What is the ruling on converting Saudi riyals from the Kingdom into dollars and sending them outside the Kingdom via wire transfers?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is the ruling on converting Saudi riyals from the Kingdom, for example, into dollars and sending them outside the Kingdom via wire transfers?
The Shaykh : This issue has two permissible forms. The first form is that one exchanges Saudi riyals for dollars within the Kingdom, takes the dollars, and then transfers those dollars to his country. There is no problem with the permissibility of this, because it is an exchange of Saudi riyals for received dollars.
The second form is that one transfers the Saudi riyals to the second country as Saudi riyals, and then there his agent contracts with the entity to which the Saudi riyals were transferred to exchange the Saudi riyals for dollars at the rate in that place, so the Saudi riyals are exchanged for dollars at the rate in that place. There is also no problem with the permissibility of this. The third form is problematic: it is when he gives Saudi riyals here, their value is estimated in dollars, and the contract is concluded between them, and then the dollars are transferred to the second country. This is a matter of concern because it is an exchange without taking possession of the counter-value. However, I say, if Allah wills, and I ask Allah to forgive me if I am mistaken, I say that if dire necessity calls for this, and there is no way to deliver the riyals to the exchanger's country except by this method, then I hope there is no harm in that, due to the facilitation for Muslims and the absence of definitive evidence prohibiting it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This issue has two permissible forms. The first form is that one exchanges Saudi riyals for dollars within the Kingdom, takes the dollars, and then transfers those dollars to his country. There is no problem with the permissibility of this, because it is an exchange of Saudi riyals for received dollars.
The second form is that one transfers the Saudi riyals to the second country as Saudi riyals, and then there his agent contracts with the entity to which the Saudi riyals were transferred to exchange the Saudi riyals for dollars at the rate in that place, so the Saudi riyals are exchanged for dollars at the rate in that place. There is also no problem with the permissibility of this. The third form is problematic: it is when he gives Saudi riyals here, their value is estimated in dollars, and the contract is concluded between them, and then the dollars are transferred to the second country. This is a matter of concern because it is an exchange without taking possession of the counter-value. However, I say, if Allah wills, and I ask Allah to forgive me if I am mistaken, I say that if dire necessity calls for this, and there is no way to deliver the riyals to the exchanger's country except by this method, then I hope there is no harm in that, due to the facilitation for Muslims and the absence of definitive evidence prohibiting it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.