Islamic Studies (Islamabad) 22:4 (1983)

SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL IN

TRADE AND COMIMERCE
ZIAUL HAQUE
According to the Muslim Traditionists and Jurists,
rib; (literally an increase or excess) is of two broad categories:
(1) ribn al-nasi'a (increase charged in loans of capital and com-
modities against fixed time extensions); and (2) ribn al-fa41
(increase charged in direct sales and exchanges of capital and
commodities, from hand to hand). The first category pertained
to money-lender's and usurer's capital, whereas the second
category related to myriad of economic sales, transactions and
barters in which commodities of superior values were exchanged
for commodities of inferior values, such as, forward buying of
crops of many years, lease of land for a share of its produce or
for any other commodity, sales of risk and chance which have
elaborately been discussed in the compendiums of Hadith and
Fiqh under the title, kit;b al-buyii', i.e., chapter on economic
sales.
In contradistinction to money-lender's or usurer's capital,
ribn al-fa41 created in the domain of medieval commerce is not
only more mysterious and hidden, but is also the result of cheat-
ing, deceit, speculatwe and aleatory deals. Medieval trade in
agricultural products generally involved sale and purchase of
future values in order to get 'increases' and profits through
fluctuations in prices. Such transactions of rib; al-fadl were of
numerous types and over-lapped many agricultural practices.
AU these have been discussed by the Traditionists and Jurists
in great details which shows the importance of the subject in
medieval times.

Dr Muhammad Hamidullah Library, IIU, Islamabad. http://iri.iiu.edu.pk/

74 ZIAUL HAQUE

In this article we shall examine some specific forms of

ribn 01-fad1 in order to delineate their general nature and common
characteristics. Our general hypothesis is that ribn al-fad1
in the medieval trade was subsumed under aleatory and specula-
tive commercial transactions involving sales of risk and chance.
1. The Sales of Risk and Chance :
A broad class of aleatory or risk transactions, called
buyzib al-gharar, was considered by the Fuqahn' as ribz al-j&l.
They define such sales as "exchanges of commodities which are
not known to the buyer, as the sale of a run-away slbve, or of an
animal which has been lost by its owner ; or the sale of an
offspring still in the womb of its mother; or as buying of olive
with olive-oil, or sesame with sesame-oil; or butter with butter-
oil." These are all illegal sales (involving ribn al-fadr), says
Malik ibn Anas (d. 1791795-6), for, he thinks that an element
of chance or uncertainty enters into them. The person who buys
grains of sesame or a similar thing with the sesame-oil does
not actually know whether the grains will yield him any oil at
all. Such aleatory sales were common in ancient times. Malik
says that to this category belong the ancient sales of muliimasa
(exchange of goods by mere touching without seeing them),
and munnbdha (exchange of goods by throwing them to each
other, a sort of gambling which amounts to windfall profits). 1
" According to us", says Malik, "it is also an aleatory
transaction, mukhntara and ghurar, to buy the offsprings still
in the wombs of women-slaves and animals, because it is not
known whether they will give birth to them or not. If the
offsprings are born, it is still not known whether they are fair
or ugiy, normal or abnormal, male or female. These conditions
will causefadl, an increase, because if the price is paid in antici-
pation of a normal offspring and a dead animal is born, all the
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 75

profit paid to the seller in advance will be an increase, fad, so

on and so forth" (i.e. it will be pure riba al-fadl).2

From this the Jurists derive the general legal principle

that an economic contract whatever its 9rea-commerce, agricul-
ture or simple barter-must not be doubtful and uncertain as
far as the rights and obligations of the parties are concerned.
The object of the contract must be precisely determined, and
other terms like price and wages must be clear and known
(ma'liim). This is generally true of the commodities which can
be measured, counted or weighed (which may involve 'increases'
in sales) and which are subject to the prohibition of rib8. There-
fore, no undetermined quantity bmf) can be 'Bansacted at
random in exchange of a measured and known quantity. It is
not permissible to sell dates which are still unripe on the trees
to be delivered when they have ripened because it is not known
whether they will actually ripen or not. The practice is called
muan bana.3

This had led the early Fuqalza', like Aba Hanifa (d. 1501
767), Malik and Shafi'i (d. 204/819), to conclude that muznra'a
or metayage was basically an aleatory transaction in whicn
cultivators and sharecroppers were hired for a share of the land's
produce which might or might not grow. This was null and
void in Islam as it was contrary to many fundamental ethico-
economic principles of the Shari' a.4

Malik and Shafi'i had justified cnly fruit-metayage

on the analogy of mu&iraba (profit-sharing) taking the fruit-
tree as an asl (capital, material substance, similar to the capital
of mudaraba) which the owner of the fruit-tree gives to the
76 . ZIAUL HAQUE

metayer, mmcsri', for a share of the fruit. Mucidraba itself was

a pre-Islamic insGtution and is thus justified on the basis of
custom. This is not strictly based on the Qur'an or the Sunna
of the Prophet.5
Similarly, the Fuqah3' argue that the workers and
productive instruments must be paid their 'just' wages, prices
and recompenses ;no labourer can be engaged in any work with-
out clearly specifying before hand his wages and rewards.
"No person should give some yarn to a weaver (that after
weaving cloth out of it) he will sell the cloth and the profit thus
earned will be equally shared by them ; or the owner of some
building material gives it to a worker to build a house and the
latter will get it leased to someone with the condition that the
rent will be divided equally between them. Or a net-owner
.
gives his net to a fisherman far the purpose of catching fish on
the condition that the fish will be divided between them. Or a
transporter takes a pack animal from its owner for a w i n g
goods on it on the condition that they both will share the
income."s Abii Hanifa considered such hiring of labourers
without prefixing their wages in clear terms as improper and
unsound contracts. The worker must be paid his equivalent
wages (ajr mithlihi).~

