I heard Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) said: Dinar (gold) for gold and dirham for dirham can be (exchanged) with equal for equal; but he who gives more or demands more in fact deals in interest. I sald to him: Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) says otherwise, whereupon he said: I met Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) and said: Do you see what you say; have you heard it from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), or found it in the Book of Allah, the Glorious and Majestic? He said: I did not hear it from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). and I did not find it in the Book of Allah (Glorious and Majestic), but Usama b. Zaid narrated it to me that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: There can be an element of interest in credit.
The Book of Musaqah - Sahih Muslim 1596a
This narration from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri establishes the fundamental principle of riba al-fadl (excess interest) in spot exchanges of the same commodity types. The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited any unequal exchange when trading gold for gold or silver for silver, requiring exact equivalence in weight and immediate transfer.
Scholarly Commentary on Riba Principles
The hadith demonstrates that the prohibition of riba applies not only to deferred payments but also to immediate exchanges where there is inequality. This forms the basis for the classical rule that when exchanging identical ribawi items (gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, salt), they must be equal in quantity and exchanged hand-to-hand.
Abu Sa'id's questioning of Ibn Abbas reveals an important methodological principle in Islamic jurisprudence: when there is apparent disagreement among companions, the stronger position is that which can be traced directly to the Prophet (ﷺ). Ibn Abbas's eventual retraction shows the superiority of transmitted prophetic tradition over personal reasoning in matters of divine law.
The Element of Interest in Credit
The concluding statement "There can be an element of interest in credit" refers to riba al-nasi'ah (interest of delay), where the prohibition extends to any increase charged for deferred payment in loan transactions. This comprehensive prohibition ensures that all forms of exploitative gain are eliminated from financial transactions.