The same applies to bread. Thus, if you wish to sell wheat bread for jarīsh—that is, grain that has been ground, though not finely ground, and is then cooked—this is not permissible, because equality cannot be ascertained. Jarīsh may have absorbed moisture, making it impossible to measure by volume; and even if it could be measured by volume, bread cannot be so measured.

If someone says, “We can fill a vessel with jarīsh, crumble the bread, add water to it, and exchange one for the other,” we reply: Equality cannot be achieved, while the genus is the same.

As for barley bread in exchange for wheat jarīsh, this is permissible, since equality is not a condition. This is what the author—may Allah have mercy on him—mentioned: the derivatives of genera are regarded as genera according to their respective origins.

Shaykh al-Islam—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Whatever is made from these genera, if, through this process of manufacture, it ceases to be a staple food, it ceases to be subject to ribā, based on the view that the effective cause of ribā is its being a staple food. If it does not cease to be a staple food, then it constitutes an independent genus rather than being subordinate to its origin.” Accordingly, it would be permissible to sell wheat bread for wheat jarīsh, because each differs from the other in a clear manner, both in how it is eaten and in the purpose for which it is intended; thus, each is an independent genus.

However, the more cautious view is that adopted by the author—may Allah have mercy on him—due to the generality of the Prophet’s statement: “Wheat for wheat, equal for equal,” which encompasses wheat in whatever form it may be; and, “barley for barley” (1), likewise encompasses barley in whatever form it may be.

If he says, “I have nothing but bread, and I want jarīsh...”