The notion of equivalent wages (ujrat 01-mithl) is a very

important concept in Islamic law : it implies that a labourer
must get an 'iwab or recompense, equ'ivalent to his labour.
"The equivalent wages or recompense ('iwab al-mithl)", says
Taqiy al-Din Ibn Taymiya (d. 728113274), "is necessarily a
just wage which fulfills the criteria and principles of (economic)
justice, 'dl, on which depends the perfection of the affairs of
this world and of the world here-in-after. 'Ad1 is one of the
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 77

important pillars (arkan) of the Shari'u. Other similarly

important terms are, equivalent or just price of a commodity
(qimat al-mithl), and just dower (mihr al-mithl)."g "And any
equivalent recompense or wage" continues Ibn Taymiya, "takes
various forms and magnitudes in different places, epochs,
and social conditions. It. also varies according to the nature of
the commodities which are paid or exchanged. Any equivalent
recompense or return ('iwod al-mithl) will then depend on the
price (si'r) and the socio-economic customs and conditions
('ada)."9
The ethical principle that the wages of a worker must be
accurately defined and clearly specified, as a certain sum of
money, or an amount of corn or commodities, will then invalidate
the contracts of muaaraca (share-cropping)' and mu& raba
(profit-sharing) in which workers are hired for proportionate
shares in crops or in commercial profits which may or may not
be earned. Aba Hanifa had, for this reason, argued that
mmaraCawas not permissible since it was an aleatory, gharar,
transaction which was null and void in Islam.

Another speculative and aleatory transaction, called

babal al-babala was also banned by the Prophet. In this sale
a person used to buy offsprings still in the wombs of their
mothers. Such sales also involve riba because the seller of non-
existing animals benefits by the price which he charges for a thing
which is not ' at hand.10

In the agricultural and commercial spheres mmabana

was another form of riba al-fadl. Malik records in his Muwatta'
a @a& on the authority of Nafi' who says that 'Abd Allah ibn
'Umar related that the Prophet had forbidden muaabana. It
78 ZIAUL HAQUE

was the sale of raw fruits still on the fruit tree, for ripe fruit of
certain weight or measure ;or it was the sale of raw dates for ripe
ones of a certain weight; or the sale of raw grapes for raisins of
a certain weight. 1 1
Malik gives another muaabana-Ha&&: "Abii Sa'id
al-Khudri says that the Prophet had prohibited muaabana
and muh~qala. Muaabana is the purchase of (ripe) dates or
fruits for (unripe) dates or fruits which are still on the trees.
And muhaqala is lease of land for wheat" (is., for a share of the
crop, or other grains, or inkind). Inanother Ha&, muhaqala
is explained, first, as a purchase of standing crop for wheat,
and secondly, as lease of agricultural land for wheat.12
Mmabana was, therefore, a form of usurious sale in which
a commodity, whose quantity was not known, was exchanged
for another commodity whose weight or quantity was calculated
and known. For example, grains still in the ears (standing
green crop) which cannot be weighed, are sold for a certain
definitely known weight of grains ; or raw fruits still on the trees
are sold for a certain measure or weight of ripe fruits. All such
sales were considered by the Jurists as speculative exchanges,
of the nature of gambling causing ribii al-facil, as they involve
unjustified 'increase' in one commodity.13
Muklzndara and mu'iiwama were also some other types
of forward buying of green crops in which the merchants used
to buy, in advance, the crops of one or many years.14 Such
ribawi or usurious transactions, as our evidence shows, were
banned early in Islam by the Prophet himself and by his Com-
panions. 1 5
He had also in categorical terms warned the merchants
not to hoard consumers' goods in order to create artificial
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 79

scarcities and thus rob the helpless poor masses. The Hadith
treatises have collected many such traditions under the chapter
"Prohibition of Ib tikar (hoarding) in Fo od-stuffs".
The Prophet had, in particular, forbidden the people of
towns from defrauding the helpless peasants of villages by buying
their commodities as middlemen and brokers (sam~sira;singular
sims~r),at very low prices. That is, the real producers must be
allowed to sell their products direct to the consumers. The
middlemen and agents must not be permitted to intervene and
buy goods from the producers and to sell them at higher prices
to the consumers, thereby reaping illegal profits.17
This also shows that the economic ethics of Islam requires
abolition of parasitic elements operating between production
and consumption, and all their usurious commercial profits.
It appears that the time factor in these sales was very important.
The prices of commodities, during the periods they were transacted
and hoarded increased, thus resulting in wind-fall profits for the
merchants, hoarders. brokers and agents. This suggests that
the Prophet and the Companions had prohibited the people
from hoarding and storing goods in order to increase their
prices after controlling their supply. This arbitrary fixation of
prices and control of supply and production by the merchants/
monopolists was abhorred in early Islam. Some reports
indicate that the Prophet was asked by the People to fix prices
of commodities (tas'ir). But he refused to do so, saying that
God was the onl, fixer of prices. He meant to say that prices
must respond to the seasonal or 'natural' supply and production,
i.e., prices must fluctuate according to the actual production of
crops in a given season, and that no person should hoard them. 1 7
In.the chapters on surf (money or bullion exchange),
the Hadith treatises record several traditions in this connection.
80 ZIAUL HAQUE

