Ribbis: Matters of Interest

WHEN THE
LENDER OVEREXTENDS HIMSELF

Sometimes a person needs to go through
considerable effort to extend a loan to their friend. For example they might
need to make a special trip to the bank, or request permission from family
members to release the funds.

May
the borrower effusively thank the lender for extending himself on their behalf?

This shailah can have larger implications,
since one may argue that every loan involves some effort on the part of the lender. This rationale would
effectively allow the borrower to effusively thank, bless, or greet the lender
(when not accustomed to doing so), something which is clearly forbidden.

However this seems to
be permitted in cases where the borrower is absolutely certain that the lender
expended significant effort on his
behalf (waiting a while in the bank, or driving a long distance to drop off the
money) The borrower should specify
that he is thanking for the effort.

However, it is
strongly recommended to be stringentand
thank for this effort before the
lender hands the money to the borrower, or after the borrower has repaid.

Alternatively, one
can offer a simple “thank you,” while specifying that he is doing so for the
effort expended, as this is permitted even where no great effort was expended
by the lender.