A Research on Money and

Bitcoin According to
Islamic Law and
Economics

Mufti Faraz Adam

www.darulfiqh.com
1|Page

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this research paper are those of the author only and do not in any
way reflect those of the institutions to which he is affiliated.

Arguments and ideas propounded within this research paper are only for research purposes. They
should not be utilised in real-world scenarios as a fatwa would as they are based on developing
research and discussions.

Assumptions made within this research paper are not necessarily indicative of any official positions
held by the author. Conclusions have the possibility of inaccuracy.

Permission to conduct & publish research has been sought from senior teachers and scholars.

The intent of this paper is to stimulate discussion and research among scholars and students of
knowledge.

Consideration is only given and is restricted to the specific links provided, the author does not endorse
nor approve of any other content the website may contain

Any observations or feedback will be appreciated. You may email the author at
muftifaraz@darulfiqh.com
2|Page

About the Author:

Faraz Adam was born in the United Kingdom. After completing college, he enrolled at the prestigious
Darul Uloom Leicester in the quest to study the sacred Islamic knowledge. After six rigorous and
intensive years studying Aqidah, Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, Usul, Arabic grammar, syntax, morphology and
rhetoric, he qualified with distinction and was granted Ijazah in the above disciplines. He studied
further in South Africa at Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, where he completed his Mufti course under the
auspicious tutelage of Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Mufti Husain Kadodia & Advocate Mufti Emran Vawda.
Upon qualifying from the Darul Iftaa as a Mufti (juriconsult), he was accredited with: Masters of Arts in
Islamic Theology with specialisation in Juristic verdicts (Iftaa) and Diploma specialisation in Islamic
Finance under Shaykh Mufti Ebrahim Desai

Faraz is in his final semester in a Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management at the
Markfield Institute of Higher Education under Newman University.

He founded www.darulfiqh.com in 2011- a fatwa portal serving humanity worldwide and specialising in
Islamic Finance advisory & consultancy services.

He served as a lecturer in Islamic studies at Darul Uloom Leicester for a couple of years.

He is the director of the Darul Iftaa Leicester and currently serves full-time with the National Zakat
Foundation in the Services for Zakat Payers where he is engaged in product development & service
provision for Zakat Payers.

Mufti Faraz provides Shariah advisory services to many organisations and individuals, in particular, he is
an Ethica CIFE™ Graduate and serves as a Shariah Advisor with Ethica. He also serves as a Shariah
Advisor at Simplyethical.

He delivers lectures and workshops across UK on different aspects of Islam & specialises in delivering
workshops and courses on Islamic finance and banking.
3|Page

Contents
The Philosophy of Money in Islam .............................................................................................................................4
Is Centralisation Necessary for Money in Islam? .....................................................................................................14
The Types of Money in Islamic law ...........................................................................................................................18
Cryptocurrencies ......................................................................................................................................................19
An Islamic Analysis of Bitcoin ...................................................................................................................................20
Does Bitcoin Qualify as Money in Shariah? ..............................................................................................................22
Fatāwā on Bitcoin .....................................................................................................................................................25
Bitcoin related Fiqh ..................................................................................................................................................31
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................31
APPENDIX 1: Gold and Silver Money ........................................................................................................................32
APPENDIX 2: The Concept of Ta’āmul and Iṣṭīlāḥ .....................................................................................................33
APPENDIX 3: Types of wealth ...................................................................................................................................37
APPENDIX 4: Money in Economics ...........................................................................................................................40
APPENDIX 5: Opinions on Bitcoins ...........................................................................................................................48
APPENDIX 6: How Bitcoin Works ..............................................................................................................................51
4|Page

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify whether Bitcoin fulfils the criteria of being money according to Islamic

law and economics. Digital currencies are a new phenomenon which hold great potential in the Islamic finance

industry. Classical Fiqh and contemporary economics are explored to identify the criteria for something to be

regarded as money. Bitcoin was identified as a new paradigm of currency which fulfils all the criteria of being a

currency according to Islamic law.

The Philosophy of Money in Islam

Islam does not recognise money as a subject-matter of trade, except in some special cases. Money has no

intrinsic utility; it is only a medium of exchange; Each unit of money is exactly equal to another unit of the same

denomination, therefore, there is no room for making profit through the exchange of these units inter se. Profit

is generated when something that has intrinsic utility is sold for money or when different currencies are

exchanged, one for another. The profit earned through dealing in money (of the same currency) or the papers

representing them is interest, hence prohibited1.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) states that benefit from the actual corpus of money is never the objective of

money, rather, it is the exchange which is the objective and benefit of money2. The owner of the money must

spend or put labour to derive benefit from money. Alternatively, he can enter a partnership contract in a profit

and loss sharing model. If the money is lent in the form of a loan, interest cannot be charged on it. Money is

1
Uthmani, M.T. (1998), An Introduction to Islamic Finance,
َ‫م‬
َ ‫اْل مم َوال َوََل َي مقص ُد اَل منت َف‬ َ َ َ َ َ‫م‬ َ َُ ‫َم‬ ‫م َم‬ ُ ‫ َفإ َّن ماْلَ مق‬2
‫ ط‬472 ‫ ص‬29 ‫اع ِب َع مي ِن َها (مجموع الفتاوى ج‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫ود ِم من اْلث َم ِان أن تكون ِم مع َي ًارا ِلْل مم َو ِال َيت َو َّس ُل ِب َها إلى َم مع ِرف ِة َمق ِاد ِير‬
َ ‫ص‬
ِ
)‫مجمع اْللك فهد‬
5|Page

simply a unit of measurement. Thus, money is not a commodity in Islam, but is used by the entrepreneur as a

medium of exchange. Its reward is not guaranteed, instead, it is contingent on the result of production from

productive activity which generates surplus value3.

According to classical Islamic law, Thamaniyyah (monetary value) is the key element in an asset which qualifies it

to serve as currency and money. Thamaniyyah refers to what contemporary economists refer term as a ‘unit of

account’4 and a ‘medium of exchange’. In other words, Thamaniyyah refers to the nature of money possessing

value by which it valuates goods and is widely acceptable in an exchange.

Islamic scholars and Muslim economists state that money is of two types5:

1) Natural (al-thaman al-khilqī) - created to serve as a medium of exchange and naturally possesses

monetary value. Gold and silver are natural money.

2) Artificial and customary (al-thaman al-‘urfī) - used as a medium of exchange and is extrinsically

assigned monetary value. Commodity money6 and fiat currencies are common artificial and customary

forms of money.

3 Bank of England. (2014). 2014 Q1. Quarterly Bulletin, 54(1).

Sanusi, M. (2002). Gold Dinar, Paper Currency and Monetary Stability: An Islamic View. Viability of The Islamic Dinar, 73-90.

)‫ ط دارالفكر‬15 ‫ ص‬8 ‫ ويتوصل به إليها ومما بهذه الصفة قبل الصياغة وبعدها (البناية ج‬،‫واْلعنى بالثمينة كونه بحال يقدربه مالية اْلشياء‬ 4

‫بحوث في قضايا قفهية معاصرة للمفتي تقي عثماني ط دارالقلم‬ 5

6
Commodity money refers to those assets which intrinsically has value and serve another function but become
an acceptable and popular medium of exchange. This was an accepted form of money in Shariah.

Commodity money are assets used as money that also have intrinsic value in some other use. In other words, it
can serve as money as well as commodity due its intrinsic value. Salt, animals, shells, grains etc. are forms of
commodity money. Commodity money is an acceptable form of money in Shariah when people attribute
Thamaniyyah to a commodity.
6|Page

One of the main differences between the two is that natural money has intrinsic Thamaniyyah and customary

money has extrinsic Thamaniyyah. Gold and silver innately possess Thamaniyyah (monetary value) by which

people consider them as stores of value and are ready to exchange goods in lieu of gold and silver. What is

interesting to consider is that besides their unique properties, gold and silver have nothing unique about them

to signify the attribute of Thamaniyyah. Nevertheless, across time, humans have naturally valued gold and

silver. It is as if the Thamaniyyah is placed by Allah into the hearts of humans for gold and silver and thus,

Thamaniyyah has become a permanent description of gold and silver. Besides gold and silver, artificial and

customary money such as commodity money and fiat money do not innately possess Thamaniyyah. Although

commodity money has intrinsic value, it does not have Thamaniyyah. Humans naturally do not perceive

commodities as a medium of exchange, rather, they are the purpose of an exchange. On the other hand, fiat

currencies do not have intrinsic value to serve a function nor do humans naturally consider them to possess

Thamaniyyah, instead, an extrinsic force adds the notion of Thamaniyyah to fiat currencies which is then

perceived by the masses. Thus, there is difference between the following:

1) Al-Thaman al-Khilqī (gold and silver) – intrinsic Thamaniyyah and intrinsic value allowing it to be used for

other purposes such as jewellery.

2) Al-Thaman al-‘Urfī

A) Commodity money – has intrinsic value allowing it to be used for other functions but does

not have intrinsic Thamaniyyah.

Fiat money gets its value from a government order (i.e. fiat). That means, the government declares fiat money to
be legal tender, which requires all people and firms within the country to accept it as a means of payment.
Unlike commodity money, fiat money is not backed by any physical commodity. By definition, it does not have
intrinsic value. Hence, the value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand.
Most of the world’s paper money is fiat money. Fiat money is also an acceptable form of money in Shariah after
the government assign a note, coin or electronic money value and Thamaniyyah.
‫‪7|Page‬‬

‫‪B) Fiat money – No intrinsic value and therefore does not provide any considerable function‬‬

‫‪besides being a medium of exchange. It also has no intrinsic Thamaniyyah.‬‬

‫‪Imam al-Ghazāli (d.505 H) refers to gold and silver as natural money which Allah The Almighty created for‬‬

‫‪mankind to use as a standard and measure to price and valuate7. All forms of gold and silver have an intrinsic‬‬

‫‪element of Thamaniyyah. For more information on gold and silver as currency, see Appendix 1.‬‬

‫‪As mentioned above, customary money incorporates two types of money:‬‬

‫‪1) Commodity money‬‬

‫‪2) Fiat money‬‬

‫‪Commodity money is an asset used as money that also has intrinsic value. In other words, it can serve as money‬‬

‫‪as well as a commodity due to its intrinsic value. Salt, animals, shells, grains etc. are forms of commodity‬‬

‫‪money. Commodity money is an acceptable form of money in Shariah when people attribute Thamaniyyah to a‬‬

