riba al nassee’ah and riba al fadl are prohibited. The following condi-
tions must be satisfied in order for a like-for-like transaction to be ruled
riba-free:
a.The quantity on the buy and sell side must be equal, regardless of
quality.^20
b.The buy and sell must be done on the spot (e.g., hand to hand, as the
Prophet [pp] said).If the two items to be transacted differ in their material but are used for
the same application, then the rules of riba al fadl can be invoked
on the condition that riba al nassee’ah is not used. Gold can be sold
for silver or wheat can be sold for barley, and the transaction must
be done on the spot (hand-to-hand), but the quantities do not have
to be equal. It was reported that the Prophet (pp) said^21 :...itisacceptabletosellwheatforbarleyandyoucanget
more barley but it has to be hand to hand [an on-the-spot
transaction].If the two items to be transacted are different in material and in purpose
of use, there are no restrictions in applying time in the riba al nas-
see’ah and excess over the original amount in riba al fadl. For
example, food can be sold for silver, and one dress for two dresses,
or two cups for one cup. In summary, riba al fadl can be practiced
on any item, aside from the two metals (gold and silver) and the
food staples (wheat, barley, dates, and salt). The Prophet (pp)
emphasized this concept when a companion brought to him an
excellent type of dates from Khaiber (a city in what is now Saudi
Arabia). The Prophet (pp) asked, ‘‘Are all the dates of Khaiber like
this?’’ The man said no, but we barter one volume (a volume meas-
uring unit that was used at that time, calledsaa) of this dates for
two volumes (saa) of ours (they were lower quality, smaller dates).
The Prophet said: ‘‘Do not do that, because that is exactly Riba and
it is forbidden.’’ The way to do it according to RF rules is to sell
your dates for money (silver dirham, gold dinar, or another refer-
ence staple commodity except for the same commodity—i.e., not
other dates), and buy the good dates with the proceeds.^22 By this
rule, one can buy 10 bushels of wheat (food) for 1 ounce of gold
on-the-spot [cash price] or deferred at 2 ounces of gold after 2 years.
Because the gold is a metal and the wheat is a food, this transaction
is halal (divinely allowed). Also, buying seven bushels of wheat for
ten bushels of barley is allowed on-the-spot, but increasing the priceMoney and Its Creation 107