Not a single moment of delay was allowed between purchase'

and payment of commodities for fear of its becoming a riba-
transaction :
"Malik-Ibn Shihab-Miilik Ibn Aws-Ibn al-Hadathan
al-Nasriyy said that he wanted to exchange (in sarf.)
his one hundred Qinirs (gold) for silver. Talha Ibn
'Ubayd Allah agreed for the deal. He took the gold from
him saying that he should wait for the payment of silver
till the arrival of his treasurer from a certain place.
'Umar ibn al-Khattab was witnessing this. He said :
"By God, he should not leave him (i.e. permit any delay)
unless he is repaid in silver. Then 'Umar related the
Prophetic tradition : exchange of gold for silver is ribi
if they are not exchanged immediately, and similarly
wheat for wheat, dates for dates and barley for barley
the^- must be exchanged immediately, without time
intervals).1 8
"The explanation for reprehending such transactions,"
says Miilik, "which invoive time-factor, like ribdoan of gold
payable in silver after some time, as suggested by the Prophetic
tradition referred to above, and as elaborated by the ?af-
tradition of 'Urnar ibn al-Khattiib disallowing any respite to
the buyer, is that if in a sarf-exchange of dirhams (silver) and
diniirs (gold) a counterfeit dirham is found, it would be a
mutually incompatible exchange of bullion. The counterfeit
silver is returned and its equivalent gold is taken back
immediately at the time of exchange. Now if the counterfeit
dirham (of the sarf-exchange) is returned after both the parties
have separated, i.e., after some time when payment is separated
from purchase, it would be tantamount to a loan (dayn), or it
would be a commodity whose equivalent is sought after-a time
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 8f

interval. This is the reason for its reprehension as it makes the

sarf-exchange inconsistent. Actually what 'Umar meant was
that sales of gold, silver and food-stuffs in the present time for
commodities to be delivered in future were all interdicted. And
there should not be any delay or deferment in the payment of
these commodities whether they belong to the same or to
different species (asncf). 1 9
' h a is another form of sale considered analogous to
ribii :it is a sort of clever device to cover ribn. It has been variously
defined in the Hadith and Fiqh literature.20 In general, it is
a sort of sale in which the price is paid in advance and the
commodity is withheld to a certain future period.2 1 It is a
sale involving stratagem for buying what one has sold, for less
than that for which olie has sold it.22 Such 'ina-transactions
are fully explained in the Hcdiths :
Malik-N:fi6-'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar related that the
Prophet had said : "One who buys food-stuffs should not sell
them until he takes them into his possession."23 From such
'ina-traditions, Mdik deriws the principle that any purchaser
of corn or any other food-stuff which is legible for Zaknh should
not sell them before he actually takes them into his possession.2 4
This shows that speculations in food-stuffs and sales of future
values are all ribawi-sales as they are mainly transacted because
of profit-motive, to increase profits through difference in prices
of purchase and sale.
It is evident that riba is broadly taken as an unjustified
profit whether occurring in unequal exchanges due to delays in
payment, differences in prices of purchase and sale, future values,
or because of the differences in transport costs, is., delivery of
commodities in different markets. Malik tells us that he had
heard that when 'Umar ibn al-Khaytab came to know that a
82 ZIAUL HAQUE

certain person used to give loans of food-stufflgrain on the

condition that the commodities would be repaid in a different
townlmarket, he abhorred it because the creditor did not bear
the freight charges for transferring the commodity to another
market.24 That is, saving of transport costs will be a net profit
or rib; for the creditor.

All this has been clearly explained by some traditions

which Milik has carefully recorded. He relates that he had
heard about a certain person who came to 'Abd Allah ibn
'Umar and told him that he had given some loan to a certain
person with the stipulation that the debtor would return the
loan with an excess. 'Abd Allah told him that that was exactly
ribii. The person asked him about the reason for considering
the excess over the loan as ribii. 'Abd Allah explained to him
that "loan (salaf) could be given for three reasons : loan given
for the sake of God (when you seek the pleasure of God) ;loan
given for the sake of a friend (to please him and you get his
pleasure) ;and loan which you give in order to earn the khabith
(forbidden, illegal, i.e., through exploitation and corruption),
in exchange for tayyib (lawful). This is ribii. 'Abd Allah then
asked the creditor to destroy the loan-document and to accept
from the debtor the same principal sum which he had originally
lent out to him. Or if he is repaid in an amount less than the
actual loan he would be rewarded (by God). And if the debtor
returned the loan with an excess (the sum greater than the actual
loan) of his own free wiU, this would be a mutual act of thank-
fulness: the debtor thanks the creditor and the latter is rewarded
for allowing the debtor delay in repayment of the loan.2 5

Malik further records that it was reported to him that

'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ad, the renowned Companion of the Prophet
famous for his jurisprudential (fiqhi) knowledge of Islam, used
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 83

to say: "One who gives a free loan, but takes (from the debtor)
some animal-fodder, turns the loan into riba."26