‫‪commodity.‬‬

‫ُ ُ م‬ ‫م َ َّ َ َ َ َ م ُ َّ َ َ َّ َ َ َ َ ُ ُّ م َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ م ُ م َ م َ م َ‬
‫ضط ُّرالخل ُق ِإل مي ِه َما ِم من َح ميث ِإ َّن ك َّل ِإن َس ٍان‬‫اَّلل تعالى خلق الدر ِاه ِم والدنا ِن ِيرو ِب ِهما ِقوام الدنيا وهما حجر ِان َل منفعة ِفي أعي ِان ِهما ول ِكن ي‬ ‫‪ 7‬فنقول ِمن ِنع ِم ِ‬
‫ً‬ ‫َ م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫اجا ِت ِه َوق مد َي مع ِج ُز َع َّما َي محتا ُج ِإل مي ِه َو َي مم ِل ُك َما َي مستغ ِني عنه كمن يملك الزعفران مثال وهو محتاج إلى‬ ‫اج إ َلى َأ مع َيان َكث َيرة في َمط َعمه َو َمل َبسه َو َسائر َح َ‬
‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُ مَ ٌ‬
‫ِِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِِ‬ ‫ٍ ِ ٍِ‬ ‫محت ِ‬
‫جمل يركبه ومن يملك الجمل ربما يستغنى عنه ويحتاج إلى الزعفران فال بد بينهما من معاوضة وَل بد في مقدارالعوض من تقديرإذ َل يبذل صاحب‬
‫الجمل جمله بكل مقدارمن الزعفران وَل مناسبة بين الزعفران والجمل حتى يقال يعطى منه مثله في الوزن أو الصورة وكذا من يشتري دارا ثياب أو‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫عبدا بخف أو دقيقا بحمارفهذه اْلشياء َل تتناسب فيها فال يدرى أن الجمل كم يسوي بالزعفران فتتعذراْلعامالت جدا فافتقرت هذه اْلعيان اْلتنافرة‬
‫اْلتباعدة إلى متوسط بينها يحكم بينهما بحكم عدل فيعرف من كل واحد رتبته ومنزلته حتى إذا تقررت اْلنازل وترتبت الرتب علم بعد ذلك اْلساوي من‬
‫غيراْلساوي فخلق هللا تعالى الدنانير والدراهم حاكمين ومتوسطين بين سائر اْلموال حتى تقدر اْلموال بهما فيقال هذا الجمل يسوي مائة ديناروهذا‬
‫القدرمن الزعفران يسوي مائة فهما من حيث إنهما مساويان بش يء واحد إذن متساويان وإنما أمكن التعديل بالنقدين إذ َل غرض في أعيانهما ولو كان‬
‫ً‬
‫في أعيانهما غرض ربما اقتض ى خصوص ذلك الغرض في حق صاحب الغرض ترجيحا ولم يقتض ذلك في حق من َل غرض له فال ينتظم اْلمرفإذن‬
‫مَم‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م ُ م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ مَ‬ ‫ُ َ‬ ‫مَ‬
‫خلقهما هللا تعالى لتتداولهما اْل مي ِدي َو َيكونا َح ِاك َم مي ِن َب مين اْل مم َو ِال ِبال َع مد ِل َو ِل ِحك َم ٍة أخ َرى َو ِه َي الت َو ُّس ُل ِب ِه َما ِإلى َسا ِئ ِر اْلش َي ِاء ْلنهما عزيزان في أنفسهما وَل‬
‫ً‬
‫غرض في أعيانهما ونسبتهما إلى سائر اْلحوال نسبة واحدة فمن ملكهما فكأنه ملك كل ش يء َل كمن ملك ثوبا فإنه لم يملك إَل الثوب (إحياء علوم الدين‬
‫ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 91‬ط داراْلعرفة)‬
‫‪8|Page‬‬

‫‪Fiat money gets its value from a government order (i.e. fiat). That means, the government declares fiat money to‬‬

‫‪be legal tender, which requires all people and firms within the country to accept it as a means of payment.‬‬

‫‪Unlike commodity money, fiat money is not backed by any physical commodity. By definition, it does not have‬‬

‫‪intrinsic value. Hence, the value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand.‬‬

‫‪Most of the world’s paper money is fiat money. Fiat money is also an acceptable form of money in Shariah after‬‬

‫‪the government assign value to a note, coin or electronic money and Thamaniyyah.‬‬

‫‪Thaman, commonly translated as price, is a broad term used to describe any medium of exchange in a sale‬‬

‫‪regardless of what the medium is: currency, assets or a debt8. Every sale contract requires a Thaman for‬‬

‫‪validity9. However, not every Thaman is currency or money. In other words, the trait of Thamaniyyah is not in‬‬

‫‪everything used when paying for goods.‬‬

‫َ م َ م َ م َ َ َ م ً َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م ُ َ َ م َ َّ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ‬ ‫َ َّ َ‬ ‫َّ َ َّ َ َ م ُ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ َ ُ ُ َ َ ً م َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ‬ ‫م َ َّ ُ‬
‫الذ َّم ِة؛‬
‫الذم ِة حتى ولو أ ِش َيرإلى الثم ِن ِحين العق ِد و ِإن كان نقدا فال يتعلق ِباْلش ِارإلي ِه ب مل إنما يتعلق ِب ِ‬ ‫‪( 8‬اْلادة ‪ )152‬الثمن ما يكون بدَل ِللم ِب ِيع ويتعلق ِب ِ‬
‫م م‬ ‫َ َ ُ َ‬ ‫َ َّ َّ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ م َ‬
‫يء ِفي اْل َّاد ِة (‪َ )243‬ل َيت َع َّين ِبت مع ِي ِين ِه ِفي ال َعق ِد‪.‬‬ ‫ِْلن الثمن كما سي ِج‬
‫َ َّ َ ُ ُ َ ً ُ َ َ ُ َّ م َ َ َ م َ م َ َ َ ُّ م َ م َ ُ َّ م َ َ م ُ َ م َ َ َ م َ م َ َّ م ُ َ م َ م م َ َ م َ‬
‫اص‪.‬‬‫والثمن‪ :‬لغة هو ِقيمة الش ي ِء وهذا اْلعنى أعم ِمن معن ماه الشر ِع ِي فنقل مه ِذ ِه ال َك ِلم ِمة إلى اْلعنى الشر ِع ِي هو ِمن نق ِل الع ِام إلى ال َخ ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫اح ُه َو َت مفص ُيل ُه َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫مَ ً َ‬ ‫َ م‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫(م مج َم ُع اْل من ُه ِر) ‪.‬‬ ‫ِ‬
‫إيض ُ‬ ‫َوق مد ُي مست مع َم ُل الث َم ُن ِب َم معنى ال َب َد ِل ُمطلقا َوق مد َو َر َد ِفي اْل َّاد ِة (‪ِ )463‬ب َهذا اْل معنى ف َس َيأ ِتي ِفي ش مر ِح َها‬
‫ال َّالذي َي ُكو ُن ع َو ً‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ م َ م َ م َ ُ َ م َ َّ َ َ م َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م َ‬ ‫َ ُ م َ ُ م َ م َ َّ َّ َ َ م َ َ م َ م َ َ َّ ُ َ ُ م َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ‬
‫ضا َع من‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫الذم ِة وهو اْلعنى الو ِارد ِفي ه ِذ ِه اْلاد ِة‪ ،‬ومعنى أنه بد ٌل‪ :‬أ مي أنه اْل ُ ِ‬ ‫وجملة القو ِل أن ِللثم ِن معنيي ِن ِبمعنى أنه ِقيمة اْل ِب ِيع ويتعلق ِب ِ‬
‫مَ‬
‫اْل ِب ِيع‪.‬‬
‫الذ َّم ِة‪.‬‬ ‫َ َ م َ َ ُّ َ‬ ‫َ ُ َ م َ م َ م َ َّ م َ َ ُ َ م َ م ُ َ ُ َ م َ َ َّ ُ م ُ َ َ َ ُ َ ُّ ُ ُ ُ َ م َ م َ‬ ‫ََم ُ‬
‫فيدخ ُل ِف ِيه وهو ِفي اْلعنى اْلو ِل اْل ِكيالت‪ ،‬واْلوزونات‪ ،‬والعد ِديات اْلتق ِاربة والنقود دون اْلعي ِان ِلعد ِم إمك ِان ت َرت ِبها ِب ِ‬
‫ان َغ مي ُر ماْل مثل َّية َك مال َح َي َوان َو َ‬ ‫ُّ ُ ُ َ م َ َ ُ َ م َ م ُز َ ُ َ م َ م َ ُ‬ ‫َ َّ‬ ‫ُ‬
‫اب (درر الحكام شرح مجلة اْلحكام ج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 123‬ط دار‬ ‫الثي ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫َو َي مدخ ُل ِف ِيه ِب َم معن ُاه الثا ِني النقود واْل ِكيالت واْلو ونات واْلعي‬
‫الجيل)‬
‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ َم َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َّ َ ُ َ م ً َ ُ ُ َ م ُ َ َّ َ َ م َ َ َ م َ م ُ َ َ م ُ َ َ ُ م ُ م َ‬
‫ض (درر الحكام شرح مجلة اْلحكام ج ‪ 1‬ص‬ ‫ض أو ِبغي ِر ِعو ٍ‬ ‫ات أن يم ِلكه اْلشت ِري ِب ِعو ٍ‬ ‫ود غي ِرمعين ٍة أو م ِكيال ٍت أو موزون ٍ‬ ‫كما أن له إذا كان الثمن دينا كنق ٍ‬
‫‪ 235‬ط دارالجيل)‬

