Does riba (usury or interest) apply to items other than the six categories mentioned in the hadith?
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The Shaykh : Does riba (usury or interest) apply to them? For example, if I sell a wooden door for two wooden doors, is that permissible or not?
The student: It is permissible.
The Shaykh : Because it is not among the categories.
The student: The categories subject to riba.
The Shaykh : The categories subject to riba. All right, if I sell one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of rice for two sa' of rice,
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Is it permissible? Why? Because it is not among the categories subject to riba. All right, it is not wheat, barley, dates, salt, gold, or silver. But if someone says, "It is exactly like wheat, because wheat is food that is measured and rice is food that is measured, and the Shari'ah does not distinguish between identical items," we say that this is the correct view: that riba applies to rice, riba applies to corn, riba applies to millet, and riba applies to anything that is like wheat. Is that clear, everyone? All right, one orange for two.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : How? Which is more, one orange or two oranges? Two. All right, is it permissible or not? Why? It is not among the six categories, nor is it in their meaning. For example, oranges do not substitute for wheat or dates. All right, one apple for two apples is permissible because it is not among the wealth subject to riba. One camel for two camels is permissible. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As to equip an army, but he did not have camels, so he would take one camel for two, and two camels for three, from the camels of zakah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of him doing so, taking one camel for two or two camels for three, because there is no riba in that. Therefore, it is obligatory for the student of knowledge to know the wealth subject to riba in order to rule that something is riba or not riba.
The student: It is permissible.
The Shaykh : Because it is not among the categories.
The student: The categories subject to riba.
The Shaykh : The categories subject to riba. All right, if I sell one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of rice for two sa' of rice,
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Is it permissible? Why? Because it is not among the categories subject to riba. All right, it is not wheat, barley, dates, salt, gold, or silver. But if someone says, "It is exactly like wheat, because wheat is food that is measured and rice is food that is measured, and the Shari'ah does not distinguish between identical items," we say that this is the correct view: that riba applies to rice, riba applies to corn, riba applies to millet, and riba applies to anything that is like wheat. Is that clear, everyone? All right, one orange for two.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : How? Which is more, one orange or two oranges? Two. All right, is it permissible or not? Why? It is not among the six categories, nor is it in their meaning. For example, oranges do not substitute for wheat or dates. All right, one apple for two apples is permissible because it is not among the wealth subject to riba. One camel for two camels is permissible. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As to equip an army, but he did not have camels, so he would take one camel for two, and two camels for three, from the camels of zakah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of him doing so, taking one camel for two or two camels for three, because there is no riba in that. Therefore, it is obligatory for the student of knowledge to know the wealth subject to riba in order to rule that something is riba or not riba.