From such traditions a general principle was inferred:

that every loan on which some profit was earned was riba
( LJ -jL.2 Jf )2 7 . Al-Bayhaqi has given, in his
Sunan al-Kubrs, some traditions under the chapter entitled
(b 3&t3d 2 *>Jf), which suggest that if a creditor advances
(free) loan to a debtor for a certain period and at the expiry of
the term the lender accepts from the borrower some gift, like
a basket full of corn or even animal-fodder, it will be ribrs.
Or if the borrower gives his creditor a ride on his horse, it will
be ribs, since it appears as an 'increase' over the loaned capital.2 8

The Traditionists and Jurists have, in particular, collected

reports on gift-ribs which a creditor accepts from his debtor.
'Abd al-Razziiq (in his al-Musannaf) has also given many such
reports in greater details under independent chapters suggesting
that any undue advantage or profit, however ordinary it may
be, will amount to ribrs, because in such cases the creditor
exploits the weak position of his debtors. "Such ordinary and
insignificant 'increases' on capital in loans, it is feared," says
Miilik, "will become the means, dhwr'a, for legalizing the
illega1."2 9

2. Riba in Barter Economy and Juristic Contradictions :

The Traditionists and Jurists, living under the general
economic conditions of a barter economy of agrarian nature,
came to hold different legal opinions on the 'illat al-ribs, i.e.,
the actual sense (ma'ns) in which the Shar'i hukm, or the rule of
ribrs-prohibition is extended and applied to commodities in
sales, other than the "six commodities" mentioned in the Ribrs-
84 ZIAUL HAQUE

H~dith.* This was a creative,effort to enquire into the causes

or common attributes of the commodities which are subject t o
the riba-prohibition. This was an important aspect of the
problem of ribii. This section of the article will show how the
PuqaAc', through a circle of casuistic reasoning, reached con-
tradictory conclusions about -the nature of riba nl-fc$l in barter
trade.
All the Jurists' belonging to various schools of legal
thought and regions hold that the hukm of rib^-prohibition which
explicitly states (mansas) six commodities of gold, silver, wheat,
barley, dates and salt, is of general application : it extends to all
other commodities, money, capital, and productibe resources
(amwd) which are not covered by the H ~ d i t h(i.e. which are
g h y r mansas). But Da'r d al-~iihifi,the famous literalist
Jurist, held that the hukm of riba was limited only to these 'six
commodities' since he did not allow validity of the hukm
through analogical deduction (qiyas) of ghayr mansiis
commodities basing on those which are mnnsas, that is, which
are clearly stated in the Ribii-Hadith. But on the contrary, for
the generality of the Fuqdzii', analogical reasoning (qiyas) is
an authorititive source, hujjk, to extend the hukm established
by the explicit text, (nass), to other cases.30
Furthermore, the Jurists think that the Riha-Hcdith
does not imply that money, commodities, capital (md) which
involve rihc are only these six things and that the mention of
hukm al-ribii in these six things was for the reason that the
economic transactions in the times of the Prophet were, in general
limited to these six commodities.31
The Jurists differ as to the actual sense and reason
(ma'na) in which the hukm of the ribz-prohibition is extenderd
and applied to commodities, money and capital other than the
 SOME FORMS OF. RIBA AL-FADL 85

'six commodities.' For the Hanafite Jurists this reason or the

'illat al-ribs is genuslor species (jins) and measurement/weight
(qcdr), i.e., the commodities which are subject to the ban of
'riha are similar sad homogeneous goods, as the ribz-Hdith
says that gold is sold for gold, and wheat for wheat, etc. The
sense of measurement (qadr) is derived from the Prophetic words
mithlun bi-mithlin, like for like, similar for similar, i.e. q-dr,
by which something is measured (yukal) or by which 'something
is weighed (ynz~n).32
According to Malik, the 'illn for the riha-prohibition
is (the attribute of) nqtiyat (nutrimentality, eatability) and
iddikhar-cum-jins (storability or accummulability along with
species) of the commodities concerned.
For 1bn Sirin (d. 110/728-9) the 'illa for the prohibiting
ribz is the equivalence of utility of the similar and homogeneous
goods.
For Shafi'i, the 'illz of the ribz-prohibition for wheat,
barley, salt and dates is measure (kayl) and eatability (la'm);
and for gold and silver it is thammiyya (valuability) because,
according to Shafi'i, these precious metals constitute the essence,
standard and measure of all values. According to him, there-
fore, jinsiyya is a shar~.(condition, stipulation), and jinsiyya
is not realized unless it is present (in sales, from hand to hand);
for this reason he holds that in the nasi'a-prohibition, jinsiyya
has no effect. Therefore, the Hanafites believe that the sale of
all those commodities which are measured and weighed, for
commodities of the same jins, is permissible only when there
exists the purifying attribute (mukhli?) and that is, equivalence
or mumathala in weight and measure of the co~llmoditiesex-
changed, and further that the material substance is exchanged
for the material substanm.
86 ZIAUL HAQUE