‫َ مَم َ َ ٌ ََ م َ َ ُ َ م َ َ َ َ َ مَم ُ َ‬ ‫َ م َ ُ َّ َ‬ ‫م َ َّ ُ‬
‫اس ًدا‪.‬‬‫‪( 9‬اْلادة ‪ )237‬تس ِمية الثم ِن ِحين البي ِع َل ِزمة فلو باع ِبدو ِن تس ِمي ِة ثم ٍن كان البيع ف ِ‬
‫َ َ َ َ َ َ م‬ ‫مُ‬ ‫مُ مَ م َ‬ ‫َ م‬ ‫ان َم مس ُك ًوتا َع من ُه ح َين مال َب ميع َف مال َب مي ُع َفاس ٌد َو َل مي َ َ‬‫َ ُ َ م َ م م ُ َّ َ َ َ م َ ُ ُ َ َ َ َ‬
‫اط ٍل؛ ِْل َّن ال َب مي َع اْلطل َق َيقت ِض ي اْل َع َاوضة ف ِإذا َسكت ال َب ِائ ُع‬ ‫س ِبب ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫يجب ِحين البيع ِذكرالثمن وتس ِميته فإذا ك‬
‫َ َ م َ ُ َ َ م م َ ُ م َ َ ً َ م َ ُ َّ َ َ َ م ُ ً َ َ ُ ُ م َ م ُ َ ً َ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ ِ م َّ َ َ َ ِ َ م ُ ُ َ ِ م َ َ م َ ِ َ َ َ‬
‫اسدا َل‬ ‫عن الثم ِن كان مق ِصده أخذ ِقيم ِة اْل ِب ِيع فكأنه يقول ِبعت م ِالي ِب ِقيم ِت ِه و ِاَلق ِتصارعلى ِذك ِرال ِقيم ِة مجملة يجعل الثمن مجهوَل فيكون البيع ف ِ‬
‫َ ً‬
‫اطال‪.‬‬ ‫ب ِ‬
‫ض ماْلَبيع ََل ُيفيدُ‬ ‫يق ًة َأ مو ُح مك ًما َف مال َب مي ُع َباط ٌل َح َّتى َّ‬
‫إن َق مب َ‬ ‫َ َّ ُ َ َ م َ ُ َ ُ َ َّ َ ُ َ َ‬ ‫َ م َ َّ َ َ م ُ م َ م َ َ ُ م َ‬
‫ويفهم ِمن قو ِل اْلجل ِة ِفي ه ِذ ِه اْلاد ِة (إذا لم يذكرثمن اْل ِبيع) أنه إذا بيع اْلال ون ِفي الثمن ح ِق‬
‫َ ُ م َ ُ م َ م م َ َ َّ‬
‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫م َ م َ م َ م َِ ُ َ م َ ُ َ ِ َ َ ُ ُ م ُ َ م ُ َ َ َ‬ ‫م ُ م َ م م َ َ َ م َّ َ م م‬
‫اْلشت ِر َي ِاْلل ِك َّية؛ ِْل َّن نف َي الث َم ِن نف ٌي ِل ُرك ٍن ِمن أرك ِان البي ِع وهو اْلال فال تكون ِمثل ه ِذ ِه اْلعامل ِة بيعا (الدرر) (درر الحكام شرح مجلة اْلحكام ج ‪ 1‬ص‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬
‫‪ 217‬ط دارالجيل)‬
‫‪9|Page‬‬

‫‪Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) states that the Sharī’ah has not defined any specific condition nor definition for‬‬

‫‪currency and money, and has instead left it to the ‘Urf and understanding of the people10. Hence, the Hanafī‬‬

‫‪Fuqahā’ state that assets or commodities become money and currency by Ta’āmul11 (usage) and Iṣṭilāḥ‬‬

‫‪(common agreement). Imam Ahmad (d.241 H) also opined that currency and money can be identified by the‬‬

‫‪agreement of the people12. When something becomes currency or money in Shariah, the rulings of Zakat,‬‬

‫‪currency exchange, Ribā and other such rulings apply to the currency. For a detailed discussion on Ta’āmul and‬‬

‫‪Iṣṭilāḥ, see Appendix 2.‬‬

‫‪The legal consequences of being Thaman (price)13:‬‬

‫‪1) When transacting, the Thaman (price) becomes a debt upon the buyer.‬‬

‫م َ ُ َ َ ُ َ َ ُ م َ ُ َ ُ َ ٌّ َ م ٌّ َ َ َ م ٌّ َ م َ م ُ ُ َ م َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م َ م َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م َ م ُ ُ َ م م َ َ ُ َ م‬ ‫َ َ َّ‬
‫ض أن‬ ‫الدينارفما يعرف له حد طب ِعي وَل شر ِعي بل مر ِجعه إلى العاد ِة و ِاَلص ِطال ِح؛ وذ ِلك ِْلنه ِفي اْلص ِل َل يتعلق اْلقصود ِب ِه؛ بل الغر‬ ‫الدرهم و ِ‬ ‫‪ 10‬وأما ِ‬
‫َ مَ‬
‫اْل مم َوال َفإ َّن ماْلَ مق ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ م َم ً‬ ‫َ ٌ َ َّ‬ ‫َ ُ َن م َ ً َ َ َ َ َ ُ َن َ َّ َ ُ َ َّ َ ُ َ ُ م َ َ م‬
‫ص َ‬
‫ود‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ص ُد ِلنف ِس َها َب مل ِه َي َو ِسيلة إلى الت َع ُام ِل ِب َها َو ِل َهذا كانت أث َمانا؛ ِب ِخال ِف س ِائ ِر‬ ‫يكو ِمعيارا ِْلا يتعاملو ِب ِه والدر ِاهم والدنا ِنيرَل تق‬
‫ص ُل ب َها ماْلَ مق ُ‬
‫صودُ‬ ‫ورت َها َي مح ُ‬‫ص َ‬‫ض ََل ب َم َّادت َها َوََل ب ُ‬ ‫م َ ُ َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ م ُ َ َّ َ ً م ُ ُ ور َّ م َّ َ م َّ م َّ َ م َ َ ُ م َ م َ‬
‫ض ُة َّالتي ََل َي َت َع َّل ُق ب َها َغ َر ٌ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِاَلن ِتفاع ِبها نف ِسها؛ ف ِلهذا كانت مقدرة ِباْلم ِ الطب ِعي ِة أو الشر ِعي ِة والو ِسيلة اْلح‬
‫َ َ َ َ م‬
‫ك ميف َما كانت‪( .‬مجموع الفتاوى ج ‪ 19‬ص ‪ 252‬ط مجمع اْللك فهد)‬

‫اشت َرى‬
‫َ مَ‬
‫ال ِف ِيه‪ :‬إذا‬ ‫اْل مث َمان ماْلُ مط َل َق ِة؛ ِ َْل َّن ُه َق َ‬
‫َّ م َ َ َ ُ َ م َ‬
‫اب الصر ِف جعله ك‬
‫َ‬
‫وض َو ِفي ِكت‬
‫َ َ م‬ ‫َّ َ‬
‫اب الش ِرك ِة َو َج َعل ُه كال ُع ُر‬
‫َ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ‬
‫س َم ِال الش ِرك ِة؟ ذ ِك َر ِفي ِكت‬ ‫‪َ 11‬و َأ َّما الت مب ُر َف َه مل َي م‬
‫ص ُل ُح َرمأ َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ م َ ُ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ ُ م ُ ُ ُ م ُ م َ م َ م ُ م َ َ َ َ ُ ُ َّ َ ُ َ َ م َ ُ َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ مُ ٌ َ َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َََ َ َ َم َ ُ م َ م ُ َ مَ‬
‫اس‪ ،‬ف ِإن كانوا يتعاملون ِب ِه فحكمه حكم اْلثم ِان اْلطلق ِة‪ ،‬فتجوز الش ِركة ِبها و ِإن كانوا َل‬ ‫ِب ِه فهلك َل ينف ِسخ العقد‪ ،‬واْلمر ِف ِيه موكول إلى تعام ِل الن ِ‬
‫َّ َ ُ‬ ‫َ َ ُ‬ ‫م م‬ ‫َ ُ َ َ م‬
‫وض‪َ ،‬وَل ت ُجوز ِف َيها الش ِركة‪( .‬بدائع الصنائع ج ‪ 6‬ص ‪ 59‬ط دارالكتب)‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫َيت َع َاملون ِب َها ف ُحك ُم َها ُحك ُم ال ُع ُر‬
‫َ مُ َ َ‬ ‫ص ُل مح َرمأ َ َ‬ ‫الصغيرب َم منزَلة مال ُع ُروض َف َل مم َي م‬
‫صل َو مال َجامع َّ‬ ‫مَ مَ‬ ‫م َّ َ َ م َّ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ َّ م ُ َ ُ َ َ َ َ‬
‫ان َغ مي َر َم م‬
‫الش مرك ِة َواْلض َارَبة‬ ‫س م ِال ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫اْل م‬ ‫ض ِة ف َج َعل ُه ِفي ِشرك ِة‬ ‫وب ِمن الذه ِب وال ِف‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ض ُر‬ ‫التبروهو ما ك‬ ‫وأما ِ‬
‫صوص َْل َّن ُه َب معدَ‬ ‫ض مرب َم مخ ُ‬ ‫َ م م َ م َ م َ م َ َ َّ َّ َ َ َ م َّ َ َ َ ٌ َ م م م َ َ م َ َّ ُل ُ َ َ ُ م َ م َ َ َو م ُ ُ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ م َ ُّ َ‬ ‫َ َ ََ ُ‬
‫ٍ ِ‬ ‫اهراْلذه ِب و جهه أن الثم ِنية تختص ِب ٍ‬ ‫وجعله ِفي صر ِف اْلص ِل كاْلثم ِان ِْلن الذهب وال ِفضة ثمن ِبأص ِل ال ِخلق ِة واْلو هو ظ ِ‬
‫م َّ‬
‫وض ِفي ُحك ِم الت مع ِي ِين َو َع َد ِم َج َوا ِز‬ ‫َ َ َّ َ ُ ُ َ ُ َ َ َ ٌ َ َّ َ ُ م ُ ُ َ ُ م م ُ ُ‬ ‫َّ م َ ُ م َ ُ َ َ م َ َ َ ً َ م ُ م َ َ ُ ُ َ م ُ م ُ َ ُ ُّ َ م‬
‫الضر ِب َل ميصرف إلى ش ي ٍء آخرغ ِالبا واْلعتبرهو العرف فكل مو ِض ٍع جرى التعامل ِب ِه فهو ثمن و ِإَل فحكمه كحك ِم العر ِ‬
‫ُ َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫الش مرك ِة َواْلض َارَب ِة ِب ِه‪( .‬تبيين الحقائق ج ‪ 3‬ص ‪ 317‬ط إمدادية)‬ ‫ِ‬
‫م َ ُ َ َ ُّ ُ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م ُ ُ َ َ ُّ َّ َ ُ َ ُ َّ َ َّ َ ُ ُ م م َ َ َ ً َ م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م ُ م ُ َ ُ َ م َ َ َ َّ َ ُ ُ م ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ ُ مُ‬
‫ود وت ِصح الش ِركة ِب ِه ونزل التعامل ِباس ِتعم ِال ِه ثمنا ِبمن ِزل ِة‬ ‫ود َل يتعين ِبالعق ِ‬ ‫التب ِرفهو كالنق ِ‬ ‫قالوا اْلعتبر ِف ِيه العرف ف ِفي ك ِل بلد ٍة جرى التعامل ِباْلبايع ِة ِب ِ‬
‫مَ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َّ ُ م ُ ُ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ م‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ُ م َ‬ ‫اْل مخ ُ‬ ‫َّ م م َ‬
‫ود وَل ي ِصح ِب ِه الش ِركة كذا ِفي الك ِافي (درر الحكام ج ‪ 2‬ص ‪)321‬‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫َ‬
‫وض يتعين ِفي العق ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫وص َو ِفي ك ِل َبل َد ٍة ل مم َي مج ِرالت َع ُام ُل ِب ِه ف ُه َو كال ُع ُر‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ص‬ ‫الضر ِب‬
‫ٌ‬ ‫م َ َ ُ َ َ م َ َ َ م ُ َ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ م‬ ‫‪ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ 12‬م ً م َ َ ُ َ َ م م َ م ُ ُ‬
‫وس‪ ،‬اصطلحوا عليها‪ ،‬فأرجو أَل يكون ِبها بأس‪( .‬اْلغني ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 40‬ط مكتبة القاهرة)‬ ‫فقال‪ :‬إذا كان شيئا اصطلحوا علي ِه ِمثل الفل ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م ُ ُ ُ َ ُ م َ َ ُّ م َ م َّ َ م ً َ َ َ م َ َ ً َ م َ ُ َ م َ م ُ ُن َ م ُ َّ م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ َ َ َ م َ َ ً ُ‬ ‫َ ُّ ُ ُ َ ُ م َ َ ُّ م َ م َّ َ م ً‬
‫الذم ِة فكانت ثمنا ِبك ِل ح ٍال‪ ،‬والعروض َل تستحق ِبالعق ِد إَل عينا فكانت م ِبيعة‪ ،‬واْل ِكيل‪ ،‬واْلوزو غيرالنقدي ِن‬ ‫‪ 13‬والنقود َل تستحق ِبالعق ِد إَل دينا ِفي ِ‬
‫م م م َ ُ م م‬ ‫َ َ م ُ م َّ َ م َ ُ م َ َ ُ ُ ُ ُ م م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ م َ َ ُّ م َ م َ م ً َ ً َ َ م ً ُ م َ َ َ َ َ ً‬
‫اق ِد ِعن َد ال َعق ِد َوَل َي مبط ُل ال َعق ُد‬ ‫َ َ ً‬
‫يستحق ِبالعق ِد عينا ت َارة ودينا أخ َرى فكان ثمنا ِفي ح ٍال م ِبيعا ِفي ح ٍال و ِمن حك ِم الثم ِن أن َل يشت َرط وجوده ِفي ِمل ِك الع ِ‬
‫َّ م َ َّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ات َت مس ِليم ِه َو َيص ُّح ِاَل مس ِت مب َد ُ‬ ‫َ َ‬
‫السل ِم (تبيين الحقائق ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 145‬ط إمدادية)‬ ‫ال ِب ِه ِفي غ مي ِرالصر ِف‪ ،‬و‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِبفو ِ‬
10 | P a g e

