The difference between the two is that the guaranteed loan for use is one whose value must be repaid if it is lost or destroyed, whereas the non-guaranteed loan for use need only be returned so long as the very item itself remains; if it perishes, its value is not owed. The juristic dispute over this will be discussed later, God willing.
14 – The Prophet ﷺ borrowed coats of mail from Safwan ibn Umayyah while Safwan was still an unbeliever. This does not contradict the other hadith, “Go back, for I will not seek help from an idolator,” for the prohibition there concerns seeking the personal assistance of those whose betrayal is feared, especially at the critical hour of battle. Financial transactions—sale, purchase, leasing, or borrowing—are outside the scope of that prohibition.
15 – Here the Prophet’s ﷺ justice, forbearance, and clemency are clear. Although Safwan was an idolator at the time the armor was borrowed and belonged to the people whom the Muslims had conquered by force, the Prophet nevertheless refrained from seizing his property. Instead, he told Safwan that the armor constituted a guaranteed loan for use should it be lost. When some pieces later went missing, the Prophet wished to compensate Safwan for them, but by then Safwan had embraced Islam and willingly waived his claim.
16 – Hanbali jurists place the upkeep of a borrowed mount upon its owner, yet Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah remarked that the school’s legal analogy actually requires the borrower to bear that cost. I would add that the rationale is the obligation to return the borrowed item, which cannot be fulfilled without spending on its upkeep. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Saʿdi likewise held that the correct view is that the expenses of a borrowed mount fall on the borrower, and this conforms to prevailing custom.
17 – It is permissible to appoint an agent to arrange the borrowing and to take possession of the item from the lender.
18 – One sees in this the refined etiquette of Islam and its character as a religion of peace and harmony: it forbids treachery even toward one who has betrayed you, and it does not allow you to meet betrayal with betrayal. Rather, Islam calls for patience and reconciliation, permitting the wronged person to seek redress only to the extent of his right, for it