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I know of no scholar other than Mujāhid who prohibited pledges at home while permitting them during travel on the basis of the verse’s apparent meaning. Yet its apparent meaning provides no support for his position: Allah’s mention of pledges during travel does not indicate that they are prohibited at home. Rather, Allah Most High directed us to secure debts through pledges when written documentation and witnesses are unavailable. He mentioned travel because it is the circumstance in which written documentation is generally unobtainable.

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It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A pledge must not become irredeemable”; that he said, “A pledged animal may be milked and ridden in return for its upkeep”; that he said, “The pledge is set against the debt it secures”; and that he said, “The pledge belongs to the one who pledged it: its gains are his, and its losses are his to bear.” All these reports establish the permissibility of pledges, since prescribing rulings concerning them implies that they are permissible. Their general wording encompasses both travel and residence. This is clear.

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As for his statement, “A pledge must not become irredeemable,” its meaning is what Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—explained in his Muwatta’. He said: “In our view—and Allah knows best—this refers to a man pledging something to another man for a debt, where the pledge is worth more than the debt it secures. The pledgor says to the pledgee, ‘If I fail to pay you what you are owed by such-and-such a date, the pledge is yours in settlement of the debt.’” He said: “This is neither proper nor lawful, and this is what was prohibited. Even if its owner brings the amount for which he pledged it after the deadline, it remains his, and I consider