Understanding ‘Illat in Usury (2)

Previously, it was explained regarding ‘perfume Usury on gold and silver. The strongest opinion is the opinion of Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his students, Al-Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauziyah, that ‘perfume in gold and silver is muthlaqu ats-tsmaniyyah (as absolute value and medium of exchange).

From standard ‘perfume This means that absolutely everything that is used as a medium of exchange falls into the category of usurious assets or commodities, such as gold and silver. This is one of the very important things to know.

Starting from the discussion ‘perfume usury on anxiety and silver, can clearly know some frequently asked questions.

• Why can’t more money be exchanged?
• Is it possible to exchange money without cash?
• Is it permissible to exchange money by transfer and then take the physical money later?
• Is it permissible to use services or admin fees in exchanging money?

And other questions.

The general answer to the four questions above is because ‘perfume on money is ‘perfume on gold and silver. Simply put, the legal standards that exist for money adjust the legal standards that exist for gold and silver. So everything that applies to gold and silver also applies to money. What happens to gold and silver when exchanged?

• Must be cash, no delays;
• There must be the same amount, there cannot be more;
• If there are different types, then the dosage may be different;
• There are no “hidden” additions.

The four points above apply to all types of money. So based on the four points above, the four questions above can be answered.

Why aren’t there more money exchanges?

As with gold and silver, when gold is exchanged for gold, the amount will not be more; when silver is exchanged for silver there cannot be more and it must be the same. As in the hadith ‘Ubadah, Rasulullah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said,

Gold for gold, weight for weight, silver for silver, weight for weight, wheat for wheat, measure for measure, barley for barley, measure for measure.

“Gold and gold must be equal in scales, silver and silver must be equal in scales, wheat and wheat must be equal in measure, poetry and poetry must be equal in measure.” (HR. Al-Baihaqi and ratified by Sheikh Al-Albani God bless)

In another hadith, from Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri, Rasulullah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said,

Gold with gold, silver with silver, wheat with wheat, barley with barley, dates with dates, salt with salt: like with like, hand in hand, then whoever adds or increases, he takes arbi; The recipient and giver are both in it

“Gold with gold, silver with silver, wheat with wheat, sya’ir with sya’ir, dates with dates, salt with salt, must be the same (nominal and measurement), must be paid in cash, whoever adds or asks for additional, then he has committed usury, those who take and give are the same.” (HR. Muslim no. 1584)

The same thing also applies to money, when money is exchanged for money, there cannot be more and the amount must be the same. Why? The reason is because ‘perfume on the same money as ‘perfume on gold and silver. Namely, as value and a medium of exchange.

Sadly, practices like this still occur frequently and are popular among many people in society. When Eid arrives, small denomination coins are sought after; You can see people on the side of the road offering money exchange services with conditions, namely that there must be more.

Profitable and tempting indeed. It is alleged that when Eid arrives, roadside money exchange services make fantastic profits. Per transaction, there is an additional fee that must be paid of 10%. For example, someone wants to exchange one million rupiah, then he must pay one million one hundred thousand rupiah; if it is five million, he must pay five million five hundred thousand rupiah. What if ten million? Twenty million? Etc. You can imagine the multiples obtained from usury transactions.

Although on the other hand there are those who don’t take that much advantage. For example, one million rupiah is exchanged and then one is given a denomination of nine hundred and fifty thousand rupiah. Fifty thousand is considered a service or admin fee. Be aware, any exchange of money that contains “extras”, the law of usury applies to it. And this is what is called usury fadhl

Is it possible to exchange money without cash?

It is not permitted to exchange money in cash. As is clear from the hadith of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam that he requires ribawi commodity transactions when they are of the same type,

Hand in hand

“Hand meets hand (must be paid in cash).”

So, what if it’s not cash? Then it enters usury nasi’ah. This matter should not be taken lightly, “You’re friends,” “You’re still brothers.” Usury is still usury. And this is called usury nasi’ah.

Is it permissible to exchange money by transfer, then take the physical money later?

The answer to this question is the same as the second question. It is not permissible to exchange money by transfer and then take it physically. Of course readers can answer, why is it not allowed? Because there is a grace period for delivery and this is usury nasi’ah.

Is it permissible to use services or admin fees in exchanging money?

Using services or admin fees in exchanging money is no different from “usury fraud”. It is called a service or admin fee, but in reality this is still an additional fee in the exchange. Don’t be fooled by the “naming” given.

The essence of the transaction is a ribawi transaction, the name has been changed to make it look more halal and unclear as to whether it is riba or not. So the answer is, no admin services or fees are allowed.

Unless, if we actually tell someone to go exchange money. We told him, “Please change the money, here’s twenty thousand for you.” This is what is called service.

However, if the form is an additional fee for exchanging money in the form of a percentage; the impact is, the larger the exchange nominal, the greater the profit obtained, So this is not an admin or service fee, but this is actually usury.

Solution

If you really need to exchange money for money, then here is the solution:

• Make sure there are no additional costs;
• Exchange must be made in cash;
• Make exchanges at official institutions or agencies such as banks, cooperatives, and so on. Stick to the two points above.

This discussion is among the benefits of understanding about ‘perfume in the lap so that all prohibitions contained in exchange transactions or other transactions can be avoided.

God bless.

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Depok, 23 Shawwal 1447/ 11 April 2026

Writer: Muhammad Zia Abdurrofi

Article Muslim.or.id