the author’s view, the lender may demand repayment from me now and say, “Pay me what you owe,” compelling me to sell the car and repay him. This would cause tremendous harm. Likewise, if I borrowed money from someone in order to buy a house to live in, then purchased it and took up residence there, with the loan deferred for a year or longer, and he subsequently came demanding repayment, saying, “Give me back my loan,” this would undoubtedly be harmful. It is deemed reprehensible by sound reason, customary practice, and honorable conduct—let alone by the Shariah.

Thus, the evidence of the Quran, the sunnah, and rational consideration all agree that deferring a loan is permissible, binding, and must be observed.

It may be said that Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, “Every loan is immediately due.” That is, this is the default ruling; yet many matters depart from their default rulings through conditions stipulated within them.

Accordingly, the stronger view is that a loan becomes deferred when a deferment is stipulated, and the stipulated term is binding. The lender has no right to demand repayment, since he himself agreed to defer it, and because of the proofs mentioned previously.

His statement, “If the borrower returns it, its acceptance is obligatory”: the pronoun in “returns it” refers to the item loaned. Thus, if the borrower returns it to the lender, the lender is obliged to accept it, because it is the very item that belonged to him—provided that it has not changed and that it is not a non-fungible item whose liability is determined by its value. For when he loaned such an item, its value became established as a debt owed by the borrower. Thus, he may say, “I am not entitled to an equivalent item; rather, I am entitled to its value, so give me its value.”

The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that, even if the borrower has made use of it during this period, the lender is still obliged to accept it—particularly if he borrowed it when it was new and then used it, even for a short time, for its value will undoubtedly decrease.