A point of discussion: If the lender demands repayment in another town, but the borrower has nothing with him, then he is insolvent. Allah, exalted is He, says: “And if someone is in hardship, then grant him respite until a time of ease” [al-Baqarah 2:280]. If the lender says, “Yes, he now possesses only enough for his personal expenses, but he is wealthy enough to go to any shop and say, ‘Lend me money,’” then it is not permissible for him to demand repayment, because if he does so, the borrower cannot repay him except by incurring a debt.
His words, “As for that whose transport entails expense, its value,” mean that if he lends him something whose transport entails expense, then he is entitled to its value in the town where the loan was made.
An example is that he lends him one hundred sāʿs of wheat in Mecca and demands them from him in Medina. It is known that transporting one hundred sāʿs of wheat entails expense. The borrower may say, “I am not obliged to do so; the place of repayment is the town where the loan was made, and transporting this entails expense and hardship for me.” Thus, he is not obliged to repay it there.
The apparent meaning of the author’s words, may Allah have mercy on him, is that there is no difference whether the value of what is demanded is equal to, or different from, its value in the town where the loan was made. However, he made an exception, saying:
“If its value in the town where the loan was made is not lower.”
The correct wording is: “higher,” for if it is lower, then there is no harm to him; so, all the more reason, he should be obliged to pay its value.
For example, he lends him one hundred sāʿs of wheat in Mecca and demands them from him in Medina. Its value in Mecca is two hundred riyals, while its value in Medina is three hundred riyals. In this case, he is obliged to repay in Medina, because he will not repay in wheat; rather, the lender is entitled to its value in the town where the loan was made. In the town where the loan was made, its value is two hundred, whereas in Medina its value is three hundred. Thus, we say: “Pay two hundred now, because you are not being harmed.”