The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance: Tools and Techniques for Community-Based Banking

...donotsell the [silver] dirham (a prevailing currency then) for

two [silver] dirhams because I am afraid that you indulge in [the

prohibited] Riba.

3.TheHadeeth(sayings or pronouncements) of Prophet Muhammad (pp)

specifically prohibited practicing riba in six items: gold, silver, wheat,

barley, dates, and salt. It was reported that the Prophet (pp) said^19 :

...goldforgold,silverforsilver,barleyforbarleyandsaltfor

salt hand to hand [in an on-the-spot transaction without delay]

those who increase in buying or selling these items they are consid-

ered practicing Riba. This applies to those who take the increased

amount and those who agree to give it.

In another narration by Muslim (one of the compiler of the sayings of
Prophet Muhammad [pp]), it was added:

... should the kinds [of commodities] differ, then exchange as you
wish, provided that the exchange is hand to hand [on-the-spot].

Reason for Prohibition
The reason for prohibiting riba in dealing with these six commodities is that
they represented—at the time—the basic necessities of the citizens; without
such basic commodities, they could not live comfortably. Gold and silver, at
the time of Prophet Muhammad (pp), were the basic currencies used to buy
and sell and to define prices in the market to settle transactions. They were
calledtathmeen: the two commodities used to establish prices in the market.
If riba were practiced in dealing with these items, it would have hurt the
interests of the citizens and would lead to a breakdown in the fabric of the
society. Shari’aa prohibited such dealing as a mercy to mankind and to pro-
tect the interests of the citizens.
From the above discussion, one can conclude that the reason for pro-
hibiting riba in gold and silver wasbecause gold and silver were used to
price things, and riba was prohibited on the other four food items because
they were food staples. If these qualifications are found to apply on other
items, the rule applies. Such items are used as reference commodities in the
commodity indexation approach discussed earlier.
Based on this determination, the rule can be extended using the disci-
pline of analogy (qiyas). The rule can be stated in general as:

1.If the two items transacted are from the same material and are used for

the same purpose (e.g., gold for gold, or wheat for wheat), then both

106 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE