He says: I borrowed a sum from one of my friends in a foreign currency and promised to return it to him in his own currency, but in this case it will increase, and he knows this, and he has not
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The questioner : He says: I borrowed a sum from one of my friends in a foreign currency and promised to return it to him in his own currency, but in this case it will increase, and he knows this, and he has not demanded an increase from me because he is my friend and it is not his intention to deal in riba. Then I resorted to estimation and found the estimate to be close to the amount I mentioned to him, so I paid him this amount after consulting my heart, but I am still afraid. Please advise us, may Allah have mercy on you?
The Shaykh : We say that exchanging currencies with one another is a matter of currency exchange (sarf), not a matter of lending. And if it is a matter of currency exchange, it is required that it be hand-to-hand. It is not permissible for you to take a currency from him and then return to him after a while a different currency, because this means falling into riba, which is riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment). The ruling on the exchange of currencies is the same as the ruling on selling gold for silver; it is necessary that the exchange take place before the parties separate. Therefore, had you consulted the scholars before consulting your heart, it would have been obligatory for you not to return to him anything other than the same currency you took from him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is not permissible to exchange it for something else. This should be your way in the future. And if it is possible to return the currency you gave him and then return to him the same amount you took, that is what is obligatory for you. Yes.
The Shaykh : We say that exchanging currencies with one another is a matter of currency exchange (sarf), not a matter of lending. And if it is a matter of currency exchange, it is required that it be hand-to-hand. It is not permissible for you to take a currency from him and then return to him after a while a different currency, because this means falling into riba, which is riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment). The ruling on the exchange of currencies is the same as the ruling on selling gold for silver; it is necessary that the exchange take place before the parties separate. Therefore, had you consulted the scholars before consulting your heart, it would have been obligatory for you not to return to him anything other than the same currency you took from him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is not permissible to exchange it for something else. This should be your way in the future. And if it is possible to return the currency you gave him and then return to him the same amount you took, that is what is obligatory for you. Yes.