The Stronger Position on Whether Riba Applies to Meat

The questioner : Any

The Shaykh : Yes. By Allah, what appears to be the case is that nothing is established as the stronger position, because it has not fully matured in my mind. It has become a matter of general agreement. In their view, everything is weighed, so riba applies to it; meat is weighed in their view, iron is weighed, lead and the like are all present. But it has not matured in their view. So either we follow the default and say that the default in sale is permissibility, except where evidence establishes prohibition, and there is no established evidence that a person can rely on. For this reason, my brother Khalid chose yesterday to limit it to the six categories. Yes.

The questioner : Ibn Aqil said.

The Shaykh : Ibn Atiyyah’s statement, so it became a rationalist position. Yes. It is not following the Dharites, but due to the lack of proximity to knowledge. For example, there is no doubt that rice, barley, and the like are included with wheat; a person is fully reassured by this. But including the avoidance of riba with wheat—meaning it is far from this, or is it also the right of meat? Meat, yes, if we suppose that people use it as food, dry it, and it is of the same type as wheat, we would say it is subject to the ruling of hand-to-hand exchange. But in our current situation, no, meat is not considered like this. Yes. So what appears to me is that there is no riba in meat, unless evidence comes from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) specifically regarding meat, for it is known that the word of the Messenger is the decisive authority.