Why do we treat currencies like gold?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Now, why are we insistent on treating it like gold? Because it causes embarrassment for all Muslims.
The Shaykh : Because of two reasons:
First, this is the original ruling regarding it.
Second, it is not possible to deal in paper currency except based on an assumption held in people's minds. Otherwise, you would present any piece of paper, and it would not be considered valid unless there is an assumption regarding it. The assumption must exist.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : This assumption is held in the minds of a rare few among people. Otherwise, most people do not care that this is an assumption that it equals gold. It is a currency, and they know that if they work, they will take this money. In reality, the world does not understand that this equals gold or does not equal gold. The one who is researching this issue and has a headache over it is a rare few, people like you.
The Shaykh : Why? Because people do not ask whether it is forbidden or lawful. They go about their work, and it is injustice.
The questioner : And I, this brother, believe me, two or three years ago, I researched a lot and asked the economists. Every one of them was full of their own position, meaning...
The Shaykh : Yes, but you, how do you want to make things easy for yourself?
The questioner : They did not arrive at anything to tell me.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, did you not ask them from an economic perspective?
The questioner : But the economic perspective.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, excuse me, be patient. Ask them from the jurisprudential perspective. Do not say these are not jurists. Do not say they are not jurists, because as he (peace be upon him) said:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 12:2035 So, a person you gave a thousand dinars, the next day a political game, as you mentioned earlier, or a war broke out between a state and a state, and it dropped suddenly.
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : The man comes and gives them to you at the cheapest economic price. This is the one who explained the issue to you with this philosophy. He accepts to take them in the same number.
The questioner : The same numbers.
The Shaykh : The same numbers. He does not accept. He does not want them. In reality, let him resolve it economically. What was in his mind is that he does not accept them. These are the factors he listed and made influential.
The questioner : I am telling you, any economist.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Religious, pure gold, and the value of gold dropped. The kilogram of gold was at fifty-seven thousand.
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : It became forty thousand. I took the gold and gave it to him. He was not satisfied to take it as gold.
The Shaykh : What does he want?
The questioner : He said, you gave it to me after it became forty thousand. I said, okay, my brother, if it increases, I am giving you gold, a stable currency. He said, no, I gave it to you at fifty-seven thousand riyals.
The Shaykh : Okay, turn it around on him. You see what he will tell you. Turn it around on him. If the gold became expensive and instead of fifty it became one hundred.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Would you be satisfied with fifty?
The questioner : I said, if there was a possibility of increase, would you take it? He said to me, by Allah, I do not want an increase in the dirham. I want it when it becomes... And in fact, we wrote a paper between us that he would be paid in gold when its price becomes... And this is a great expert, and I am discussing with you, I am telling you.
The Shaykh : But this is not an expert at all.
The questioner : And by Allah
The Shaykh : He is not an expert at all. Instead of leaving it hidden with the debtor, he takes it and hides it himself. Because what did he do? Now, wait, a month has passed, which is the same merchandise he presented to him a month ago. He gave it to him after a month. This is an expert. This is...
The Shaykh : Because of two reasons:
First, this is the original ruling regarding it.
Second, it is not possible to deal in paper currency except based on an assumption held in people's minds. Otherwise, you would present any piece of paper, and it would not be considered valid unless there is an assumption regarding it. The assumption must exist.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : This assumption is held in the minds of a rare few among people. Otherwise, most people do not care that this is an assumption that it equals gold. It is a currency, and they know that if they work, they will take this money. In reality, the world does not understand that this equals gold or does not equal gold. The one who is researching this issue and has a headache over it is a rare few, people like you.
The Shaykh : Why? Because people do not ask whether it is forbidden or lawful. They go about their work, and it is injustice.
The questioner : And I, this brother, believe me, two or three years ago, I researched a lot and asked the economists. Every one of them was full of their own position, meaning...
The Shaykh : Yes, but you, how do you want to make things easy for yourself?
The questioner : They did not arrive at anything to tell me.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, did you not ask them from an economic perspective?
The questioner : But the economic perspective.
The Shaykh : Excuse me, excuse me, be patient. Ask them from the jurisprudential perspective. Do not say these are not jurists. Do not say they are not jurists, because as he (peace be upon him) said:
Indeed, the lawful is clear, and the forbidden is clear, and between them are matters of doubt.
إن الحلال بين والحرام بين وبينهما أمور مشتبهاتThe questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : The man comes and gives them to you at the cheapest economic price. This is the one who explained the issue to you with this philosophy. He accepts to take them in the same number.
The questioner : The same numbers.
The Shaykh : The same numbers. He does not accept. He does not want them. In reality, let him resolve it economically. What was in his mind is that he does not accept them. These are the factors he listed and made influential.
The questioner : I am telling you, any economist.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Religious, pure gold, and the value of gold dropped. The kilogram of gold was at fifty-seven thousand.
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : It became forty thousand. I took the gold and gave it to him. He was not satisfied to take it as gold.
The Shaykh : What does he want?
The questioner : He said, you gave it to me after it became forty thousand. I said, okay, my brother, if it increases, I am giving you gold, a stable currency. He said, no, I gave it to you at fifty-seven thousand riyals.
The Shaykh : Okay, turn it around on him. You see what he will tell you. Turn it around on him. If the gold became expensive and instead of fifty it became one hundred.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Would you be satisfied with fifty?
The questioner : I said, if there was a possibility of increase, would you take it? He said to me, by Allah, I do not want an increase in the dirham. I want it when it becomes... And in fact, we wrote a paper between us that he would be paid in gold when its price becomes... And this is a great expert, and I am discussing with you, I am telling you.
The Shaykh : But this is not an expert at all.
The questioner : And by Allah
The Shaykh : He is not an expert at all. Instead of leaving it hidden with the debtor, he takes it and hides it himself. Because what did he do? Now, wait, a month has passed, which is the same merchandise he presented to him a month ago. He gave it to him after a month. This is an expert. This is...