2) It is not necessary to own the monetary amount and price (Thaman) at the time of transaction.

3) A transaction is not nullified with the non-delivery of the Thaman.

4) Thaman can be re-negotiated after a transaction except in a ṣarf and Salam contract.

Characteristics of Thaman:

1) Benefit from Thaman is derived by spending. It serves no other purpose whilst in one’s ownership14

2) Thaman is used as a standard for pricing15

3) Thaman is used as a medium of exchange to acquire assets with intrinsic value16

For further information on Thaman and the categorisations of wealth in Islamic law, see Appendix 3.

The Concept of Māl (Wealth)

Besides the attribute of Thamaniyyah, the other pre-requisites for something to be considered money is that it

must be Māl (wealth) and must have Taqawwum (legal value). - Without Taqawwum in money, a trade is legally

fāsid (irregular)-. The schools of law have differed in their understanding of Māl.

According to the Hanafi jurists, Māl is "what is normally desired and can be stored up for the time of need". This

definition denotes that the two key criteria for defining Māl in the Hanafis' view are "desirability" and

“storability”. The first criterion clearly links Māl to its linguistic root mayl, which means inclination or desire.

َ ُ َّ َ َ َّ َ ُ َ َّ ‫ُ َ م‬
‫الدن ِان ُير ِْل مج ِل ِه َو ُه َو الث َم ِن َّية َل ُي مم ِك ُن‬
َّ َ َ ‫َ َّ م‬ َ َّ َ َ َّ ‫م َ ٌ َ م‬ ‫اع به َم َع َب َقاء َأ م‬
ُ َ ‫َ َ مُ ُ ُ َ ُم ُ م‬
‫اع ال ِذي خ ِلقت الدر ِاهم و‬‫ ف ِإن ِاَلن ِتف‬،‫الدنا ِن ِير‬ ‫ص ِل ِه) اح ِترازعن الدر ِاه ِم و‬ ِ ِ ِ ‫ وقوله (ك ُّل ما يم ِكن ِاَلن ِتف‬14
)‫ دارالفكر‬218 ‫ ص‬6 ‫ (العناية ج‬.‫ص ِل ِه ِفي ِمل ِك ِه‬
‫م‬ ‫به َما َم َع َب َقاء َأ م‬
ِ ِِ
‫ واْلعنى بالثمينة‬،‫ اْلراد باْلثمان اْلطلقة الدراهم والدنانير؛ ْلنهما أثمان بكل حال؛ ْلن هللا تعالى خلق الذهب والفضة ثمنا لْلشياء‬:‫ وقال اْلترازي‬15
)‫ ط دارالفكر‬15 ‫ ص‬8 ‫ ويتوصل به إليها ومما بهذه الصفة قبل الصياغة وبعدها(البناية ج‬،‫كونه بحال يقدربه مالية اْلشياء‬
)‫ ط دارالفكر‬15 ‫ ص‬8 ‫(البناية ج‬،‫ ويتوصل به إليها ومما بهذه الصفة قبل الصياغة وبعدها‬،‫ واْلعنى بالثمينة كونه بحال يقدربه مالية اْلشياء‬16
‫‪11 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪Mufti Taqi Uthmani describes desirability as something which is beneficial. However, Shaykh Salah Abul Hāj‬‬

‫‪states that the condition of desirability excludes undesirable articles of trade such as humans etc.17‬‬

‫‪Ibn ‘Ābidīn (d.1252 H) presents another definition of Māl as “something created for the benefit of man which‬‬

‫‪people hoard and have greed for18. Imam al-Lacknawi (d.1304 H) has a similar discussion on Māl19.‬‬

‫‪In terms of storability, Ibn ‘Ābidīn (d.1252 H) states that this condition excludes Manfa’ah (usufruct)20 as‬‬

‫‪Manfa’ah is Milk (something that comes into your ownership) not Māl. In other words, Manfa’āh is something‬‬

‫‪which comes into one’s ownership as a result of trading Māl and is the usufruct of the Māl and not Māl in itself.‬‬

‫‪Thus, in a rental contract, one gets ownership of the Manfa’ah and not the Māl (leased item) which is providing‬‬

‫‪the Manfa’ah. Thus, intangibles which can be stored and retrieved are different to Manfa’ah. The former will‬‬

‫‪be Māl whilst the latter is not Māl according to the Hanafi legal theory.‬‬

‫‪Storability simply means that something can be retrieved for use at a later time. Thus, thin air, an odour or‬‬

‫‪scent, a passing thought in one’s mind are not ‘storable’. The jurists put this condition for Māl because only‬‬

‫‪storable items can be retrieved and used, and the entire purpose of Māl is usage.‬‬

‫‪ 17‬فبقيد‪ :‬ما يميل إليه طبع اإلنسان؛ خرج لحم اْليتة‪ ,‬واإلنسان الحر‪( .‬مذكرات في فقه اْلعامالت ص ‪)12‬‬
‫َُ‬ ‫ُّ ُّ َ‬ ‫م َ ََ م‬ ‫َّ م ُ َ ُ َّ َ ُ َ م م َ َ َ م َ ُ َ َ َ‬ ‫َ َّ م َ َ َ َ ُ َ م‬
‫الضنة اهـ‪( .‬منحة الخالق ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪ 277‬ط سعيد)‬ ‫‪ِْ 18‬لن اْلال ما ي ِميل إلي ِه الطبع ويدخر ِلوق ِت الحاج ِة أو ما خ ِلق ِْلص ِال ِح اْلد ِم ِي ويج ِري ِف ِيه الشح و ِ‬
‫ً‬
‫‪ 19‬واْلال لغة‪ :‬خواسته وايخه درملك كس ي باشد‪ .‬كذا في ((اْلنتهى اْلرب))‪ ،‬وقال صاحب ((البحر))(‪ )277 :5‬ناقال عن ((الكشف))‪ :‬اْلال‪ :‬ما يميل إليه‬
‫ً‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫بتمول الناس كافة‪ ،‬أو ُّ‬ ‫الطبع ويمكن ادخاره لوقت الحاجة‪ ،‬واْلالية‪ :‬إنما يثبت ُّ‬
‫يثبت بها وبإباحة اَلنتفاع به شرعا فما يكون‬ ‫بتقوم البعض‪ ،‬والتقوم‪:‬‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مباح اَلنتفاع يدون ُّ‬
‫تمول [الناس] َل يكون ماَل كحبة حنطة‪ ،‬وما يكون ماَل بين الناس وَل يكون مباح اَلنتفاع َل يكون متقوما كالخمر‪ ،‬وإذا عدم‬
‫م‬ ‫َ‬
‫فخرج به اْليتة والدم وحبة الحنطة وشعيرة وكف تراب وشربة ماء مما هو ليس مال وبقي الخمروالخنزير‬ ‫اْلمران لم يثبت واحد منهما كالدم‪ .‬انتهى‪.‬‬
‫ُّ‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َّ‬
‫وغيرهما مما هو مال لكنه غيرمتقوم للمسلم‪ ،‬اللهم إَل أن يقال اْلراد باْلال ما هو محل البيع‪ ،‬ومحله مال متقوم كما هو العرف عند الفقهاء‪ ،‬والعرف‬
‫يكون قرينة‪( .‬عمدة الرعاية ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪ 8‬ط دارالكتب)‬
‫ال؛ َْل َّن ا مْل مل َك َما منم‬
‫ٌ‬ ‫اجة‪َ ،‬و َأ َّن ُه َخ َر َج باَلد َخار‪ ،‬ماْلَ من َف َع ُة َفه َِي م مل ٌك ََل مَ‬ ‫الط مب ُع َو ُي ممك ُن اد َخ ُار ُه ل َو مقت مال َح َ‬
‫َّ‬ ‫‪ َّ َ َ 20‬م َ َ َّ َ م ُ ُ َ م َ م َ َ َ ُ َ‬
‫يل إل مي ِه‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬
‫َّ م ُ َ م َ َّ ُ َ م ُ ُ م َ م ُ م َ م َ َ ُ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ‬
‫ُّ َ م َ م م َ ُ َ م ُ ٌ َ ُ َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬
‫َ م َم َ‬ ‫َّ م‬ ‫َ‬
‫وع تع ِريف اْل ِال ِبما ي ِم‬
‫م‬ ‫َ موق َد ممنا َأول الَبي ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ َ‬
‫ود اْلنفعة‬ ‫اص كما ِفي التل ِو ِيح‪ ،‬فاْلولى ما ِفي الدر ِر ِمن قو ِل ِه اْلال موجود ي ِميل إلي ِه الطبع إلخ ف ِإنه يخرج ِباْلوج ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ف ِاَلخ ِتص‬ ‫شأ ِن ِه أن يتص َّرف ِف ِيه ِبوص ِ‬
‫ُ م ً َ م َّ َ ُ م َ م َ م َ ُ َ َّ م ُ َ‬ ‫مََ‬ ‫َّ م َ َ‬ ‫َ م َ م َ َ َ َ َ َّ م َ م َ َ َ ُ َ َّ ُ م َ َ َ َّ َ َ َ م ٌ َ َ م ٌ َ َ ً َ َ َ ُ‬
‫يك َل‬ ‫اإل َج َارة َل َب مي َع اْلنا ِف ِع حكما‪ :‬أي إن ِفيها حكم البي ِع وهو التم ِل‬ ‫اإلجار ِة؛ ِْلن ذ ِلك تم ِليك َل بيع ح ِقيقة‪ ،‬و ِلذا قالوا‪ :‬إن ِ‬ ‫فافهم‪ .‬وَل ي ِرد أن اْلنفعة تملك ِب ِ‬
‫َ َّ‬ ‫َُ َ مَ‬
‫َح ِقيقت ُه‪ ،‬فاغت ِن مم َهذا الت مح ِر َير(حاشية ابن عابدين ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪ 51‬ط سعيد)‬
 ‫‪12 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪Although some Hanafi jurists have stated that Māl must be a physical entity, Mufti Taqi Uthmani dispels this‬‬

