His statement, “for it on deferred terms,” means that if he takes in exchange something which may not be sold for what he sold on deferred terms, then it is invalid. There are six ribawi items: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, and salt. Thus, wheat is a ribawi item. For example, someone sells one hundred sa‘ of wheat for two hundred riyals, payable after one year. When the due date arrives, the seller comes to the buyer and says, “Give me the money.” The buyer replies, “I have nothing but dates.” Now, may dates be sold for wheat on deferred terms—that is, without either party taking possession?

The answer is no, due to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt: like for like, equal for equal, hand to hand. If these types differ, then sell as you wish, provided it is hand to hand.” (1)

Therefore, he may not take dates in place of the money, because dates may not be sold for wheat on deferred terms. If he does so, he has taken in exchange for its price something which may not be sold for it on deferred terms, and it is therefore unlawful. This is because it may be used as a legal device for selling wheat in exchange for dates without immediate possession. For instance, he may say, “I sold you wheat for two hundred riyals, payable at a later date,” and then accept dates as payment. In this way, he resorts to a legal device to sell wheat for dates while delaying possession of the price.

Such legal devices are prohibited in the Sacred Law, because they constitute deception of Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and because they are among the practices of the Jews. Allah said concerning those who transgressed regarding the Sabbath and sought to evade its ruling: “And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who came after them, and a lesson for the God-fearing.” [al-Baqarah] He also said: “Actions are judged only by intentions.” (2)