It is not permissible to settle a claim for gold with silver that is to be paid later, nor a claim for silver with gold that is deferred. If the creditor is claiming dinars, however, he may settle the debt with dinars drawn from that very claim, and the same applies to dirhams for dirhams; whoever reduces the amount claimed and then takes it has acted commendably, and in this situation there is neither a sale nor a money-changing transaction.
If a debtor owes one mithqāl (the weight of a gold dinar) together with 20 dirhams—or more—it is permissible to settle the whole debt with dinars: the creditor receives the single dinar that is his due, takes another dinar in place of the dirhams, and waives the surplus. Should either or both of those two dinars be deferred, the settlement becomes invalid.
When someone has consumed another man’s minted dirham, he may settle by giving him an equivalent weight of unminted silver, provided the silver is of the same quality as that contained in the coin; if it is of higher or lower quality, the settlement is invalid. If the original dirham was itself unminted, the quality of the replacement silver is immaterial, for it is bullion for bullion, weight for weight.
If a man dies leaving dinars, dirhams, merchandise, and debts, and his wife reaches a settlement with the other heirs to receive dinars, there is no objection as long as those dinars come from the deceased’s estate. If they are taken from the heirs’ own assets, the settlement is invalid unless the amount exactly equals her lawful share. Some hold that if the dinars or dirhams used in the settlement do not derive from the estate, the agreement is invalid regardless of the amount. If they do come from the estate, the case is examined: should the amount equal her portion or be less, the settlement is valid; if it exceeds her portion, it is invalid.
If the heirs wish to conclude a settlement with her, they must first appraise everything that is due to her from the estate, then purchase her entire share with merchandise containing no dinars or dirhams. That merchandise must differ from any goods that are owed to the creditors, if such goods exist.