‫‪argument and states that the Quran and Sunnah have not explicitly defined Māl, rather, Shariah has left it to the‬‬

‫‪understanding of people. Furthermore, he argues that some Furu’ (substantive laws) in the Hanafi school‬‬

‫‪discuss intangibles as Māl. He thereafter quotes the Fatāwā of late Hanafi jurists which consider electricity and‬‬

‫‪gas as Māl despite being intangible. Thus, intangibles can also be Māl on condition they are desirable and‬‬

‫‪retrievable. It is not necessary for intangible Māl to remain after using, it may be an intangible which is‬‬

‫‪consumed and depleted upon usage. The condition of perpetuity is not required in physical Māl either, hence,‬‬

‫‪food is Māl despite being used by consumption.‬‬

‫‪In addition to being Māl, money or the medium of exchange must be Mutaqawwim (possess legal value) for‬‬

‫‪transaction to be legally sound (ṣaḥīḥ) 21. Mutaqawwim refers to an item or subject being lawful to use in‬‬

‫‪Shariah22. Therefore, Ali Haydar (1353 H) states that the criteria for any item to be tradeable and exchangeable‬‬

‫‪are:‬‬

‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ ََ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م َ م َ‬ ‫‪ ُ َ 21‬م َ َ ُ َ م ً َ َ َ َ م َ م َ م َ ُ َن َّ َ ُ َ ً ُ َ َ ً َ َ َ َّ م ُ َ م َ م ُ‬

‫وط ان ِعق ِاد ال َب مي ِع ف ِش َر ُاء َم ٍال ِبث َم ٍن غ مي ِر ُمتق ِو ٍم ُمف ِس ٌد ِلل َب مي ِع َ(ر ُّد‬
‫س ِمن ش ُر ِ‬ ‫ويشترط أيضا ِلعد ِم فس ِاد البي ِع أن يكو الثمن ماَل متق ِوما وهذا الشرط لي‬
‫ُم ُ مَ َ‬ ‫مُ َ‬
‫اْل محت ِار) (انظ مراْل َّادة ‪( )212‬درر الحكام شرح مجلة اْلحكام ج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 177‬ط دارالجيل)‬
‫َ َ ي َ مَمُ َ ٌ َ َ ٌ َ َ َ ً َ َ ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫م َ َ َ ُ‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫م مَ‬ ‫ُ َّ َّ ُ َ م م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َم ٌ‬
‫يعا أ مو ث َمنا‪،‬‬ ‫اطل سواء كان م ِب‬ ‫او ٍ فالبيع ب ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اط ِل أ َّن أ َح َد ال ِع َوض مي ِن إذا ل مم َيك من َماَل ِفي ِد ٍين سم‬ ‫اس ِد ِمن الب ِ‬
‫م‬
‫[تن ِبيه] ِفي ش مر ِح ِمس ِك ٍين‪ :‬ثم الض ِابط ِفي تم ِي ِيزالف ِ‬
‫م َ َ م َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م َم َ َ م َ ُ ًََ َ مَمُ َ‬ ‫ان في َب مع م َ م َ َ ً ُ َ م َ م‬ ‫َ م َ َ‬ ‫الدم َو مال ُحر َب ٌ َ َ َ م َ م ُ‬‫َ َ م ُ م َ م َ َ َّ‬
‫اس ٌد ف َب مي ُع ال َع مب ِد ِبالخ مم ِرأ مو الخ مم ِر‬ ‫ض إن أمكن اع ِتب ُاره ثمنا فالبيع ف ِ‬ ‫ض اْلدي ِان َماَل دون البع ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اطل‪ ،‬وكذا البيع ِب ِه‪ ،‬و ِإن ك ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫فبيع اْليت ِة و ِ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ مَ‬ ‫َّ ُ‬
‫الض ِابط َي مر ِج ُع إلى الف مر ِق َب مي َن ُه َما ِم من َح ميث‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُم‬
‫اط ٌل اهـ‪ .‬قلت‪َ :‬و َهذا‬ ‫م َ م َ‬ ‫م َّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ََمُ م َ م‬ ‫ب مال َع مبد َف ٌ َ م َ َ َّ َ َ م ُ ُ َ ً َ م َ م ُ َ‬
‫اط ٌل فبيع الخم ِر ِبالد َر ِاه ِم أو الد َر ِاه ِم ِبالخم ِرب ِ‬ ‫اسد‪ ،‬و ِإن تعين كونه م ِبيعا فالبيع ب ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫مَ َ َ َ م‬ ‫م َ َ ُّ َ َ م َ َ َ َّ م َ م ُ ُّ م‬
‫الرك ُن َواْل َح ُّل ف ُه َو أ َع ُّم فاف َه مم‪( .‬حاشية ابن عابدين ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪ 50‬ط سعيد)‬ ‫اْلحل فقط‪ ،‬وما مر ِمن حيث‬
‫ً‬
‫‪ 22‬الثاني‪ :‬اْلتقوم‪:‬ما يباح اَلنتفاع به شرعا‪.‬‬
‫فيشترط في اْلال اْلتقوم أمران‪:‬‬
‫ن ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫أن يكون متموَل‪ ،‬فما يكون مباح اَلنتفاع بدون تمول الناس َل يكو ماَل كحبة حنطة‪.‬‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫أن يكون مباح اَلنتفاع‪ ،‬فما يكون ماَل بين الناس وَل يكون مباح اَلنتفاع َل يكون متقوما كالخمر‪.‬‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫وما عدم فيه اْلمران لم يكن ماَل وَل متقوما‪ ،‬مثل‪ :‬الدم‬
‫وحاصله أن اْلال أعم من اْلتقوم; ْلن اْلال ما يمكن ادخاره ولو غيرمباح كالخمر‪ ,‬واْلال اْلتقوم ما يمكن ادخاره مع اإلباحة‪ ,‬فالخمرمال َل متقوم‪ ,‬فلذا‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫فسد البيع بجعلها ثمنا‪ ,‬وإنما لم ينعقد أصال بجعلها مبيعا; ْلن الثمن غيرمقصود‪ ،‬بل وسيلة إلى اْلقصود؛ إذ اَلنتفاع باْلعيان َل باْلثمان؛ ولهذا‬
‫‪13 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪1) Tamawwul‬‬

‫‪2) Taqawwum23‬‬

‫‪Tamawwul refers to anything used as Māl. Taqawwum refers to the item being lawful in Shariah and hence it‬‬

‫‪possesses legal value.‬‬

‫‪Considering the above, a currency does not have to be tangible to be Māl, it can be digital or intangible and still‬‬

‫‪be regarded as Māl as long as the currency is stored somewhere, whether a digital wallet, bank account or‬‬

‫‪somewhere else. Electronic money is prime example of intangible Māl. Electronic money is simply digits that‬‬

‫‪appear on a screen, however, it qualifies as currency due to the presence of Thamaniyyah, Māl and Taqawwum.‬‬

‫‪It is these three features in currency which define money in Islamic economics and law. These three features‬‬

‫‪are similar to what conventional economists define as the functions of money. Thamaniyyah refers to being a‬‬

‫اشترط وجود اْلبيع دون الثمن‪ ,‬فبهذا اَلعتبارصارالثمن من جملة الشروط؛ ْلن البيع وإن كان مبناه على البدلين لكن اْلصل فيه اْلبيع دون الثمن;‬
‫ولذا تشترط القدرة على اْلبيع دون الثمن وينفسخ بهالك اْلبيع دون الثمن (مذكرات في فقه اْلعامالت ص ‪)12‬‬

