they are not subsequently annulled, whether by a judicial ruling or by a departure from that juristic opinion. If, however, before both parties have taken possession, they seek adjudication from someone who knows these contracts to be invalid, or consult him for a fatwa when their error becomes apparent and the earlier opinion is abandoned, whatever was received on the basis of the earlier belief is allowed to stand.

If the principal and a usurious increment remain owed, the increment is cancelled and the claim is restricted to the principal. The recipient need not return what he previously received on the basis of his earlier belief, just as with those under Muslim protection—and with even greater reason, since the belief held by the latter is certainly false.

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah sanctify his soul—said:

Section

If, in an invalid transaction in which restitution—returning what was received or its equivalent—is impossible, requiring the stipulated consideration or its equivalent is closer to equity than requiring an equivalent of the consideration specified in the contract, by comparison with this property for which compensation is owed, then we say:

Where something is invalid, its equivalent is likewise invalid. A deferred payment is not equivalent to an immediate one, nor is one kind equivalent to the other. Thus, if someone advanced dirhams to another for an item to be delivered later, and it did not