namely, measurement by volume, and adopted weight due to necessity. But this does not mean that this bread has become classified as a commodity sold by weight. If we were to say that it had become one of the commodities sold by weight, it would be permissible to sell bread for the grain from which it is made in unequal amounts, and likewise to sell it for that grain even if the parties separated before taking possession, since exchanging a commodity measured by volume for one measured by weight requires neither equality nor immediate possession.

For this reason, some people are mistaken when they see the jurists—may Allah have mercy on them—state that weight is to be used in this case, or in the case of dates when they have been pressed together. They assume that such items have passed from being measured by volume to being measured by weight. But this is mistaken. They remain commodities measured by volume; weight is only used out of necessity, because measuring them by volume is not possible.

If we say that equality in bread is assessed by weight, and then say that it has passed from being a commodity measured by volume to one measured by weight—that is, to a class of commodities measured by weight—it would follow that we could sell one hundred loaves of bread for ten ṣāʿs of wheat even without knowing whether they are equal, because exchanging a commodity measured by volume for one measured by weight does not require equality. Likewise, I could sell this bread for wheat without either party taking possession. This is mistaken. Rather, mutual possession must take place in the session of the contract, and bread may not be sold for its grain, since equality cannot be determined.

Dates that have been pressed together differ from individual, loose dates, with each date separate. The latter can be measured by volume because they are scattered kernels, whereas dates pressed into a mass cannot be measured by volume. Should we then say that, since they cannot be measured by volume, they have passed from being commodities measured by volume to commodities measured by weight, and that accordingly I may sell tightly packed dates for unpacked dates even if their quantities differ, and may likewise sell them for one another even if the parties separate before taking possession?

The answer is that we do not say this, because what they mean when they say, “It passes