But, on the contrary, according to Sh~fi'?, the sale of every

eatable thing (mat'iim), for another eatable of the same jins,
and the sale of every precious metal (thzman, money) for another
precious metal of the samejins is lawful only when the purifying
attribute is the parity and equality, muszwzt, as the legal norm,
al-mi'yrsr al-Shar'i of the commodities exchanged, and further
that these commodities are physically handed over in a single
sitting. For Shafi'i the prohibition of the sale of these com-
modities is the basic principle (ad) and therefore permissibility
of the sale would contradict exchange of parity and equality
(as his legal norm), from hand to hand, in a single sitting. And
for the Hanafites, the permissibility of the sale of these com-
modities, like other commodities, is the basic principle. Then
invalidity would contradict the absence of mumiithcrla, because
there would accrue in the exchange a f d l without an equivalent
recompense in the other commodity. Shffi'i's concept of
'illa is actually intended to prevent derivation of validity through
qiyiis, of non-eatables from eatables, and of non-metals from
metals, basing all this on his principle that the correct 'illu is
applicable only on the originally m a n ~ ccommodities
~ and not on
others. But for the Hanafites 'illa must extend the explicit rule
(hukm al-ncss) to those commodities which are not explicitly
stated (ghayr mamii;).3 3'
"For example," says Sarakhs~,"the sale of one apple
for two is invalid for Shafi'i, because prohibition (of such
exchanges) here is the asl, and validity of this sale will contradict
the legal norm of parity or equality (mustswiit) in number, which
does not exist, Lo., two apples must be exchanged for two
whatever their actual weights. Therefore, this sale, according
to him, is illegal. But for us this sale is Valid because, if one
apple is equal to the other two in weight, there will be no fad1
(increase); therefore, this sale will not invblde any ribz: the
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 87

equality of,weight is the legal norm. But this' is not a legal

norm for Shafi'i, so he disallows this sale. Similarly, Shafi'i
permits the sale of one qafiz of jibs (gypsum, plaster) for,two
qafia of j i ~ s(gypsum, plaster). This is invalid .for us because
these are similar commodities and involve exchanges of certain
weight. He legalizes it because these are non-eatables. Like-
wise, if one buys a handful (of wheat?) for two handfuls (of
barley?), it is unlawful for Shafi'i, since these are eatables and
are not equal in number. But we allow this sale, because these
two commodities are neither measured nor do they belong to
the same jins."
"A sale of one maund of sugar for two maunds of sugar
is invalid for us because the commodity is the same and of
different quantities. Shafi'i also invalidates it, because, for him,
both are eatables and are similar in jins. But an exchange of
one maund of cotton for two maunds of cotton is illegal accord-
ing to us because of a similar jins and unequal weights ; but
it is' valid for Shafi'i as it is not an eatable commodity."
"For him the authoritative source (bujja) to establish
this principle is the Hadith according to which the Prophet had
forbidden the sale of wheat (or any eatable grain) for wheat
except equals for equals. In another version of this Hadith
the Prophet had said : 'Do not sell wheat for wheat except equals
for equals! This shows that Qurmaor the prohibition of bzyc
is the basic principle and permissibility of this b$y' would be
against parity or equality of the exchanged commodities. The
equality (musawat).here means equality in we;ght and measure
(and not in number)".34
The Hanafites, Shsfi'ites, and Malikites have thus
developed various theories on the 'illat aZ-hukm 'of the ban on
tibii al-fadr, as the abovk passages indicate. About the 'iZ1.z
88 ZIAUL HAQUE

of riba al-nmi'o, the Hanafite Jurists hold that one of the two
attributes (of riba al-fzdl), species (jins) or weightlmeasure
(qcdr) will be applicable. This is, for them, based on the
Prophetic Hcdith which suggests that if the commodities in
exchange belong to different species and genus, they may be
exchanged according to the wishes of sellers and buyers projvided
they are exchanged from hand to hand. This would then mean
that this transaction of different or heterogeneous commodities
will not be riba al-nasr'a inspite of the fact that the other quality
(i.e. q-dr, weightlmeasure) still remains effective. The Shifi'ites
also hold similar views on the 'illa of riba al-nqsi'a. However,
they differ on jinsiyyu (species) arguing that the attribute is
shwt (stipulation) and not an billa.3s
These thoories of 'illd relating to riba al-fcdl and riba
dl-nasi'~?ha've been harshly criticized by Ibn H a m (d. 4561
1063-4) who rejects qiyas, deductive reasoning of analogy, and
believes that it is not an authoritati've source for derivilig
principles and rules of law. He remarks that the theories of
various 'ilal developed by the Fuq~ha'on the basis of qiyas
are arbitrary, confusing and contradictory to each other.
Talking about the 'ilal of nutrimentality and storability/accumu-
lability, that is, riba occurs only in those commodities which can
be stored or which are nutritious, he says :
"The later Jurists found these 'ilal self-contradictory be-
cause they realized that garlic, onions and many other
species, even salt, which is based on an explicit text, or
n q s , have no nutritious Value at all. But a little quantity
of some of them, like salt or pepper, can kill a man.
They also fbund these 'ilal inconsistent with milk and
eggs which are perishable and cannot be stored for long.
And these two nutritious commodities, according to them,
are liable for riba. They also find these ' i l d inapplicable
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 89

