Does Riba Only Takes Place in the Six Categories?

প্রশ্ন · Question

Assalamu Alaikum,
A question received from one of the brothers named Mohsen al -
Jadabi - Sana'a.

The Prophet ﷺ said: «أي قرض جر منفعة فهو ربا » “Every loan which
entails a benefit is usury”. The Ahadith defined that Riba takes place
in gold and silver and some varieties (dates, raisins, wheat and
barley). So, does Riba not occur in the compulsory papers because
they are not covered with gold or silver? Is it permissible for
someone to lend another person a ton of iron and request returning
to him iron, but more than one ton, for example, a ton and a half?
May Allah reward you with good.

উত্তর · Answer

Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Yes, Riba (usury) does not take place except in the six categories only:
dates, wheat, barley, salt, gold, and silver, but this is in Baya' (trade)
and Al-Salam (advance sale). As for the Qardh (loan), usury can take
place in all its types i.e. in everything; it is forbidden for a person to
lend something to another, and to expect more or less for it, or to
receive something different in return. The settlement of the loan or
anything borrowed should be by the same amount and the same
type of goods borrowed.
As for the fact that Riba can only take place in the six mentioned
items, the evidence of this is derived from the general consensus of
the Sahaba and because the Prophet ﷺ said:
«الذهب بالذهب والفضة بالفضة واليْ باليْ والشعيْ بالشعيْ، والتمر بالتمر والملح
بالملح، مثلاً بمثل، سواء بسواء، يداً بيد، فإذا اختلفت هذه الْصناف فبيعوا كيف شئتم
إذا كان يداً بيد »
“The gold for gold, the silver for silver, the wheat for wheat, the
barley for barley, the dates for dates and the salt for salt; like for like,
measure for measure and hand to hand (i.e. immediately) and if they
differed sell as you wish if it was hand to hand.” [Narrated by Muslim
on the authority of Ubada ibn as -Samit] The general consensus of the

Sahaba and the Hadith have mentioned that specific things are
subject to Riba; thus, it cannot occur except within these things.
Evidence has not been established regarding any other things except
these six that are mentioned, therefore, Riba only occurs in them.
Things which are from the same origin and things which fit the
description, as the six mentioned, are included and they follow the
same rule, but nothing else. Therefore, usury in the trading and the
Salam occurs only in the six types: dates, wheat, barley, salt, gold,
and silver, for they are generic nouns/names that no Qiyas (analogy)
can be established upon them.
However, there are Ahadith about zakat that mention gold and silver
as currency, that is, not only as generic nouns but as currency which
is taken as prices for goods and wages for labor. From these texts,
the Illah (reason) is deduced; which is the currency characteristic. So,
an analogy is established upon it for the compulsory (Ilzamiyya)
paper currency, since the Illah (reason) is fulfilled in it. Therefore, the
rulings of the zakat are applied to it by calculating its equivalent of
gold or silver in th e market. Ali ibn Abi Talib narrated that the
Prophet ﷺ said:
«إذا كانت لك مئتا درهم، وحال عليها الحول، ففيها خمسة دراهم، وليس عليك شِيء -
ي الذهب
يعن ي ف - حن يكون ذلك عشِّون ديناراً، فإذا كانت لك عشِّون ديناراً، وحال
عليها الحول، ففيها نصف دينار»
“If you have two hundred dirhams and one full year has passed, then
five dirhams are due on them. You do not have to pay anything – i.e.
on gold — unless you have twenty dinars; if you have twenty dinars
and one full year has passed, then half a dinar is due on them.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawood] And as reported by Ali (ra) saying:
«ي كل أربعيْ ديناراً دينار
ي كل عشِّين ديناراً نصف دينار، وف
ف »

