his actions. He bought something from a grocer, pledged his sandals, and began walking barefoot. He said to him, “If I bring you what is due to you by such-and-such a time, otherwise the sandals are yours.” The grocer agreed, because the sandals could be worth more than the debt. And Allah knows best.

Thus, there are two reports from Imam Ahmad on this issue:

The verbal report: that it is invalid, because it falls under the hadith: “A pledge is not forfeited from its owner” (1).

The practical report: that he himself did this, and this is the stronger view.

It remains for us to address the possibility that the pledged item may equal the debt at the time of the contract, but that its value may increase or decrease by the time the debt falls due.

For example, he pledges this car for fifty thousand and says, “If I bring you what is due to you on the first day of Ramadan, otherwise the car is yours.” At that time, it is worth fifty thousand, but when Ramadan begins, it may be worth twenty thousand, or it may be worth eighty thousand. The price would then be unknown, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited “sales involving uncertainty” (2).

The response is: if the value of the pledged item decreases, then the pledgee has voluntarily waived part of the debt and entered into this with full awareness. But if its value increases, the pledgor will never delay repayment beyond its due time, lest he miss out on that increase. Thus, there is no uncertainty. As for the pledgee, he is permitted to waive