to salt, some nutritious spices and many other commodi-

ties-thus they contradict their own rulesW.36
Ibn Hazm says that such theories of 'ilal can be multiplied
according to the characteristics and natures of the "six-com-
modities." He continues :
"One can also derive an analogical principle, on the basis
of wheat and barley, that every thing which grows in
ears (dha mnbulin), like wheat and barley, is of the nature
of riba. Similarly, on the analogy of dates, all fruits and
products which have stones in them wouldalso be
usurious. Everything which is saltish in taste must
also be prohibited. Likewise every mineral/metal is
usurious on the analogy of gold and silver. Moreover,
the Jurists construct, through the reasoning of qiyas
the 'ilal for wheat, barley, dates and salt, but they fail
to define and extend the common 'illa of gold and sigver
to similar commodities. The Hanafites merely infer
from gold and silver the general attribute of weight and
for other four commodities the attribute of kcyl (measure).
This is all arbitrary, capricious and irrational-neither
based on the Qur'in nor on the Sunna. And the claim
that aU this is based on ijma' (consensus) is not true
because the Hanafites themselves differ as to the real
'illa of the 'six commodities.' Some of them hold that
the 'illn for gold and silver is weight, but others believe
that 'illa for the remaining four commodities is kayl
(measure). There is after all no basis, and no criterion
for all these 'ilal which they generally attribute to Sunna
of the Prophet and ijmcs6".37
Ibn Hazm rejects all juristic theories of 'illa and givts
a literalist interpretation of the Riba-Hadith. He refuses to
90 ZIAUL HAQUE

extend, through qiyas, the 'ill-t al-hukm to commodities other

than the "six commodities." He assumes that riba-profits are
created in bgy' (sale) qard (loan, credit), or salam (forward buying
of commodities). He explains that riba is not permissible in
bay'. And in salam, prohibition of riba is applicable only in
six commodities : dates, wheat, barley, salt, gold and silver
which have been explicitly stated in the Riba-Hadith. In the
sector of loans and credits (qard) ribz occurs in everything which
is loaned ; therefore it is not permissible, says Ibn Hazm, to
advance anything on credit in anticipation of its repayment
in a value greater or lesser than the original loan. Nor can it
be repaid in tho form of a commodity other than the originally
loaned commodity. Loan must be repaid in the original com-
modity, in the same species and weight.
For him the factual difference between h ~ y ' ,szlam and
qard is that bgy' and sclam generally take place in commodities
of one type for similar or dissimilar types ;but qard necessarily
takes place in commodities of one type of similar species of
commodities. 3 8
Ibn Hazm says that Ta'iis, Qatada, 'Uthm~nal-Battl,
Abii Sulayman and those who followed Da'iid, the literalist,
(including Ibn Hazm himself) had held that only the 'six com-
modities' were subject to ribn-which is based on the Rib+
Hadith.3 9
These detailed juristic discussions of the riha al-fadl
in the specific domain of baiter in agrarian communities of pre-
capitalist epoch point to the importance which the Jurists
attached to the rihz profits created in the sphere of sales and
exchanges. Such rib .wi transactions of commodities were,
according to them, the cause of corruption and exploitation,
. a
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 91

since these tended to impoverish the masses, because the pay-

ment of increases in sales and loans of common commodities
and food-stuffs to the money-lenders and hoarders-merchants
did not bring any equivalent values to the needy people.40
This shows that like the historically manifest category
of riba al-n~si'cin the sector of loans, the hidden and mysterious
category of riba al-fcdl in medieval agriculture, trade and
commerce had the same economic and social implications.
Both operated in a total economic process, comprising economic
activity as a whole: production as well as exchange of goods and
commodities. The money and commodity-lenders appropriated
the means of production and labour-conditions of the peasants
artisans and the poor people through advancing loans at exorbi-
tant rates of 'return'.
Landlords, tax-farmers, merchants, middlemen and
brokers, operating in the sectors of production and exchange,
earned profits on their investments in metayage, fixed land-
leases, tax-farming, forward buying of crops, hoarding, specula-
tion and all sorts of jobbing. The indetermiaateand inadequate
wages of the workers/cultivators who were hired for certain
shares of the non-existing profits, as in agriculture or manufac-
turing, were considered by the Jurists as invalid, because in the
case of a crop failure or loss in trade the workers lost every
thing which made their existence precarious. But these profits
of riba al-jk;l(il,as compared to the pre-fixed and tangible profits
of riba al-nnsi'a, were uncertain and indefinite.4 1
Working under the general conditions of a barter economy
the Fuq&iJ took the problem of riba al-fgcil as a specific
problem of simple barter which is evidenced in their misplaced
emphasis on the riba al-f~rdlwhich occurs in direct exchanges
92 ZIAUL HAQUE

of commodities, from hand to hand ; and which is apparent

in their legal casuistry of the 'ilal of riba al-f-rd.

Nevertheless, the important conclusion which the Jurists

and Traditionists derived from their observal~ceof all these
categories and forms of ribii was that the original Qur'anic
ban on ribn was essentially a ban on total ribii, i.e., on all its
forms and categories which function in loans and credits as
well as in the commercial sales of speculation, risk and chance.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Maik, Muwai;aP,(Cairo :D&r Ibya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiy~a. 1370). 11. 664-667.

