and those who follow his view, to selling anything other than gold, silver, and food or drink sold by weight or measure in unequal quantities, whether with immediate delivery or on deferred terms, and whether the two items are of the same kind or different kinds.
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This legal cause was derived through reasoning and independent juristic judgment, since the Prophet—peace be upon him—neither explicitly stated the legal cause in this matter nor indicated it. This is why opinions differed concerning it. It is therefore presumptive, neither known with certainty nor conclusively established. Nevertheless, for someone who considers it a legal cause on the basis of his reasoning and independent juristic judgment, the ruling based upon it is known with certainty and conclusively established.
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The basis from which scholars derived these legal causes is the reliably transmitted report that “the Prophet ﷺ prohibited unequal exchanges within any one of six commodities: gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, and salt.” Many reports concerning this are available. Among them is the hadith narrated by ʿUbāda ibn al-Sāmit and others, in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt: equal quantities, with immediate delivery. Whoever gives or receives more has engaged in ribā. Exchange gold for silver in whatever quantities you wish, with immediate delivery.”
Some narrators of the hadith added: “And wheat for barley in whatever quantities you wish, with immediate delivery.” Some narrators give the wording: “When the two kinds differ, exchange them in whatever quantities you wish, with immediate delivery.”
The view of ʿUbāda ibn al-Sāmit, the narrator of the hadith, was that wheat and barley are two distinct kinds. Al-Shāfiʿī and a number of scholars also held this view. Some who adopted it also cited as evidence the hadith narrated by Mālik, from Ibn Shihāb, from Mālik ibn Aws ibn al-Harthān al-Nasrī, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
“Exchanging gold for silver is ribā unless it is done hand to hand; exchanging wheat for wheat is ribā unless it is done hand to hand,