Different Prices for Cash and Credit: Shar‘i Ruling and Explanation
Source: Aḥkām wa Masā’il – Issues of Buying and Selling, Vol. 1, p. 370
❖ Question:
Does a trader have the right to set different prices for the same item in cash and in credit?
For example, he says to the customer:
“This item is for ten rupees. If bought in cash, it will be ten rupees, and if bought on credit, it will be twelve rupees.”
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d!
- If an item is sold for ten rupees in cash, this transaction is valid and permissible.
- But if the same item is sold for twelve rupees on credit, then this transaction is impermissible, invalid, and ḥarām, because it involves ribā (interest).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in Sunan Abī Dāwūd:
«مَنْ بَاعَ بَيْعَتَيْنِ فِیْ بَيْعَةٍ فَلَهُ أَوْکَسُهُمَا أَوِ الرِّبَا»
(Kitāb al-Buyū‘, fī man bā‘a bay‘atayn fī bay‘ah, Vol. 2)
Translation:
“Whoever makes two sales in one transaction, then for him is the lower of the two prices, otherwise it is ribā.”
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
