His statement, “and with one of them,” means, for example, that one sells a ṣāʿ of dates and a dirham for a ṣāʿ of dates. This too is not permissible, because one of the two is accompanied by something of a different kind. This is based on the principle that when a transaction combines two items, the price is apportioned between them jointly. Consequently, equality between the two ribā-based commodities becomes unknown.

A second example: he sells two ṣāʿs of dates for one ṣāʿ of dates and a dirham. This is not permissible because the dates are unequal.

A third example: he sells two dirhams for one dirham and dates. This is not permissible because one of the two is accompanied by something of a different kind.

The evidence is the hadith of Fudalah ibn Ubayd, may Allah be pleased with him: he bought a necklace containing beads and gold for twelve dinars. He then separated the gold from the beads and found that it contained more than twelve dinars’ worth of gold. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited its sale until it was separated (1)—that is, until its components were separated from one another and the amount of gold in relation to the beads was known.

The reason for the prohibition is that it then became clear that he had bought gold with a lesser amount of gold. For when he separated the necklace, he found that it contained more than twelve dinars’ worth of gold. Since such a possibility exists in cases like this, it is prohibited as a means of closing the door, so that no one will dare to sell a ribā-based commodity for another of its own kind while adding a small extra item to one of them. For example, one might say, “I am selling, for instance, one kilogram of gold for one kilogram less a small amount, and I will add a handkerchief, for example, to the latter—the deficient amount.” This is undoubtedly a legal stratagem, so the door must be closed.