“Riba is like incest" — Fabricated
“Riba is seventy types of sin, the least severe is like a man having sex with his mother.”
Ibn Majah, and others
There are six variants associated with the wording of this hadith. Some claim chains that go back to Abu Huraira, Ibn Masud, Bara bin Azib, or Wahb bin al-Aswab. They all have similar wordings. Some say 70, some say 71, some say 72, some say 73.
And they all have one problem. One of the narrators in the chain is Ikrima bin Ammar, a person from Basra. Many scholars point out that his work is filled with mistakes. Bukhari and Ahmad bin Hanbal did not accept hadith from him.
Several scholars have pointed out this hadith is fabricated. This includes Ibn Qayyin, Ibn Jawzi, Ibn Arraq, Muhmmmad Tahir al-Fatani, Al-Sakhawi, Yasir Qadhi, and Jonathan Brown.
“Riba is fine if you are at war” — Weak
“There is no riba between a Muslim and a harbi”
Bayhaqi, I’laaus Sunan
This is a weak hadith, according to Shafi, Ibn Hajar, Nawawi, and others. In addition, the hadith is mursal — the hadith has a missing link as it is narrated directly from a Tabi, not from a Companion.
Waiving debt if some of it is paid early — Weak
“Waive some of the debt in return for immediate payment.” [related to debts from Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir]
This refers to cases in which both parties agree to faster repayment in exchange for waiving part of the debt. Although this transaction is generally considered permissible, this hadith was cited by a jurist to justify consuming riba is okay with non-Muslims when in war. The logic is flawed, and the hadith is weak.
Concerning the hadith about Banu Qaynuqa, it was narrated by al-Waqidi in his Maghaazi.
The hadith about Banu Nadir was narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (2/61) and by ad-Daaraqutni in as-Sunan (6/28).
Their chains include Muslim bin Khaalid az-Zanji al-Makki. Bukhari rejected his hadith. Dhahabi describes him as weak. Ad-Daaraqutni himself comments that he has a poor memory, is confused, and is a weak narrator.
Their chains also include Abdul-Aziz, who Dhahabi says isn’t trustworthy.
This is part of my series on Interest Free Zone: All of the Sahih hadith related to riba, A study of weak hadith on riba, Defining riba, A detailed breakdown on why Islamic mortgages are backdoor riba, Do credit card rewards programs have riba?, Madness on options riba
Related, I have a Riba and Ruin series: Economics is to keep you a dummy, What happened to SVB?, Ward of the State, First Republic: A tale of a fake bank & a fake auction, Hush, hush, a small bank goes poof
Related, I have a Selling Islam series: Salaried Shaykhs, Can paid Shaykhs make mistakes?
References
Brown, J. D. (2015). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications.
IslamQA. (2019, June 7). A detailed response to the arguments of those who regard it as permissible to deal in riba with the disbelievers in their countries. IslamQA. https://islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/126056
Miah, M. T. (n.d.). Interest in Non-Muslim Countries. IslamQA. Darul Ifta Birmingham. https://islamqa.org/hanafi/daruliftaa-birmingham/19837/interest-in-non-muslim-countries/