‫مَ ُ مَُ َ‬ ‫مَ ُ‬

‫ال اْلتق ِو ُم]‬ ‫[ (اْل َّادة ‪ )127‬اْل‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫مَ ُ مَُ َ‬ ‫مَ ُ‬
‫ال اْلتق ِو ِم ُي مست مع َم ُل ِفي َم معن َي مي ِن‪:‬‬ ‫(اْل َّادة ‪( )127‬اْل‬
‫اح اَل منت َف ُ‬ ‫م َ َّ ُ َ ُ َ ُ‬
‫اع ِب ِه‪.‬‬ ‫اْلول‪ :‬ما يب ِ ِ‬
‫َ م َ م َ م ُ م َ َ َّ َ ُ م َ م َ م ُ ُ َ َ َ َ ُ م َ َ َ ُ َ َ ً م‬ ‫َ َّ‬
‫اإل مح َر ِاز) ‪.‬‬
‫والثا ِني‪ِ :‬ب َمعنى اْل ِال اْلحر ِز فالسمك ِفي البح ِرغيرمتق ِو ٍم و ِإذا اص ِطيد صارمتق ِوما ِب ِ‬
‫َ م‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ مَ‬ ‫َ مَ َ م‬
‫فاْل معنى اْل َّو ِل ُّي ُه َو َم معنى اْل ِال الش مر ِع ِي َوالثا ِني َم معن ُاه ال ُع مر ِف ُّي‪.‬‬
‫َ م ً َ َ َمَ ََ َ‬ ‫م َ م ُ َ َ ً َ َ َّ َ م َ ُ َ َ َ ُ َ ُ ُ َ ٌ َ ُ َ م َ م َ َ ٌ َ ُ َ َ ٌ َ م ً َ َّ َ م ُ َ م م َ م ُ َ م َ م ُ‬ ‫ََ م ُ م َ‬
‫وح كاْلخنو ِق خنقا ف ِب َما أ َّن أكل ُه َوتن ُاول ُه‬ ‫وح م مثال‪ِ ،‬بما أن َأكله َ َوتناوله ممباح فه مو ِمن ه ِذ ِ ًه ال ِجه ِة مال ومتق ِوم أيضا‪ .‬أما لحم غي ِراْلذب ِ‬ ‫وف اْلذب ِ‬ ‫فلحم الخ ُر ِ‬
‫ض َماَل‪.‬‬‫وع َفم من َهذه الج َهة ُي َع ُّد غ مي َر ُمتقوم َوإن َع َّد ُه ال َب مع ُ‬ ‫َح َر ٌام َو َم مم ُن ٌ‬
‫ٍِ ِ‬ ‫ِِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ُ م َ م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َمَ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫َ َ َ َ َّ ُ م م َ َ م َ ُ م َ م ً َ َ م َ م َ ُ َ َ َ ً م َّ م َ َ َ ُ َ ٌ َ َ م‬
‫اح فل مي َست ِب َم ٍال ك َما ق مد أ مسلفنا‪ .‬كذ ِل َك ال َح َي َوان ال ِذي َي ُموت َحتف أن ِف ِه َل‬ ‫كذ ِلك حبة ال ِحنط ِة و ِإن تكن وفقا ِلهذا اْلعنى متق ِومة أي أن ِاَلن ِتفاع ِبها مب‬
‫ً‬
‫ُي َع ُّد َماَل‪.‬‬
‫َ‬ ‫اح َع َلى َج َواز م‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫م َ َّ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ َ ُ م َ ُ َ َّ ُ َّ َ م ُ َ م ُ ُ ٌّ م َّ َ ُّ َ َّ َ ُّ َ َ َ ُ ُ َ ً َ َ ُ َ ُّ ُ َ َ ً َ َ َ م‬
‫اس ِت مع َم ِال ك ِل َم ِة‬ ‫ِ‬
‫يض ُ‬
‫فعلى هذا يفهم أن كل ش ي ٍء ف ِقد َ ِمنه كل ِمن التمو ِل والتقو ِم فال يكون ماَل وَل يعد متق ِوما وسيأ ِتي ِفي اْلاد ِة (‪ِ )363‬‬
‫اإل‬
‫َّ‬ ‫مَ َ م‬ ‫َ مَ َ‬ ‫مَُ َ‬
‫(اْلتق ِو ِم) ِفي ِكال اْل معن َي مي ِن اْل معنى اْل َّو ِل َوالثا ِني‪( .‬درر الحكام شرح مجلة اْلحكام ج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 116‬ط دارالجيل)‬
‫‪23‬‬
14 | P a g e

medium of exchange and a unit of account. Māl refers to being a store of value. Taqawwum is similar to being a

standard of deferred payment as it has value.

To understand money further, the definition and description of money according to economists can be seen in

Appendix 4.

Is Centralisation Necessary for Money in Islam?

Until the caliphate of Abdul Malik ibn Marwān, the Islamic government did not control the currency nor its

coinage. The Islamic government did not have a ‘Royal Mint’, however, Sayyiduna ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

raḍiyallahu ‘anhu did introduce some measures to stabilise the alloy, content and weight of silver coins. In the

year 74 AH, the government of Abdul Malik ibn Marwān established a monetary system and an Islamic dirham24.

Furthermore, mint houses were established which took control of the coins in circulation and improved the

quality and consistency of the currencies25.

In the early decades of Islam, money was thus decentralised and left to public practice. However, one may

argue that money was still centralised since the Muslims used the Dinar – a Byzantine currency – and Dirham – a

Persian currency.

َ َ‫م‬ َ َ َ َّ ‫م‬ ََ
184 ‫ ص‬3 ‫( مطالب أولي النهى في شرح غاية اْلنتهى ج‬. .‫(على َع مه ِد ال َح َّج ِاج) الثق ِف ِي ِفي ِخالف ِة َع مب ِد اْل ِل ِك مب ِن َم مر َوان‬
َ ‫م‬
‫اإل مسال ِم‬ َ َّ ‫َ َ َّ ُ َ م‬
ِ ‫ (وأول ضر ِب الدر ِاه ِم) ِفي‬24
)‫ط اْلكتب اإلسالمي‬

25 Zarra-Nezhad, M. (2004), ‘A Brief History of Money in Islam and Estimating the Value of Dirham and Dinar’,Ahvaz: Shahid

Chamran University
‫‪15 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪The Hanafi jurists state that Ta’āmul can establish currency just as coinage and minting from the government‬‬

‫‪established currency26. The Hanafi jurists reasoned that anything minted and centralised would give a known‬‬

‫‪benchmark and point of reference, thus, creating ease in the markets and facilitating transactions.‬‬

‫‪The Shafi’ī jurists state that it is disliked for other than the government to mint coins and currency as it was the‬‬

‫‪role of the government. Furthermore, it was a secure method to combat counterfeiting, forgery and‬‬

‫‪corruption27.‬‬

‫‪The Hanbali jurists are explicit in stating that it is not permissible for the Sultan to ban the currency commonly‬‬

‫‪used by people as it will cause financial harm to the people, unless they are recompensed proportionately in the‬‬

‫َ َّ ُ م َ َ َ َ ُ م َ ُ َ َ م َ َ َ ً َّ َ م َ م َي َّ‬
‫الت َع ُام ُل ب م‬ ‫ص ب َّ م م َ م ُ‬ ‫م َ م َ َ َّ َّ‬
‫الث َمن َّي َة َت مخ َت ُّ‬ ‫َ م ُ م َ َّ َ ُ َ َ‬
‫اس ِت مع َم ِال َها‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اهرا إَل أن يج ِر‬
‫وص ِْلنه ِعند ذ ِلك َل يصرف إلى ش ي ٍء آخر ظ ِ‬
‫الضر ِب اْلخص ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اه ُراْلذه ِب أن ِ‬ ‫‪ 26‬وجه اْلو ِل وهو ظ ِ‬
‫َّ م َ َ ُ ُ َ َ ً َ َ م ُ ُ َ م ُ م َ‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ ً َ م‬
‫س اْل ِال‪(.‬مجمع اْلنهرج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 720‬اْلعرفة)‬ ‫ث َمنا ف َين ِز ُل الت َعا ُم ُل ِب َمن ِزل ِة الضر ِب فيكون ثمنا ويصلح رأ‬

‫َ َّ َ ُ َل َّ َ َّ َّ ُ َ َ م َ َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ َّ َ‬ ‫مَ م ُ َ م َ‬ ‫َ ُ َّ‬ ‫َّ ُ ُ م ُ م َ‬ ‫َ مَ م َ ُ‬ ‫‪َّ َ َ 27‬‬

‫(م من غشنا‬ ‫َّلل صلى اَّلل علي ِه وسلم قال‬ ‫يث الص ِح ِيح أن رسو ا ِ‬
‫َّ‬
‫اف ِع ُّي واْلصحاب َر ِح َم ُه ُم اَّلل يك َره ِل ِْلم ِام ض مرب الد َر ِاه ِم اْلغشوش ِة ِللح ِد ِ‬ ‫ال الش ِ‬ ‫ق‬
‫اْل مج َالب َو َغ مي َر َذل َك منم‬ ‫م ُ ُ َ ََ َ مَ م َ َ م َ َ مَ‬ ‫َ َ م َ َّ َ َ ُ م ُ َ ُّ َ ُ م ٌ م َ َ َ ُ َ م َ َ‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫فليس ِمنا) رواه البخ ِاري ومس ِلم ِمن ِرواي ِة أ ِبي هريرة وَلن فيه افسادا للنقود واضراربذوى الحقو ِق وغالء اْلسع ِاروان ِقطاع‬
‫َ‬ ‫َم م‬ ‫َّ ُ َ‬ ‫ض مر ُب ماْلَ مغ ُشوش ْلَا َذ َك مرَنا في ماإل َمام َوِ َْل َّن ِف ِيه ماف ِت َئ ًاتا َع َلى م َ َ َ َّ ُ َ م َ َ َ م َ ُّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ م َ َُ َُ م َُ َم م‬ ‫مََ‬
‫اإلم ِام‬ ‫اإلم ِام وِْلنه يخفى فيغتر ِب ِه الناس ِب ِخال َِف ضر ِب م ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اإل َم ِام‬‫ِ‬ ‫اس ِد قال أصحابنا ويكره ِلغي ِر‬ ‫اْلف ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ َ م َ َ ً َّ‬ ‫َ م ُ َّ َ َ َّ َ‬ ‫م ُ َ َّ َ َ م ُ ُ م م َ م َ َ َ َ م َ ُ َ َ ُ م َ ُ َ م ً َ م م‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َُ‬ ‫َ َ مَ‬
‫صة ِْلن ُه ِم من شأ ِن‬ ‫الدنا ِن ِيروإن كانت خ ِال‬ ‫اإل َم ِام ضرب الدر ِاه ِم و‬ ‫اب قال أصحابنا َويكره أيضا ِلغي ِر ِ‬ ‫اض ي أبو الط ِي ِب ِفي اْلجر ِد وغيره ِمن اْلصح َِ‬ ‫قال الق ِ‬
‫ص ِف َيها َق َ‬ ‫وش ًة ُكر َه َل ُه مإم َس ُاك َها َب مل َي مسب ُك َها َو ُي َ‬ ‫َّ َ َ م َ ُ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م ُ َ‬ ‫َ م م َ ُ َ َ مَ‬ ‫َ َّ‬ ‫م‬
‫ال‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اض ي أ ُبو الط ِي ِب قال أصحابنا ومن ملك در ِاهم مغش‬ ‫اإلفساد قال الق ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اإل َم ِام َوِْلن ُه َل يؤمن فيه لغش و‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ َّ َ َ م َ م َ ُ َ َ َّ‬ ‫مَ م ُ‬ ‫َّ ُ َ م ُ َ َ َ َ م َ‬ ‫َّ َ َ َ م َ َ م َ َ َ م ُ َ ً َ َ ُ م ُ م َ ُ َ َ م َ َّ َّ‬ ‫مَ‬
‫اب َعل مي ِه ِْلن ُه‬ ‫وش واتفق اْلصح‬ ‫اك اْلغش ِ‬ ‫اف ِع ُّي َر ِض َي اَّلل عنه على ك َراه ِة إمس ِ‬ ‫اض ي إَل إذا كانت د َر ِاهم البل ِد مغشوشة فال يك َره إمساك َها وقد نص الش ِ‬ ‫الق ِ‬
‫ُّ َ َ م ُ ُ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ م ُ م م َ َ َ َ َ َّ َ ُ َّ‬
‫َّلل ت َعالى أ معل ُم‪( .‬اْلجموع ج ‪ 6‬ص ‪ 11-10‬ط دارالفكر)‬ ‫اف ِعي وغيره وا‬ ‫يغربه ورثته إذا مات وغي َرهم ِفي الحي ِاة كذا علله الش ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ م َ َّ َ َ م َ َّ‬ ‫وشة ل مل َحديث َّ‬ ‫مَ م ُ َ‬ ‫َ ُ َّ‬ ‫َ مَ م َ ُ ُم ُ م َ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ َ َ م م ُ َ َّ َ َ َّ‬
‫س ِمنا» ) َوِْل َّن ِف ِيه‬ ‫الص ِح ِيح‪« ( :‬من غش فلي‬ ‫ال الشا ِف ِع ُّي واْلصحاب‪ :‬يك َره ِل ِْلم ِام ض مرب الد َر ِاه ِم اْلغش ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫الث ِالثة‪ :‬قال ِفي شرح اْلهذ ِب ق‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ م ُ مَ م ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ م َ َُ َُ م َُ َم م‬ ‫م َ ً ُّ ُ َ ِ م َ ً َ ي م ُ ُ ق َ َ َ َ م َ م َ َ م َ َ م َ م َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ م َ َ‬
‫وش ِْلا‬ ‫اإلم ِام ضرب اْلغش ِ‬ ‫اس ِد‪ ،‬قال أصحابنا‪ :‬ويكره ِلغي ِر ِ‬ ‫ود و ِإضرارا ِبذ ِو الحقو ِ وغالء اْلسع ِار‪ ،‬وان ِقطاع اْلجال ِب وغيرذ ِلك ِمن اْلف ِ‬ ‫إفسادا ِللنق ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َم م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫م َ ً َ َ م َ َ َ َّ ُ َ م َ َ ُ م َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َِ َ م َ ُ م َ َ َ‬
‫اإلم ِام‪.‬‬‫اإلم ِام وِْلنه يخفى فيغتر ِب ِه ِب ِخال ِف ضر ِب ِ‬ ‫ام‪ ،‬وِْلن ِف ِيه اف ِتئاتا على ِ‬ ‫اإلم ِ‬‫ذكرناه ِفي ِ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م ُّ َ م م‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ م ُ َّ َ َ َّ َ َ م َ َ م َ َ ً َ َّ ُ م َ م م َ َ َ َّ ُ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ َ م َ م َ ُ ُ م َ ُ َ م م‬
‫اإلفساد‪( .‬الحاوي‬ ‫اإلم ِام وِْلنه َل يؤمن ِف ِيه ال ِغش و ِ‬ ‫اإلم ِام ضرب الدر ِاه ِم والدن ِان ِيرو ِإن كانت خ ِالصة ِْلنه ِمن شأ ِن ِ‬ ‫الر ِابعة‪ :‬قال اْلصحاب‪ :‬يكره ِلغي ِر ِ‬
‫للفتاوى ج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 119‬ط دارالفكر)‬
‫‪16 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪new currency without a fee28. Considering the benefit and harm for the masses, Imam al-Ṣuyūṭī (d. 911 H) also‬‬

