Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, like for like, equal for equal, hand to hand. If these classes differ, sell as you wish if it is hand to hand

Arabic text

عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ رَضيَ اللهُ عنهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الذَّهَبُ بِالذَّهَبِ، وَالْفِضَّةُ بِالْفِضَّةِ، وَالْبُرُّ بِالْبُرِّ، وَالشَّعِيرُ بِالشَّعِيرِ، وَالتَّمْرُ بِالتَّمْرِ، وَالْمِلْحُ بِالْمِلْحِ، مِثْلًا بِمِثْلٍ، سَوَاءً بِسَوَاءٍ، يَدًا بِيَدٍ، فَإِذَا اخْتَلَفَتْ هَذِهِ الْأَصْنَافُ، فَبِيعُوا كَيْفَ شِئْتُمْ، إِذَا كَانَ يَدًا بِيَدٍ».

Translation

‘Ubādah ibn as-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt, like for like, equal for equal, hand to hand. If these classes differ, sell as you wish if it is hand to hand."

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified the correct method of sale involving any of the six Riba-based classes, which are: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, and salt. If they are of the same type, such as selling gold for gold and silver for silver, two conditions must be fulfilled: First: Equality in weight if it is weighed, such as gold and silver, or equality in measure if it is measured, such as wheat, barley, dates, and salt. Second: The seller must receive the payment, and the buyer must take possession of the item in the same session in which the sale contract is made. If these classes differ, such as selling gold for silver or dates for wheat, then the sale is permissible with one condition: the seller must receive the payment, and the buyer must take possession of the item in the same session in which the contract is made. Otherwise, the sale is invalid, and both the buyer and the seller have fallen into forbidden Riba (usury).

Benefits

• Clarifying the Riba-based properties and how their sale should be conducted.
• Prohibition of the Riba-based sale.
• Banknotes take the same ruling as gold and silver regarding the legal cause of Riba.
• Buying and selling the six Riba-based classes has several cases: 1. When a Riba-based item is sold for another of the same type, such as gold for gold or dates for dates, two conditions must be met for the transaction to be valid: equality in weight or measure, and immediate exchange in the contract session. 2. When a Riba-based item is sold for another of a different type but with the same legal cause for Riba, such as gold for silver or wheat for barley, the condition is immediate exchange without the requirement of equality. 3. When a Riba-based item is sold for another of a different type with a different legal cause, such as gold for dates, neither immediate exchange nor equality is required.
• Buying and selling non-Riba commodities, or when one item is Riba-based and the other is not, do not require immediate exchange or equality, such as selling real estate for gold.

Topics

• Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles
• Jurisprudence of Transactions
• Usury