. 217) you will be worthy of getting a sum of 21,870 dollar with no loss if you do the following: 1- Do not hesitate to buy these instructions and the attached list whose price is ten dollars. 2- Please write your name and address in the concerned place at the bottom of the list and in clear English letters. 3- Transfer ten dollars to participant number 1 mentioned at the top of the list and keep the list. 4- Send a ten dollars traveller's cheque issued in the name of... 5- Please send the transfer which you kept and which is mentioned above in no. 3, the cheque mentioned above in no. 4, and the list to the following address:.... After a short period you will receive three new lists in each of which you have to mention your name in no. 7. The other names are also to be mentioned at the top of the list. Hasten to sell these three lists to your acquaintances immediately for ten dollars a list to allow them to share this opportunity. Thus you recover the thirty dollars that you paid and you lose nothing. How the process goes? The new three participants will follow the same steps that you followed. Three lists will then reach each of the new participants (total is nine). Your name will accordingly go up to no. 6; then to no. 5 in twenty seven lists. The same will continue to happen until your name reaches no. 1 in 2,187 lists and thus you receive 21,870 dollars. Any way, you have to make sure that the participants to whom you sold the instructions follow the instructions accurately. Note: In cases where you can not make a direct transfer as mentioned in no. 3 above, you can exceptionally send a check issued in the name of participant no. 1 whose name is written at the top of the list to our address which is mentioned in no. 5. We will in turn make the concerned transfer. (Part No. 15; Page No. 218)