Ibid.. 11, 665.
Ibid., 11, 624--7.
MHlik gives the bay'al-gharar tradition as fol!ows:-
" Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib relates that the Prophet had prohibited bay'al-ghuar. Malik
observes that"'sa1es of risk,gharar and mukhijjara are a1 banned."
See also BukhLi, Sahib, kitZb al-buyzi'. MBslim, Sabih, kitab al-bus'.
MHlik, Muwa)/a'. 11, 707.
ShWi, Kitcib al-Umm. (Cairo : Maktaba al-KulliyHt al-Azhariyya, 1961/1381), VII,
101-102.
Z u r q a i , Sharb Muwa{ia',(Cairo :Maktaba TijHriyyaal-Kubra, 1354), IV, 343, 356-8.
Tabari, Kit& IkhtilrSf al-Fuqahci', 120-124.
'&&wi Mushkil a[-At/& (Hyderabad : DH'ira al-Masfirif, 1914). 111, p. 293.
Setandlord and Peasant in Early Islam, (Islamabad: Islamic Research ~nstitute,1977).
pp. 12-28.
Abfi YBsuf, IkhtilCfAbi flanifa wa Ibn Abi Layki (Hyderabad :1357 A.H.) p. 30. Also
Sdrakhsi, Mabsa, XXII, 34-35.
AbO Yiisuf, Ikhtilcrt: p. 30.
Sarakhsi, Kifcsbal-Mabs$, (Cairo : Matba'a al-Sa'Hda, n.d.), XXII, 36.
Ibn Taymiya, Majmii' Fakiwci (RiyHd : 1383 A.H.), mix, p. 520.
Ibid., p. 522.
MBlik, Muwaga', 11, 653-654.
'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas relates that the Prophet had said that the snlaf (loan) transactions
in babak al-babala were ribd
Also Abmad ibn Banbal, Musnad, (Cairo :DHr al-Masfirif, 1946-56). iv, 16-17, and 225.
Malik, Muwaifa', II, 624.
Ibid. 11,625-627.
13. Ibid, 11, 626-627
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 93

In the version of the Hadith recorded by Bukhb- and Muslim in their $&bs,
Sahl ibn Abi Bathma relates that the Prophet had prohibited the exchange of fruits,
thamar, for tamr (i.e., the sale of dried dates of a certain quantity for unripe dates still on
trees). This is ribri and murribam. But the Prophet had allowed rukba (exception to
the general ban on rib5) for the sale of 'driyya co&isting of one or two datepalms whose
owners are poor and want to exchange without weighing the unripe dates still on trees.
for fresh and ripe dates which they have to eat (i-e., they are so poor that they have no
other source of sustenance). The Fuqahi', however, place a limit in the quantity of
'ardyd, of five wasaq of dates.
See also MBlik, Muwaffa', IT, p. 620.
Bukhitri, .S$tfb. Kit& al-bu*'.
Muslim, Sahib, Kit& al-buyii' : b& nahiy 'an al-mubdqala:
Al-D&imi. Sumn (Damascus: Muhammad Abmad Dahmiin, 1349 A.H.), Kit& a l -
buyii. ;b i b fi al-salaf. IT, p. 2 60
Abmad ibn Banbal, Musnad, IV. 189.
"Ibn 'Abb& relates that at the time when the Prophet of God came to Medin 1
the people of Medina used to make transactions involving (future) loans of crops or
fruits or two or three years. The Prophet asked them that they should ~ i v loans e of
fruits in clearly known measures and weights. ...".
BukhBri, Solrib, Xitrib al-buyl' :brib md yudhkar fi hay' al-fn'im.
Muslim, W i b ,kitab al-buya', b& t&im al-ibtikdrffial-aqwcfr. Maik, Muwaua'. 11.651.
A b a d ibn &mbal. Mmnad, 1, 214-215 ; vii, 58-61.
BukhM, Sahih, kit& al-buyii'.
Muslim, Sahib, kit& al-buyi? :b i b tahrim bay' at-bridir li'l-bridi.
'Ali al-Muttaqi, Kanz al-'Ummril, (Hyderabad : DB'irat ;I-Ma'Brif. 1312 A.H.), 11,230.
Mdik. M~rwatta'.11, pp. 636637.
A variant version of 'Urnar's $arf-tradition has also been given by W i k :
Maik-"Abd Alliih ibn Diniir-'Abd All& ibn 'Umar related that 'Umar ibn
al-KhattBb had said :"Do not exchange gold for gold except similar for similar, and do
not pay any increase on one commodity against the other. And do not exchange silver
for silver except similar for similar. And do not pay any increase on one commodity
against the other. Likewise, do not exchange anything which is presently in hand
(involving time factor) even if the buyer/seller requests you to wait for a little time so
thatheenters his house to fetch the commoditylmoney or price for the purpose of
payment. You should not allow him any time or delay to do so. This will tantamount
to r m - ' , i.e.. ribri Ibid :11, p. 635.
Ibid; p. 637.
Another related problem was the exhange of bullion (gold, silver) for an orna-
ment. Should an ornament (of gold or silver) of a certain weight be exchanged for gold/
silver of an equivalent weight? Or should an increase equal to the wages of the gold-
smith's labour expended on the ornament be allowed in the sale? This was the pertinent
question raised by the Companions, and later by the Fuqahri'. Thereareseveral
Prophetic traditions which disallow such exchanges of gold/silver and ornaments with
 ZIAUL HAQUE

