The Sale of Gold

প্রশ্ন · Question

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu, as you are
aware my honourable brother an 'Ajal' (delay) is not valid with the sale
of gold because it is hand to hand – this for that - as has been
mentioned in the Hadeeth... Does this apply to jewelry?
The reality that this question applies to is the following:
The gold that is sold as jewelry is from the 18 -carat calibre and not the
24-carat calibre...
The 24-carat calibre is pure gold reaching 99.9% which makes it hard to
mould. As for the 18 -carat then this represents 75% gold whilst the
remainder is made up of metals such as copper and iron which makes
it susceptible to being moulded and shaped. Actually, it is possible to
colour the gold according to the metal that has been added. Then at
the time of the sale of this jewelry the jeweler adds the cost of the
moulding on top of the price of the gold based upon its weight.
Would the jewelry in this case then be considered like any other
commodity which has gold in it in which it is valid to buy by incurring a

debt or through delay or postponement (of the payment)? Or does the
ruling of gold still apply upon it due to the gold being predominant at
an amount of three quarters or 75%?
Another issue arises when the jeweler sells the jewelry like a bracelet
for instance and it has a small piece like a clasp for example which is
not made of gold and could be from platinum, zircon or something
similar. It is weighed with jewelry and counted in the weight whilst
being mixed with the price of the gold i.e. it is sold as if it is gold. So is
this valid in the case where this is a very small piece? Or is it obligatory
to separate its cost? Or consider it as the wage of the jeweler? Or what
is your view?
Barakallahu Bikum Wa Jazakumullahu Kul Al -Khair, and please forgive
us for taking your time...
Wa Alaikum Salaam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu.

উত্তর · Answer

Before answering the question I would like draw attention to that the
Ahkaam (rulings) of exchange (sarf) for the Ribaa categories do not pay
consideration to the quality of one type or the poor quality of
another... The Ribaa types are those which have come in the Hadeeth
collected by An -Nasaa'i from 'Ubaadah Bin As -Saamit that the
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«الذَّهَبُ بِالذَّهَبِ تِيُْْهُ وَعَيْنُهُ وَزْنًا بِوَزْنٍ، وَالْفِضَّةُ بِالْفِضَّةِ تِيُْْهُ وَعَيْنُهُ وَزْنًا بِوَزْنٍ، وَ الْمِلْحُ
بِالْمِلْحِ، وَالتَّمْرُ بِالتَّمْرِ، وَالْيُُّْ بِالْيُْر، وَالشَّعِيُْ بِالشَّعِيِْ، سَوَاءً بِسَوَاءٍ مِثْلًَ بِمِثْلٍ، فَ وِ
َ
مَنْ زَادَ أ
رْبَْ
َ
ازْدَادَ فَقَدْ أ »
"Gold for gold, ore and coins alike, weight for weight, and silver for
silver, ore and coins alike, weight for weight, and salt for salt, dates for
dates, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, equally and similarly; so he
who was to increase or take an increase, he would fall into usury
(Riba)."

Therefore if a Riba based type from amongst these types was sold it
would be obligatory to be like for like whatever the quality. As such it
is not permissible to exchange a Ratl (measure of weight) of good
dates for two Ratls of bad dates and it is not permissible to exchange a
Saa'a (measure) of pure good wheat for two Saa'as of bad impure
wheat whilst the same applies to barley and salt. The same therefore
applies to gold where it is impermissible to exchange a bullion of pure
gold for a bullion and a ha lf of impure gold, rather it must be like for
like i.e. by equal measure.
These specific Ahkaam (rulings) for exchange differ from the Ahkaam
(rulings) of other dealings with gold in other subject areas. So for
example in respect to the Zakaah the pure unadulterated gold and the
pure unadulterated silver is what is considered. As such the bullion (or
nugget) of 24 carat gold differs from the Zakaah of the bullion of 18
carat gold of the same weight. Rather the pure gold is evaluated when
calculating the Nisaab. The Nisaab of the 24 carat gold is 85 grams
whilst the Nisaab of the 18 carat gold would be more than that
because it is mixed with other non -gold materials in respect to the
quarter. This means that the 18 carat gold contains pure gold that is
equal to three -quarters of the 24 carat gold. Therefore the Nisaab of
the 18 carat gold is one and third times the Nisaab of the pure gold i.e.
113.33 grams. As such the one who owns 85 grams of pure 24 carat
gold possess the Nisaab and if the year passes upon it he pays his
Zakaah of 2.5% from its weight. However the one who own 85 g rams
of 18 carat gold does not possess the Nisaab until what he owns
reaches 113.33 grams. Then if a year passes upon that he will pay his
Zakaah of 2.5% from its weight. It is therefore clear here that the
consideration in respect to Zakaah relates to the pure gold.
As for exchange then its Ahkaam (rulings) are specific to it... So
whatever the Ribaa (interest based) type is in terms of being pure or
impure, good or bad quality, unadulterated or adulterated and mixed
with other than it... it is obligatory to be like for like as long as the

