Explanation of the Book of Sales-16

The Shaykh :"And from Ma'mar ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: 'I used to hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

Food (may be sold) for food, of same quantities." Our food at that time consisted of barley.

الطعام بالطعام مثلا بمثل ، وكان طعامنا يومئذ الشعير

Bulugh al-Maram 7:71

Narrated by Muslim'"
: This is a narration of a past state using the present tense verb indicating the state. The benefit of expressing it this way is to indicate that one should visualize the matter as if it is happening now, to emphasize his precise memorization of it. Otherwise, it would have been possible for him to say: . It is known to us all that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not constantly speak this, nor did he hear it constantly. But he heard it once and said: , to confirm his precise memorization of this hearing, and that it is as if it is present now.
He says: : Does this mean in quantity or in quality?
The student: In quantity.

The Shaykh : In quantity, not in quality, because in quality it is not permissible to sell a good sa' for two good sa's, nor is it possible to sell a good sa' for a good sa' of the same type, because that would be nonsense. But the intended meaning of "like for like" is in quantity. We have previously cited evidence for the word "like" (mithl) meaning quantity, in the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
He said: : I understand it this way, with "food" being a fronted predicate. The implied meaning is: "And barley was our food at that time." The benefit of fronting the predicate is restriction, meaning it is as if he is saying: "We had no food except barley." It is also permissible to say: : meaning the information is about their food being barley, not about barley being their food. However, it is authentic in al-Bukhari from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding zakat al-fitr, where he said: . The reconciliation between them is:
Either it is said that the circumstances differed, so sometimes only barley was generally available, and sometimes the four types were available.
Or it is said that all the types were present, but the majority was barley. And this is the closest view: that they were all present, but the majority was barley.
In any case, this hadith indicates that the sale of barley for barley must be equal. However, his saying: : It may be said that there is an indication of the 'illah (operative cause) in that, the 'illah of riba, which is: food. But there is no doubt, on this assumption, that it does not mean every edible thing, because if it meant every edible thing, it would include even water, because water, when mentioned generally, falls under food, as Allah the Exalted said: .
But the intended meaning of "food" is what is eaten as sustenance. For the people in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ate barley as their sustenance, meaning their source of nutrition. And on this basis, this hadith indicates the stronger opinion in this issue: which is that the 'illah of riba in the four types mentioned in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit is food. But we add to that measurement, because all the hadiths reported on this matter define this by measurement. And on this basis, the measured food that people eat and rely on as sustenance is what riba applies to. As for food that is not measured, or what is not sustenance, riba does not apply to it, such as fruits of various kinds, vegetables, sidr, ishanan, henna, and the like. None of these have riba.