(Series of Answers of the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to the Questions of his Facebook Page Visitors)
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
My dear brother, may Allah reward you for the explanation you provided.
Allow me, my brother, to ask you these questions:
Imagine yourself as a worker or an employee who was deprived of your wages or salary for years past. Do you see it as justice that your wages, which you were deprived of, be ruled for you at the same value they were 10 years ago, for example? For example, if I took 84 grams of gold from you, I am supposed to return 84 grams of gold to you even after ten years, and this is the Law of Allah. My sir, 84 grams of gold = 7230 dinars now, whereas 10 years ago, 84 grams of gold = 1200 dinars. If I borrowed 1200 dinars from you and returned 1200 dinars to you after 10 years, I would have returned one-sixth of the value, i.e., 14 grams of gold, and this involves a loss (bakhas) to your property. Allah, the Exalted, forbade us and said in His Noble Qur’an:
وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
"And do not deprive people of their due and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption." (Al-A'raf [7]: 85)
And this, according to my understanding, is the purpose of prohibiting Riba. Do you not see, my brother, that a thing (the dinar, which does not derive its value from itself but is rather an agreed-upon value) should be returned to its origin (gold)?
Answer:
To the dear brother Hafedh Gharsallah Hafedh Gharsallah,
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
Regarding current paper money, the rulings of currency (naqd) apply to it due to the shared legal reason ('illah) of "monetariness" (an-naqdiyyah), meaning the use of these papers as prices (values) and wages. Everything that is dealt with as prices and wages is considered currency, and the rulings of currency apply to it as long as it is circulating among the people and is not obsolete (kasid), i.e., not legally cancelled.
As for the evidence for considering this paper as currency to which the rulings of currency apply:
Since these mandatory papers have been conventionally established as currency and prices for things, and wages for benefits and services, and with them gold and silver are purchased just as all other commodities and assets are purchased, then the legal reason ('illah) of monetariness has been realized in them. This is the "use as prices and wages" which is realized in gold and silver when minted into dinars and dirhams. Therefore, the rulings of currency regarding gold and silver are applied to mandatory paper currency; Zakat is taken from it, and Riba al-Fadl (usury of excess) and Riba an-Nasi’ah (usury of delay) are prohibited in it. Therefore, it is not permissible to settle a debt with more than its amount, otherwise, it would be Riba an-Nasi’ah. Likewise, it is not permissible to exchange the same genus except like for like (mithlan bi mithl) and hand to hand (ha’an bi ha’)... according to the Shari'ah rulings related to currency, gold and silver.
Accordingly, your debt upon others is paid back to you as it is without increase, even if the currency decreases or increases in value... as long as the currency is legally in effect.
I appreciate what you mentioned regarding the problems resulting from the decrease in the value of currency. As you mentioned, if someone owed you "1000" dinars, for example, ten years ago and wants to pay it back to you today, the heavy impact on you due to the decrease of this paper over the ten years is clear. However, the Truth is more deserving to be followed. As long as this paper fits the reality of currency, then its rulings apply to it in terms of Riba. Therefore, it is not permissible for the debt to be repaid with more than its amount as long as this paper currency is legally valid for circulation.
I ask Allah (swt) to bless you in your wealth, your family, and your children.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
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