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English translation
18. It was narrated from Ishâq bin Qabisah from his father that 'Ubâdah bin Sâmit Al-Ansârî, head of the army unit, the Companion of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, went on a military campaign with Mu'âwiyah in the land of the Byzantines. He saw people trading pieces of gold for Dinâr and pieces of silver for Dirham. He said: "O people, you are consuming Ribâ (usury)! For I heard the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ say: 'Do not sell gold for gold unless it is like for like; there should be no increase and no delay (between the two transactions).'
Mu'âwiyah said to him: "O Abu Walid, I do not think there is any Ribâ involved in this, except in cases where there is a delay."
'Ubâdah said to him: "I tell you a Hadith from the
Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, and you tell me your opinion! If Allāh brings me back safely I will never live in a land in which you have authority over me." When he returned, he stayed in Al-Madinah, and 'Umar bin Khattāb said to him: "What brought you here, O Abu Walid?" So he told him the story, and what he had said about not living in the same land as Mu'āwiyah. 'Umar said: "Go back to your land, O Abu Walid, for what a bad land is the land from where you and people like you are absent." Then he wrote to Mu'āwiyah and said: "You have no authority over him; make the people follow what he says, for he is right." (Hasan)
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Commentary
Selling gold for gold or silver for silver is only allowed if it is like for like, and the parties to the deal hand over their commodities on the spot. If the deal is silver for gold, they do not have to be equal in quantity. The deal must, however, be finalized in the same sitting. By the same analogy, exchange of old currency notes with new ones shall also be governed by the same rule. Thus, exchanging new 100 denomination currency notes for the old 110 denomination notes is not permissible in Islam.
No one's word, even that of a Companion, carries any weight if it is in conflict with the words of the Prophet ﷺ. It may, however, be the case that one Companion interpreted the Hadith in a certain way while the other Companion thought that the Hadith did not support the first Companion's deduction, or else he gave more weight to another Hadith related to the subject. In a situation like this, the right course for us is to analyse the Hadith to see which interpretation has more weight. Any well-meaning error in making the right choice through Ijtihād (independent reasoning or exercise of judgment) is condonable.
The Companions attached so much importance and value to the Hadith that, when an opinion sounding different from the meaning of the Hadith was presented, the Companion was so enraged that he decided to leave the land he was staying in. 'Umar ﷺ appreciated the position taken by him so much
that he declared to Mu'āwiyah ﷺ that 'Ubâdah ﷺ would not be under his authority.
d. If two Companions have divergent views on a matter, the view more in line with teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah should be adopted. 'Umar ﷺ did just that. He ascertained the views of the two, and preferred the one that was in line with the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ and enforced it.