“One half Dinar (i.e., zakah) is in every twenty, and from forty Dinars
is one Dinar.” Also, it was narrated that Ali (ra) said: The Messenger
of Allah ﷺ said:
«.. ي تسعيْ ومائة شِيء، فإذا
ي كل أربعيْ درهماً، درهماً وليس ف
فهاتوا صدقة الرقّة، ف
بلغت مائتيْ ففيها خمسة دراهم »
“Bring the Sadaqah of the Riqqa as a Dirham for every forty, and
there is nothing due on one hundred and ninety. Once it reaches two
hundred Dirhams then five Dirhams are taken from it”, reported by
Al-Bukhari and Ahmad. And as narrated from Abdur Rahman al -
Ansari who said that in the book of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and
the book of Umar on Sadaqah, there is the following:
«... والورِق لا يؤخذ منه شِيء حن يبلغ مئن ي درهم »
“Nothing is taken from silver until it reaches two hundred Dirhams.”
[Reported by Abu Ubaid]
All these Ahadith indicate the currency and price characteristics
because the terms Riqqa with the Qreenah of «ي كل أربعيْ درهماً
ف » " a
Dirham for every forty”, and the words Wariq, Dirhams and Dinars;
all of which are used to mean minted and coined gold and silver i.e.,
currency and price.
The use of these terms indicates that it is the currency and the price
that are meant in the Ahadith. Thus, the rules of Zakat, blood -
monies, atonements (Kaffarat), cutting for theft and other rules are
linked to these two characteristics.
And since the compulsory currency has been adopted as money,
payments for benefits and services and gold and silver as well as all
other merchandise and goods are bought by it. Therefore, it has
fulfilled the currency and price descriptions verified in gold and silver,
then it is included by the Ahadith obliging Zakat in the two
currencies, gold and silver. So, Zakat is obliged on it as it is obliged on
gold and silver and it is valued in gold and silver. Whoever owns

compulsory currency equivalent to the value of 20 Dinars of gold - i.e.
85 grams of gold -which is the Nisab of gold, or 200 Dirhams of silver -
i.e. 595 grams of silver -over which a year passes, then Zakat is
obliged upon it and he must give quarter-tithe.
Zakat on gold is paid in gold, representative currency and reliable
currency. Zakat on silver is paid in silver, representative currency and
reliable currency. Similarly, Zakat on gold can be paid in silver and
compulsory currency while Zakat on silver can be paid in gold and
compulsory currency, as they are all currencies and prices. So, some
of them can take the place of others and some of them can be paid in
the place of others for the objective is verified in this.
And since Zakat is obligatory on them, the provisions of Riba, blood -
monies, atonements (kaffarat), cutting for theft and other rules are
applied on them. Thus the rule of usury in gold and silver as currency,
and not as items, applies to the compulsory papers as a currency
because the Illah of the currency characteristic is fulfilled in them.
As for lending and borrowing (Qardh), this is permitted in the six
types mentioned and in other types and in any other thing that can
be subject to ownership and whose ownership is lawfully
transferable. Usury in this case can only occur if there is a benefit due
to what was narrated by al-Harith bin Abi Usamah from the Hadith of
Ali (ra) with the words:
«أن الننْي صلَ الله عليه وسلم نهَ عن قرض جر منفعة »
“The Prophet prohibited any loan that entailed a benefit” and in a
report
«كل قرض جر منفعة فهو رباً»
“Every loan which entails a benefit is usury”. The exception to that is
when it occurs from the angle of settling the debt in a good manner
without anything extra due to what is reported by Abu Dawud from
Abi Rafi’ who said:

«ي أن أقض ي الرجل بكره فقلت لم
استسلف رسول الله بكراً فجاءته إبل الصدقة فأمرب
ي الإبل إلا جملاً خياراً رباعياً فقال: أعطه إياه فإن خيار الناس أحسنهم قضاءً
أجد ف »
“The Prophet borrowed a young camel, and then Sadaqa of camels
arrived to him and so he ordered me to repay the man his young
camel, and so I said that I couldn’t find anything except for a good
four year camel, and so he – peace be upon him – said, 'Give it to
him, truly the best of men are the best of those in repayment'”.
Accordingly, any loan of the six categories or others must be returned
to the owner without increasing the "benefit"; otherwise, it will
become Riba. Thus, it is not permissible to borrow a ton of iron and
return it a ton and a half, then this will be Riba.
I hope the answer is clear to you, Allah willing.
Your brother,
Abu Yasin
14th Rabii’ II 1439 AH
01/01/2018 CE