Question: Let us return to the original point. You said that when gold is exchanged for gold—even if one side is heavier in weight—it is still impermissible to take any extra consideration. But what if we claim that this extra payment is simply to offset the additional weight?

Answer: Whenever gold is sold for gold, two conditions must be met: equality in amount and immediate hand-to-hand exchange. It is therefore unlawful for either side to receive something extra—whether in the form of additional gold or anything else. Any increase is prohibited, just as it is forbidden to delay the mutual delivery beyond the sitting in which the contract is concluded; possession must take place on the spot.

Tenant’s Rights

Question: My father leased a plot of land for farming. After twenty years the owners asked the tenant to purchase the land, but he could not afford it. They then sold it to someone else for roughly half its current market value because it was under lease. The buyer took the land on the understanding that he would own only half of it. May the tenant claim that half, or may he accept so-called khulū rajul (key money) and vacate the property? Please advise us—may Allah reward you.

Answer: The tenant’s entitlement in that land extends only for the remaining term of his lease. He has a right during that period either to continue benefiting from the land himself, or through an agent, until the lease expires, or to relinquish those remaining years in return for a mutually agreed compensation. Beyond the unexpired portion of the lease he has no claim. Thus, if he wishes, he may complete the term himself, or he may come to an arrangement with the owner—or with the purchaser of the land—accept compensation for the balance of the term, and surrender his rights to it. What he cannot do is become a co-owner of the land merely by virtue of the lease; such a notion is unsound.