What are the regulations of loans in the Shari'ah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Please clarify for us the ways of obtaining loans that contain no riba (usury or interest) and no doubt, as we borrowers need a large amount of debt. Please guide us, may Allah reward you with good?
Answer:
We guide you to buy and sell through the lawful path, not through the impermissible path, not through riba (usury or interest). You buy on a deferred basis, what they call "al-wahdah" (the unit), you buy on a deferred basis for your need, then you sell it. There is no harm in a known deferred period, if the one who sold to you sold you something he has in his possession, which he has taken possession of. If he has rice in his house, bales are present, he has wheat present, cars are present, he does not sell something by people, he sells something he has. It is not permissible for him to sell what he does not have, except a car from the ones present with him, bags in his house or his shop, vessels with him, grains with him, a car with him on a deferred basis, then you take possession of it. You do not sell it while it is with him, you take possession of it as well, you move it from his house or his shop or his warehouse, and you move it to the market or to your house or to your shop, then you sell it to the buyer. This is the lawful path. As for buying something from people, from merchants who have not yet bought it, he sells to you something in the air that he has not bought and has not taken possession of, that is not permissible. Or you buy from him and then sell it while it is with him in the shop, you sell it while you have not taken possession of it or moved it to yourself. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited selling wheat where it is bought until the merchants take possession of it. And he said to Hakim: Do not sell what you do not have. When Hakim al-Hijami said: O Messenger of Allah, a man comes to me wanting the goods and they are not with me, so I sell them to him and then I go and buy them. He said: No, do not sell what you do not have. So you go first and buy it and take possession of it, then you sell it to him. And the one in need, if he buys it, takes possession of it and stores it, then he sells it to people afterwards, so that the money has been taken possession of, stored, and transferred from the hand of the seller to the hand of the buyer, so that no uncertainty or risk or anything remains in it.
And the Muslim, if he avoids evil and seeks good, Allah will help him. But the calamity is to take risks and not care and not be concerned with the Shari'ah, that is a calamity. As for the one who seeks the Shari'ah, seeking what Allah has made permissible for him, the scholars are present, praise be to Allah, to guide him to good if he asks. And he attends circles of these circles, and benefits and teaches others, and conveys the benefit to others, and so on. The Salaf, if you sell from your liability a known amount of rice or grains or barley or coffee, a known amount of sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) or a known number of kilograms, on a known deferred basis, for a price that is paid to you immediately, and he takes from me, for example, one hundred sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for one thousand riyals, one thousand sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for such and such, for ten thousand riyals on a known deferred basis, you give it to him, he pays you the money immediately, you benefit from it, and this grain or coffee or barley or sugar remains in your liability. If the deferred period is from a factory, this is called salam (a forward sale paid in advance). So there is no harm in this. The Companions used to do it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They would make salam in fruits, in dates, in grains, and so on. It is called salam. The seller sells from his liability, and takes from the buyer a known amount of money which he takes possession of immediately, he benefits from it, he buys his needs with it, and when the deferred period arrives, he delivers to him what he made salam on from his liability, of grains, of dates, or otherwise. Yes.
Please clarify for us the ways of obtaining loans that contain no riba (usury or interest) and no doubt, as we borrowers need a large amount of debt. Please guide us, may Allah reward you with good?
Answer:
We guide you to buy and sell through the lawful path, not through the impermissible path, not through riba (usury or interest). You buy on a deferred basis, what they call "al-wahdah" (the unit), you buy on a deferred basis for your need, then you sell it. There is no harm in a known deferred period, if the one who sold to you sold you something he has in his possession, which he has taken possession of. If he has rice in his house, bales are present, he has wheat present, cars are present, he does not sell something by people, he sells something he has. It is not permissible for him to sell what he does not have, except a car from the ones present with him, bags in his house or his shop, vessels with him, grains with him, a car with him on a deferred basis, then you take possession of it. You do not sell it while it is with him, you take possession of it as well, you move it from his house or his shop or his warehouse, and you move it to the market or to your house or to your shop, then you sell it to the buyer. This is the lawful path. As for buying something from people, from merchants who have not yet bought it, he sells to you something in the air that he has not bought and has not taken possession of, that is not permissible. Or you buy from him and then sell it while it is with him in the shop, you sell it while you have not taken possession of it or moved it to yourself. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited selling wheat where it is bought until the merchants take possession of it. And he said to Hakim: Do not sell what you do not have. When Hakim al-Hijami said: O Messenger of Allah, a man comes to me wanting the goods and they are not with me, so I sell them to him and then I go and buy them. He said: No, do not sell what you do not have. So you go first and buy it and take possession of it, then you sell it to him. And the one in need, if he buys it, takes possession of it and stores it, then he sells it to people afterwards, so that the money has been taken possession of, stored, and transferred from the hand of the seller to the hand of the buyer, so that no uncertainty or risk or anything remains in it.
And the Muslim, if he avoids evil and seeks good, Allah will help him. But the calamity is to take risks and not care and not be concerned with the Shari'ah, that is a calamity. As for the one who seeks the Shari'ah, seeking what Allah has made permissible for him, the scholars are present, praise be to Allah, to guide him to good if he asks. And he attends circles of these circles, and benefits and teaches others, and conveys the benefit to others, and so on. The Salaf, if you sell from your liability a known amount of rice or grains or barley or coffee, a known amount of sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) or a known number of kilograms, on a known deferred basis, for a price that is paid to you immediately, and he takes from me, for example, one hundred sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for one thousand riyals, one thousand sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for such and such, for ten thousand riyals on a known deferred basis, you give it to him, he pays you the money immediately, you benefit from it, and this grain or coffee or barley or sugar remains in your liability. If the deferred period is from a factory, this is called salam (a forward sale paid in advance). So there is no harm in this. The Companions used to do it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They would make salam in fruits, in dates, in grains, and so on. It is called salam. The seller sells from his liability, and takes from the buyer a known amount of money which he takes possession of immediately, he benefits from it, he buys his needs with it, and when the deferred period arrives, he delivers to him what he made salam on from his liability, of grains, of dates, or otherwise. Yes.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 111 ما هي ضوابط القرض في الشريعة؟ للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.