Repaying a debt in the same currency, whether it has increased or decreased
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Fatwa number ( 19785 )
Q: I borrowed 20,000 Pakistani rupees from my brother, and at that time this amount was equivalent to, for example, 7,000 Saudi riyals. Now I want to repay the amount to him, and this amount—20,000 Pakistani rupees—is now worth 2,000 riyals (two thousand Saudi riyals). Is it permissible to repay him in Saudi riyals (two thousand riyals), or should I repay him (seven thousand riyals) according to its value at the time of borrowing, or is it obligatory to repay the amount in Pakistani rupees just as I took it from him?
A : It is obligatory for you to repay the amount you borrowed from your brother in the same currency you took from him, whether its value has increased or decreased relative to its exchange rate with other currencies. So, you repay the twenty thousand Pakistani rupees you borrowed with twenty thousand Pakistani rupees, without any increase or decrease. You may also repay him the equivalent of its value at the time of repayment in another currency, Saudi or otherwise, provided that the exchange takes place in the same session; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when a questioner asked him about selling for dirhams and taking dinars, and selling for dinars and taking dirhams, he said (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 3354Da'if (Al-Albani) .
Q: I borrowed 20,000 Pakistani rupees from my brother, and at that time this amount was equivalent to, for example, 7,000 Saudi riyals. Now I want to repay the amount to him, and this amount—20,000 Pakistani rupees—is now worth 2,000 riyals (two thousand Saudi riyals). Is it permissible to repay him in Saudi riyals (two thousand riyals), or should I repay him (seven thousand riyals) according to its value at the time of borrowing, or is it obligatory to repay the amount in Pakistani rupees just as I took it from him?
A : It is obligatory for you to repay the amount you borrowed from your brother in the same currency you took from him, whether its value has increased or decreased relative to its exchange rate with other currencies. So, you repay the twenty thousand Pakistani rupees you borrowed with twenty thousand Pakistani rupees, without any increase or decrease. You may also repay him the equivalent of its value at the time of repayment in another currency, Saudi or otherwise, provided that the exchange takes place in the same session; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when a questioner asked him about selling for dirhams and taking dinars, and selling for dinars and taking dirhams, he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
There is no harm in taking them at the current rate so long as you do not separate leaving something to be settled.
لا بأس أن تأخذها بسعر يومها ما لم تفترقا وبينكما شيء
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.