Shar‘i Principle for Determining Price When Returning Borrowed Items on Credit
(Taken from: Aḥkām wa Masā’il – Issues of Buying & Selling, vol. 1, p. 386)
❖ Background of the Question
When items of the same type and genus are exchanged in Sharī‘ah, two conditions apply:
◈ Yadan bi-Yad (hand-to-hand, immediate exchange)
◈ Mithlan bi-Mithl (equal in measure/weight)
In daily life, however, it is common in households and neighborhoods that people borrow items such as flour or other commodities on credit and return them later.
In such cases:
- The condition of Yadan bi-Yad is not fulfilled (since the item is not returned immediately).
- Rather, it becomes a transaction of nasī’ah (credit/deferred return).
The question arises:
① Is this transaction permissible?
② If the borrower does not return the same item, but instead pays its price in cash, then should the price be according to:
- The rate of the day he borrowed it?
- Or the rate of the day he repays it?
❖ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d:
The conditions of Mithlan bi-Mithl and Yadan bi-Yad apply specifically to buying and selling transactions.
The situation you described falls under:
- ‘Āriyah (lending for temporary use), or
- Dayn/Nasī’ah (borrowing on credit).
The rules of Yadan bi-Yad do not apply to ‘āriyah or dayn. Otherwise, lending and borrowing everyday items would become impermissible — which is not the case in Sharī‘ah.
❖ Key Point
✔ If in lending/borrowing there is no riba (usury) involved, the practice is permissible.
Example:
- If someone borrows flour, sugar, or another commodity, and later repays either the same item or its price in money, this is allowed so long as it is not a trick for riba and does not actually result in riba.
❖ Conclusion
✔ Everyday credit-lending of items (like flour, sugar, etc.) is permissible.
✔ Repayment may be made in kind (same item) or in cash (value equivalent).
✔ The principle is: as long as it does not involve riba, the transaction remains lawful.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
