Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 18
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ حَمْزَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي بُرْدُ بْنُ سِنَانٍ، عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ قَبِيصَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ عُبَادَةَ بْنَ الصَّامِتِ الأَنْصَارِيَّ النَّقِيبَ، صَاحِبَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ غَزَا مَعَ مُعَاوِيَةَ أَرْضَ الرُّومِ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى النَّاسِ وَهُمْ يَتَبَايَعُونَ كِسَرَ الذَّهَبِ بِالدَّنَانِيرِ وَكِسَرَ الْفِضَّةِ بِالدَّرَاهِمِ فَقَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّكُمْ تَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " لاَ تَبْتَاعُوا الذَّهَبَ بِالذَّهَبِ إِلاَّ مِثْلاً بِمِثْلٍ لاَ زِيَادَةَ بَيْنَهُمَا وَلاَ نَظِرَةَ " . فَقَالَ لَهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ يَا أَبَا الْوَلِيدِ لاَ أَرَى الرِّبَا فِي هَذَا إِلاَّ مَا كَانَ مِنْ نَظِرَةٍ . فَقَالَ عُبَادَةُ أُحَدِّثُكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَتُحَدِّثُنِي عَنْ رَأْيِكَ لَئِنْ أَخْرَجَنِي اللَّهُ لاَ أُسَاكِنْكَ بِأَرْضٍ لَكَ عَلَىَّ فِيهَا إِمْرَةٌ . فَلَمَّا قَفَلَ لَحِقَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ مَا أَقْدَمَكَ يَا أَبَا الْوَلِيدِ فَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْقِصَّةَ وَمَا قَالَ مِنْ مُسَاكَنَتِهِ فَقَالَ ارْجِعْ يَا أَبَا الْوَلِيدِ إِلَى أَرْضِكَ فَقَبَحَ اللَّهُ أَرْضًا لَسْتَ فِيهَا وَأَمْثَالُكَ . وَكَتَبَ إِلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ لاَ إِمْرَةَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِ وَاحْمِلِ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا قَالَ فَإِنَّهُ هُوَ الأَمْرُ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us: Yahya ibn Hamzah narrated to us: Burd ibn Sinan narrated to me, from Ishaq ibn Qabisah, from his father, that Ubadah ibn al-Samit al-Ansari, the naqib and Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), campaigned with Muawiyah in the Roman lands. He saw people exchanging pieces of gold for dinars and pieces of silver for dirhams. He said: People, you are consuming usury! I heard the Messenger of Allah say: Do not trade gold for gold except like for like; there must be no excess between them and no deferment. Muawiyah said to him: Abu al-Walid, I see no usury in this except where there is deferment. Ubadah said: I relate to you a report from the Messenger of Allah, and you relate your opinion to me? If Allah brings me back, I will not live in a land where you hold authority over me. When he returned, he reached Madinah. Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him: What brought you here, Abu al-Walid? He told him the story and what he had said about not living under Muawiyah authority. Umar said: Return to your land, Abu al-Walid. What a bad land it would be if you and people like you were absent from it! He wrote to Muawiyah: You have no authority over him. Make the people follow what he said, for that is the ruling.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic identifies Ubadah as a naqib, a representative or leader among his people, not specifically the head of the military unit as the English witness claims. The report includes both gold-for-gold and silver-for-silver exchanges in the setup, but the quoted Prophetic wording mentions gold for gold. It prohibits both excess and deferment. Umar then orders Muawiyah not to exercise authority over Ubadah and to make people follow his ruling.