‫‪states that it is disliked for the government to withdraw or nullify a currency commonly used among people29.‬‬

‫‪Al-Buhūtī (d.1051 H) says that the reason why the government should solely take control of minting is to benefit‬‬

‫‪the people and to make it easy for them in their transactions and affairs30.‬‬

‫‪From the above, it is evident that the jurists and economists in Islam favoured a centralised monetary system‬‬

‫‪because of the following reasons:‬‬

‫‪1) Trust in the currency‬‬

‫‪2) Presence of a regulatory framework‬‬

‫‪3) Secure system‬‬

‫‪4) Wide acceptance‬‬

‫‪5) Ease for the people in pricing and transacting‬‬

‫الن ُق َ‬‫َ َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ م ُ َ ُ م ُّ‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫‪ ُّ ُ ُ َ َ َ 28‬م َ َ م ُ ُّ ُ َّ َ‬
‫ود‬ ‫اس) َوض مرُب ُه غ مي َر َها ل ُه مم‪(ِ ،‬ل ُيف ِس َد َما ِعن َد ُه مم ِم من اْل مم َو ِال) ‪ ،‬ويت ِجر ِبما ضرب‪ ،‬بل يض ِرب لهم‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ود ال ِتي ِبأ مي ِدي الن‬
‫(وَل يجوز ِللسلط ِان تحريم النق ِ‬
‫الناس‪َ ،‬و َأ مكل َأ مم َواله مم ب مال َباطل‪َ ،‬فإ َّن ُه َإذا َح َّر َم ماْلُ َع َام َل َة بهاَ‬ ‫ُ م َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ َ َ ُم‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م َ ِ م َ َ م َ َّ َ‬ ‫َ َ م َم م‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِِ ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اب ظل ِم‬
‫التجار ِة َ ِفيها ظلما ع ِظيما‪ِ َ ،‬من أبو ِ‬ ‫ِب ِقيم ِتها ِمن غي ِر ِرب ٍح ِف ِيه ِللمصلح ِة العام ِة‪ ،‬ف ِإن ِفي ِ‬
‫م َ َُ َ َم ُ َم َ م ُ‬ ‫م َ م َ ََ َ ُ م َ َ م ُ ُ مَ‬ ‫َ َ م َ َ ً َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ م ُ ُ ً ُ م َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ م م مَ َ م‬
‫وش‬
‫ص أسع ِار ِهم‪ ،‬فظلمهم ِفيما يض ِربه ِب ِإغال ِء ِسع ِرها (وك ِره ضَرب نق ٍد مغش ٍ‬ ‫صارت عرضا‪ ،‬و ِإذا ضرب لهم نقودا أخرى أفسد ما كان ِبأي ِد ِيهم َ ِمنها ِبنق ِ‬
‫اس َإذا ُرخ َ‬ ‫الن َ‬ ‫َّ َّ‬ ‫ُّ م َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫الد َ اهم َّإَل في َدار َّ‬ ‫ال) م َ ُ م َ ُ َ َ م ُ ُ َ م ُ َّ‬ ‫الس مل َطان‪َ .‬ق َ‬
‫ض مر ٌب ل َغ مير ُّ‬
‫َ َ ُ ُ َ ًّ َ َ َ َّ َ َ ُ َ َ‬
‫ص‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫السلط ِان) ؛ ِْلن‬ ‫الض مر ِب ِب ِإذ ِن‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اإلمام (أحمد‪َ :‬ل يصلح ضرب ر ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫و ِا ِتخاذه‪ ،‬نصا) وتقدم‪( .‬وك ِره‬
‫َ‬
‫الص َّناع م من َب ميت ماْلَال) ؛ ْل َّن ُه منم‬ ‫ُ‬
‫الس مل َطان‪ْ ،‬لَا فيه م من اَل مفت َئات َع َل ميه‪(َ ،‬و ُي معطي أ مج َر َة ُّ‬‫ُّ‬ ‫َ َ م ُ َ م َّ م َ م م‬ ‫َ م َ ُ م َ َ َ َ َ مَ‬
‫ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫اض ي‪ :‬فقد م ِنع ِمن الضر ِب ِبغي ِرإذ ِن‬ ‫ل ُهم‪ ،‬ر ِكبوا العظا ِئم‪ .‬قال الق ِ‬
‫ص ِال ِح ال َع َّام ِة‪ (.‬مطالب أولي النهى في شرح غاية اْلنتهى ج ‪ 3‬ص ‪ 185-184‬ط اْلكتب اإلسالمي)‬
‫م‬ ‫ماْلَ َ‬

‫َّ ُ‬ ‫َّ َ م ُ م‬ ‫َ م َ م ُ َ َ َ َ ُ ُ َّ َ َّ َّ ُ َ‬ ‫َ َ م َ ُ‬ ‫‪ 29‬م ُ َ ُ م َ ُ م َ م َ ُ م ُ َ َ َ م َ َ َ م َ َّ‬

‫اَّلل َعل مي ِه َو َسل َم أن تك َس َر ِسكة‬ ‫اس ِْلا أخ َرجه أبو داود ع ِن اب ِن مسع ٍ‬
‫ود قال‪« ( :‬نهَى رسول ِ‬
‫اَّلل صلى‬ ‫اْلولى‪ :‬يكره ِل ِْلم ِام ِإبطال اْل معامل ِة الج ِاري ِة بين الن ِ‬
‫س» ) ‪( .‬الحاوي للفتاوى ج ‪ 1‬ص ‪ 119‬ط دارالفكر)‬ ‫م ُ م َ م َ َ ُ َ م َ ُ م َّ م َ‬
‫اْلس ِل ِمين الج ِارية بينهم ِإَل ِمن بأ ٍ‬
‫َ َّ ُ‬ ‫ََ‬ ‫ُ َ ََ م م َم ُم َ م َ م ً ََم م ََ م‬ ‫َ م َم‬ ‫ُّ م َ َ م َ م َ َ ُ م َ م َّ َ َ ُ ُ ً َ ُ ُ‬ ‫م‬
‫اش ِه مم َ(وَل َيت ِج ُرذو‬ ‫الرعايا (فلوسا تكون ِب ِقيم ِة العد ِل ِفي معامال ِت ِهم ِمن غي ِرظل ٍم ل ُهم) تس ِهيال علي ِهم‪ ،‬وتي ِس ًيرا ِْلع ِ‬ ‫‪(َ 30‬ين َب ِغي ِللسلط ِان أن يض ِرب لهم) أي‬
‫ضي ٌ‬
‫يق‪.‬‬ ‫ضرَب ُه َف َي َّتج َرفيه) َْل َّن ُه َت م‬ ‫اسا َف َي م‬ ‫الس مل َطان في مال ُف ُلوس‪ ،‬ب َأ من َي مش َتر َي ُن َح ً‬ ‫ُّ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫َ ِ ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ م َ ٌ َ م م َ م َ م ُ ُّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫ض َر ُب ل ُه مم غ مي َر َها) ْلن ُه م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫وس التي بأ ميديه مم َو َي م‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ََ م ُ َ َ َ م‬
‫َ‬
‫يم ِت ِه ِم من غ مي ِر ِرمب ٍح ِف ِيه‬
‫وسا (بق َ‬
‫ِِ‬
‫اس فل ً‬ ‫الن َح َ‬ ‫اس‪ ،‬وخسران علي ِهم (بل يض ِرب)‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫إض َر ٌار ِبالن‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫(وَل ِبأن يح ِرم عل مي ِهم الفل َ ِ ِ ِ‬
‫مُ َ َ‬ ‫َ َّ َ‬
‫اط ِل ف ِإن ُه إذا َح َّر َم اْل َع َاملة‬ ‫الن َ َ م َ م َ م م َ‬ ‫ُ م َّ‬ ‫الص َّناع م من َب ميت ماْلَال َفإ َّن َ َ َ َ ُ م ٌ َ ٌ م َ م َ‬ ‫ص َل َحة مال َع َّامة‪َ ،‬و ُي معطي ُأ مج َر َة ُّ‬ ‫ل مل َم م‬
‫اس وأك ِل أمو ِال ِهم ِبالب ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اب ظل ِم‬ ‫التجارة ِفيها ظلم َع ِظيم ِمن أب َو ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ َ‬ ‫ُم‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫ان ع من َد ُه مم م من ماْل مم َوال ب َن مقص أ مس َعار َها َف َظ َل َم ُه مم ف َ‬
‫يما َي م‬ ‫َ َ َ م َ َ ً َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ م ُ ُ ً ُ م َى َ م َ َ َ َ َ‬
‫ض ِرُب ُه ِب ِإغال ِء ِس مع ِر َها قلت‪َ :‬وق مد َوق َع‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬ ‫د‬ ‫س‬ ‫ف‬ ‫أ‬ ‫ر‬ ‫خ‬ ‫أ‬ ‫ا‬ ‫وس‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ف‬ ‫م‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ب‬‫ر‬ ‫ض‬ ‫ا‬ ‫إذ‬ ‫)‬ ‫و‬ ‫ا‪،‬‬ ‫ض‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ص‬
‫ِ ار‬ ‫ا‬‫ه‬‫ب‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ َ َ َ م َم َ ُ َ َ ََ َ ََ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ ََ َ‬
‫ات‪ ،‬وفسدت ِب ِه أموال ك ِث ِيرين‪ ،‬وزاد علي ِهم الضرر‪( .‬كشاف القناع ج ‪ 2‬ص ‪ 232‬ط دارالكتب العلمية)‬ ‫ذ ِلك ِفي زم ِننا مر ٍ‬
17 | P a g e