increases because these are obviously sales of ribd al-f2& MSlik, Muwa##a'. 11, 632.
Some Companions of the Prophet, like Mu'lwiya ibn Abi Sufyiin had allowed
increases in such bullion exchanges. But the majority of the Companions, namely
'Umar ibn al-Khattijb, Abii al-Dardl, 'Abd All& ibn 'Umar, 'UthmSn ibn 'AffSn, Sa'd
ibn Abi WaqqBs, Sa'd ibn 'Ubltla, AbB Hurayra, Abii Sa'id al-Khudd, following the
Prophetic ban, had invalidated this sale of ribd ul-f@l.
Mllik, Muwa/{a'. 11,632-5.
Ibn Qayyim, however, allows such bullion exchanges, because, he thinks, first,
that this exchange has customary sanction ;and secondly, goldsmith's labour has to be
compensated ; and thirdly, that this exchange be allowed as an exception to the general
ban on rib5 ul-fnQI as a hardship case when a needy and poor person uses an ornament
as money t o buy his basic necessities. I'ldm al-Muwaqqi'fn, (Cairo : Maktaba al-
kulliyit al-Azhariyya 196811388), 11, 159-163.
"It is the sale of a commodity (sil'a) to a person for a certain price to be paid at a ertain
time, an3 then buying it back from the person with ready-money ('ayn) less than that
price.
Ibn Manziir, L i s a al-'Arab, article 'ayn. Ibn Taymiyya, Majmfi' Fftdwc3, xxix, 446.
Edward william Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon. (London: Williame and Norgate, 1874),
Book ,I, P. rt v. p. 2217.
E.W. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon. Book I, Part V, p. 2217.
Zurqini, Shark ILI, 286.
Mglik, Muwaffa: U. 460.
Miilik has given another historical tradition about the 'ina-sale
He says that reports t a d reachcd him about certain ~ u k i i k(sin ular Sakk,
an instrument of contract, r legal document authorising the bearer t o collect certain
food-stutfs as stipend from he st& store /Treasury) which were issued to the people
in the time of Marwfm iiDn al-Pakam (641684--651685) for the food-stuffs of I-Ja'r.
The people started buyingand se!line these $ukilk among themselves (on rroEts) before
actually taking possession of them. Zayd ibn Thlbit and some other Companions of the
prophet then approached Marwan and asked him whether he was legalizing t c sale
of ribd. He was told by them that those jikilk involved sales of ribd because people were
buying and selling them (for profits) before actually possession them. Marwiin sent
guards to find the dealers (in sukiik, i.e., speculative future values) and seize the docu-
ment: from their hands and restore them t o the real owners. Zbid., 11, p. 31.
Ibid, 11, 681, 682.
See also 'Abd al-Razdq. aCMqanna/(Karachi: Majlis 'Ilmi, 1970-72). viii, pp. 146-147.
Maik, Muwaf/a', 11, 681-2.
Zbid.. 11, 682.
See also Bayhaqi, al-Swan al-Kubrci. (Hyderabad : Dg'irat al-Ma'lrif, 1352 A.H.).
v. pp. 249-350.
The main &dffh given by Baybaqi is mawqiif(i.e. it does not go back to the Prophet.
and the chain of transmitters ends at a Companion of the Prophet) : Fu(lBla ibn
'Ubayd, the Companion of the Prophet says that every loan (qard) which is given in
 SOME FORMS OF RIBA AL-FADL 95

order to earn profit (mmfa'a) is one of the forms of rib& al-Sunan al-KubrG,
V, 349-350.
Zbid. p. 350.
'Abd al-RaizZq gives the following reports :
(a) Ibn Sirin relates that Ubayy ibn Ka'b had borrowed some capital ( m a from 'Umar
ibn al-Khattab (probably an amount of ten thousand dinars or dirhams). Afterwards,
Ubayy sent to 'Umar some dates (from the first or early crop) which were the best in
Medina. 'Umar did not accept the gift from his debtor andreturned :it to him. There
upon Ubayy remarked that he had sent to him his own ('Umar's) wealth and that he
(Ubayy) did not need it .... So 'Umar accepted it saying that ribd was earned only by a
person who wanted to give loan in order to earnsome profit, i.e., to augment his capital,
or to give any loan for a certain period (for an increase).
Af-Musunnu/. viii, 142.
(b) 'Abd Allah ibn 'AbbBs is reported to have said : " If you give aloan to some person,
do not accept from him any gift even if it is ordinary and insignificant like the foot of a
dead goat, or a free ride on the debtor's horse.
Zbid.. viii, p. 143.
(c) A person came to see 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas and told him that he had loaned to a
fisherman a sum of fifty dirhams ; and the debtor had been sending him fish (as gift)
Ibn 'Abbas asked the creditor to keep an account of all the fish hehad received from the
debtor. If it was in excess of the loan he must return the excess (fdl) and if it was equal
to the loan, the loan was repaid. Ibid, viii, p. 143.
(d) 'Alyama is re orted to have said, "When you visit the house of the per on to whom
you have gi cn a loan, and eat anything you must keep an account of the value ~Fthefood
you have eaten ther:. Ibriihim (al-Nakha'i) used to say that f the food was eaten
as a mark of friendship andcouresy and if they had been inviting each other before the-
oan there was no harm.
Ibid. viii, pp. 142-143.
See also MBlik, Muwaua, 11, 682-683.
Sarakhsi, Mabsul, xiii, p. 112.
Zbid , XII, p. 113.
Zbid, X I , p. 1 13.
Zbid, XII, p. 113-114.
Zbid, X I , p. 114.
Zbid, XII, p. 120.
Ibn Hazm, al-Mubaffii, (Cairo: Idiira TabPat al-Muniriyya, 1305 A.H.) viii, 469-4.1
Zbid, VIII ,471473.
Zbid, VIII, pp. 77ff.,459-464 and 467-468
Zbid. VIII, 468,488 ff.
Ibn Qayyim, Z'lcim af-Muwaqqi'in, I1 154--155.
See, 'The Nature of Rib6 al-Nasi'a and Ribd al-Fa41, in Islamic Studies, [NO. 4, vol.
XI, Winter 19821,p. 19-38.