that it has become difficult or impossible to obtain. That is, when repayment falls due, if the borrower cannot find an equivalent, then recourse is made to its value. The reason is that when the original is unobtainable, we revert to the substitute, which is its value. This applies even in acts of worship: “And whoever cannot find [an animal for sacrifice]—then a fast of three days” [al-Baqarah 2:196].

But what constitutes unavailability?

The answer is that it may arise in several ways:

First: its absence—namely, when it has disappeared from the market and is no longer available. This is unquestionably unavailability.

Second: exorbitant price inflation. For example, an item worth ten rises in the market until it is worth one hundred. This is excessive inflation that harms the borrower.

Third: burdensome distance: it may be available, but we are now in Unayzah while it is available in Beijing, the capital of China.

In summary, unavailability occurs through one of these three circumstances: absence, exorbitant price inflation, and burdensome distance. This is why the author said, “If the equivalent is unavailable,” so as to include both impossibility and difficulty of obtaining it.

His statement, “then its value,” means: its value at the time it becomes unavailable. Thus, if the equivalent is unavailable, he must return its value at the time of its unavailability—that is, before it ceases to exist altogether. If the lender says, “I want the equivalent,” and the borrower replies, “By Allah, it is not available except in a distant land,” and the lender says, “Go and buy it,” he is not required to do so, because if he purchases it, he will bring it at many times its cost, until it reaches the lender’s town