trade of the Ribaa based type or category is of the same kind. However
this is upon the condition that the pure and impure are mixed with
each other i.e. not separated from each other whilst the majority in
the mix is gold and as such is given the naming and designation of gold.
The Daleel (evidence) for that is what Abu Sa'eed related when he said:
يْنَ هَذَا؟
َ
ِيٍّ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ (ص
جَاءَ بِلََلٌ بِتَمْرٍ بَرْب
عِنْدَنَا رَدِيءٌ، فَبِعْتُ مِنْهُ صَاعَيْْ ِ بِصَاعٍ لِمَطْعَمِ النَّنِْير (ص)، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ:
ِ
ِيَ التَّمْرَ فَبِعْهُ بِبَيْعٍ آخَرَ، ثُمَّ اشْي َ
نْ تَشْي َ
َ
رَدْتَ أ
َ
وَّهْ عَيْْ ُ الرربَا، لََ تَفْعَلْ، وَلَكِنْ إِذَا أ
َ
« بِهِ»
Bilal approached with some good dates and so the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ said to him: "Where did you get these?" So Bilal said: "I had some
bad dates and I sold two Saa's of them for one Saa' so that the Prophet
ﷺ could eat from them". So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: "It is
the essence of Ribaa (interest), do not do that but rather if you had
wanted to buy dates then sell them in another sale and then buy
(again) with that (i.e. what you receive from the sale)." (Extracted by
Muslim).
Abu Sa'eed and Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with them both)
also narrated:
نَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ (ص) اسْتَعْمَلَ رَجُلًَ عَلََ
َ
وروى أيضاً أبو سعيد وأبو هريرة رَض ِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: أ
خَيْيََْ، فَجَاءَهُ بِتَمْرٍ جَنِيبٍ، فَقَالَ رَ كُلُّ تَمْرِ خَيْيََْ هَكَذَا؟
َ
سُولُ اللَّه (ص »، قَالَ: لاَ وَاللَّهِ
خُذُ الصَّاعَ مِنْ هَذَا بِالصَّاعَيْْ ِ، وَالصَّاعَيْْ ِ بِالثَّلاَثَةِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
ْ
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا لَنَأ
(ص
That the Messenger of Allah ﷺ employed a man over Khaibar and so
he came to him with fine quality dates (Janeeb) and so the Messenger
of Allah ﷺ said to him: "Are all of the dates of Khaibar like this?" He
said: "No by Allah O Messenger of Allah, indeed we take a Saa'a of this
for two Saa'as and two Saa'as (of it) for three Saa'as. So the Messenger
ﷺ then said: "Don't do that, sell the inferior dates for Dirhams and
then purchase the good quality with the Dirhams." (Agreed upon).

This applies to all of the Ribaa based types. The following was
mentioned in The Economic System of Islam (page 254 English edition,
page 264 Arabic edition):
"Also, if a person bought from another a genuine Dinar for two fake
Dinars, this would not be allowed. However, if he bought a genuine
Dinar for silver Dirhams, then bought with the Dirhams two fake
Dinars, this would be allowed whether he bought them from the same
person or from another. This is so because Muslim reported on the
authority of Abu Sa'id who said: Bilal came to the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ with some Barni (fine quality) dates, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
enquired: "Where did this come from?" Bilal replied: "These are dates
of inferior quality we had for some time, and I exchanged two Sa'as of
inferior quality for one Sa'a of fine quality as food for the Messenger of
Allah ﷺUpon this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Woe! this is real Riba so do not do that. If you wish to buy dates (of
superior quality) you could sell the dates (of inferior quality) in a
separate bargain and then buy the (superior quality dates)". Also, Abu
Sa'eed and Abu Hurairah reported: That the Messenger of Allah
appointed a man as a tax collector over Khaibar, so he came back to
him with some fine quality dates called Janeeb. Upon this the
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Are all the dates of Khaybar like this?" He
said: "No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah! We buy one Sa'a of these
fine quality dates for two Sa'as of inferior dates and also two Sa'as of it
for three Sa'as". Upon this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do not do
this; rather sell the inferior quality of dates you have for Dirhams and
then buy the Janeeb dates with the use of Dirhams" (Agreed upon)."
End of quote.
It is therefore clear from all of this that the Ribaa based types or
categories in the subject area of Sarf (exchange) is like for like
whatever its quality as long as what it is named with is that which has
come in the Hadeeth. This is the same whether it is gold for gold, silver

for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates or salt for
salt.
Based upon that the answer to your question is as follows:
1 – The jewelry that is manufactured from silver or gold, whatever its
calibre, must be like for like at the name of exchanging it for its own
type. So for example exchanging Rashadi gold for a bracelet or for...
etc... whether the calibre is 24 or 18 carat, must be undertaken
according to like for like whilst any increase is not valid whether this is
for workmanship or profit; it is impermissible. The solution in
circumstances like these, if for example the seller and buyer do not
wish to do like for like, is for the piece of gold to be sold for currency
and then purchase with currency the bracelet or necklace or any other
item.
2 – When buying a gold bracelet which includes a clasp (i.e. a part) that
is not gold and is not mixed with it but rather it is possible to separate
it from it, then in this case it is separated and the gold is weighed alone
and is sold alone with its kind in accordance to like for like. This is
whilst that (extra) piece is sold by itself in accordance to the price that
is agreed upon (between the seller and buyer). This applies in the case
when the gold bracelet is being bought with gold.
If however it is desired to buy a gold bracelet which has an extra part
attached that is not gold and it is wanted to buy that with currency,
then you can agree with the seller any price that you mutually consent
to.
Then if he weighs it together (i.e. the gold with the non -gold attached
part) for a price that he agrees with you then there is no problem in
that. This is because the sale and trade here is of two different types
where you wish to purchase a gold bracelet with paper currency. In
this case he weighs the whole bracelet with what is mixed within it and
then sells it to you at a price that you both have agreed upon and this

is as long as you are buying the bracelet with a currency which is not
gold.
Your brother,
Abu Yasin