Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2263
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَسُوَيْدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، وَهَارُونُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ، قَالُوا أَنْبَأَنَا الْمُعْتَمِرُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ فَضَاءٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْ كَسْرِ سِكَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْجَائِزَةِ بَيْنَهُمْ إِلاَّ مِنْ بَأْسٍ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Messenger of Allah forbade breaking the Muslims’ currency that is in circulation among them, except when there is a need.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase refers to the accepted currency in circulation among Muslims; ‘breaking’ is kept close to the source wording, whose precise action is not explained in this report.
قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْ كَسْرِ سِكَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْجَائِزَةِ بَيْنَهُمْ إِلاَّ مِنْ بَأْسٍ " .
The report forbids kasr of the accepted currency but does not specify whether this means physically breaking coins, clipping them, or another form of currency destruction.
What specific action is intended by ‘breaking’ the currency here?