6) A benchmark for transactions

Thus, if these characteristics are found in a decentralised system, there is nothing to prohibit such a system in

Islam. These underpinning principles are the ideals for currency and money in Islam. The government and ruling

authority would have been the most efficient and instrumental in achieving these ideals. It is on the back of this

it seems that classical scholars favoured a centralised system. However, the reality is that the Quran and Sunnah

have not defined currency, instead, they have left it to the understanding of the people and custom of the

people as mentioned by Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728 H). This is a common feature for those aspects of law

which are fluid, dynamic and adjustable31.

Considering that a centralised system is not necessary, Shaykh Abdullah al-Mani’ states:

“Money is thus whatever is agreed to be such, whether by government authority or public practice32.” Thus,

money can be determined by centralisation and decentralisation. If a decentralised system can provide benefits

similar to that of a centralised system, a medium of exchange can become money through public practice and

widespread acceptance.

‫ اْلدخل لدراسة الفقه اإلسالمي للدكتور صالح أبو الحاج‬31

‫ الورق النقدي حقيقته تاريخه قيمته حكمه‬32
18 | P a g e

The Types of Money in Islamic law

1) Natural:

a) Gold

b) Silver

2) Customary

a) Commodity money

b) Fiat money

Natural money, in other words gold and silver, are always money as they have the intrinsic properties for them

to be used as money (Thamaniyyah). They have the natural properties and characteristics of money.

Commodities only become money upon Ta’āmul or Iṣṭilāḥ. The Ta’āmul and Iṣṭilāḥ credits the commodities with

the trait of Thamaniyyah. Without these, the commodity monies may serve as Thaman for a transaction but

would not technically be money and currency in Islam due to the lack of Thamaniyyah. Fiat money is issued and

circulated with Iṣṭilāḥ of Thamaniyyah. It is money upon inception due to government legislation. This sets the

‘Urf to consider fiat money as possessing Thamaniyyah.

19 | P a g e

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are also known as virtual currencies and at times, as digital currencies.

Allen & Overy define virtual currencies as:

“A virtual currency is a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and functions as a medium of

exchange, a unit of account and/or a store of value, but does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. It is

not issued or guaranteed by any government, and fulfils these functions only by agreement within the

community of users of the virtual currency. It is distinct from fiat currency or “real currency”, which is the

physical money that makes up a country’s legal tender, and distinct from e-money, which is a digital

representation of fiat currency.”33

The European Central Bank describes virtual currencies as:

Virtual currencies are defined by as a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or

public authority nor necessarily attached to fiat currencies, but is used as a means of exchange and can be

transferred, stored or traded electronically. In contrast to fiat currencies, virtual currencies are not legal tender

but are nevertheless accepted by members within a virtual community as a medium of exchange and as a unit of

account. Virtual currencies must also be distinguished from electronic money such as PayPal or Ven. In

electronic money schemes the link between the electronic money and fiat currency is guaranteed through some

legal foundation and funds are shown in the same unit of account (U.S. dollar, Euro, etc.). Virtual currency

33 Allen & Overy (2015), ‘Virtual Currencies Mining the possibilities’ (available at:

http://www.allenovery.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Virtual%20Currencies.pdf)
20 | P a g e

schemes create an independent unit of account, which only exists in a digital form (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple,

etc.), which can be used as an alternative to fiat currency, or may be converted to fiat currency34.

At the current moment35, cryptocurrencies are not backed up by a government nor a central bank.

An Islamic Analysis of Bitcoin

To view the opinions of contemporary economists, see Appendix 5.

To understand how Bitcoin operates, see Appendix 6.

Is Bitcoin Māl and Does it Have Taqawwum?

The two components for something to be considered Māl are:

1) Desirability

2) Storability

In early March 2017, the value of one Bitcoin surpassed the value of a troy ounce of gold. Bitcoin closed at

$1,268 whilst the troy ounce of gold closed at $1,23336. The market cap of Bitcoin on 17th April was

$19,756,107,94937. On 14th April, Blockchain recorded a transaction per day figure of 290,20838. These factors

clearly show a supply and demand factor for Bitcoin. Thus, the first component of desirability is established in

Māl.

34 European Central Bank,.’Virtual Currency Schemes’, 2012, pp 11-14.

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/virtualcurrencyschemes201210en.pdf
35 This is according to the time of writing this which is April 2017.

36 BBC, ‘Bitcoin value tops gold for first time’ available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39149475

37 https://blockchain.info/charts/market-cap

38 https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions
21 | P a g e

In reality, Bitcoins are digits stored on a global, shared ledger which one can use with their private keys stored in

their Bitcoin Wallet. In other words, Bitcoins are just account balances stored in a large, shared, global ledger.

If a person can connect to that ledger and prove ownership of their account, they can spend its balance,

regardless of how one accesses that ledger, whether with a phone app, a computer program, or a browser. The

thing that proves that you own the account is the private key that is used to sign the transactions you make, and

that is what is typically stored in bitcoin wallet apps39. A Bitcoin wallet is a software program where Bitcoins are

stored. To be technically accurate, Bitcoins are not stored anywhere; there is a private key (secret number) for

every Bitcoin address that is saved in the Bitcoin wallet of the person who owns the balance. Bitcoin wallets

facilitate sending and receiving Bitcoins and give ownership of the Bitcoin balance to the user. The Bitcoin

wallet comes in many forms; desktop, mobile, web and hardware are the four main types of wallets40.

Therefore, Bitcoins pass the criterion of storability in respect to being Māl as they are stored on the shared

ledger.

In respect to Taqawwum, the Aṣl and foundational premise is ‘Ibāḥah (lawfulness) in respect to items and

transactions41. Considering that Bitcoins are merely digits, there is no evidence or matter which indicates to

them being unlawful. Hence, Bitcoins have Taqawwum.

Bitcoin fulfils the two criteria of desirability and storability. Furthermore, it is Mutaqawwim. Hence, Bitcoins are

Māl and are Mutaqawwim.

39 http://support.mycelium.com/hc/en-us/articles/207045625-Where-are-my-bitcoins-stored-

40 http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitcoin-wallet.asp
‫َم‬ َّ ُ ُ َ َ َ َ َُ ََ َّ ُ َ َ َ ُ َّ َ َ ُ َ َ ‫ َ م َ م َ َّ م َ م َ م َ م َ ُ َ َ م ُ ُ م‬41
‫ض‬ ً َ ‫اْل مر‬
ِ ‫] وقال {كلوا ِمما ِفي اْلر‬29 :‫ض ج ِميعا} [البقرة‬ ِ ‫{ه َو ال ِذي خل َق لك مم َما ِفي‬ ‫اإلباحة قال اَّلل تعالى‬
ِ ‫وج‬ ِ ‫اء ك ِل َه ما ِس ُو مى الف ُر‬ ِ ‫واعلم أن اْلصل ِفي اْلشي‬
َ ‫م ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َم‬ َ َّ ‫َ ُ م َ َ م َ َ َ م َ َ َ م ُ َ م َ م ٌ م‬ َ َ ‫م‬ ُ ُ َ َّ َ ً َ َ
2 ‫اإلباح ِة (مجمع اْلنهرج‬ ِ ‫ص مطل ٍق أو خب ٍر مر ِو ٍي فما لم يوجد ش يء ِمن الدَل ِئ ِل اْلح ِرم ِة فهِي على‬ ٍ ‫ضن‬
ِ ‫] و ِإنما تثبت الحرمة ِبع ِار‬168 :‫حالَل ط ِيبا} [البقرة‬
)‫ ط دارإحياء التراث العربي‬568 ‫ص‬
َ ُ َ ‫َ َّ َ م ُ م‬ َ ‫م‬ َ ‫َ َّ م َ م َ م َ م م ُّ َ َ َ َّ َّ ُ م‬
)‫ ط إمدادية‬87 ‫ ص‬4 ‫ض (حاشية الشلبي على التبيين ج‬ ِ ‫] و ِإنما الحرمة ِبع ِار‬275 :‫ِْلن اْلصل ِفي البي ِع ال ِحل {وأحل اَّلل البيع} [البقرة‬
22 | P a g e

Does Bitcoin Qualify as Money in Shariah?

In my opinion, Bitcoin qualifies as money in Shariah. However, as cryptocurrencies develop, regulatory laws may

impact Bitcoin and its understanding.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) states that benefit from the actual corpus of money is never the objective of

money, rather, it is the exchange which is the objective and benefit of money 42. This is true for Bitcoin. Bitcoin

in and of itself does not serve any purpose besides being a store of value and a medium of exchange. People

either buy bitcoin for savings or use Bitcoin to trade its value for another commodity. Thus, the characteristics

of money in Shariah discussed earlier all apply to Bitcoin, namely:

1) Benefit from money is derived by spending. It serves no other purpose whilst in your ownership43

2) Money is used as a standard for pricing44

3) Money is a medium of exchange to acquire assets with intrinsic value45

It is difficult to fit Bitcoin under the classical types of money. Bitcoins are not Thaman Khilqī nor Thaman ‘Urfī,

rather, they are a new breed of currencies which shares properties with Thaman Khilqī, commodity money, fiat

currency and electronic money. Bitcoins do not qualify as Thaman Khilqī as they do not possess intrinsic

َ‫م‬
َ ‫اْل مم َوال َوََل َي مقص ُد اَل منت َف‬ َ َ َ َ َ‫م‬ َ َُ ‫َم‬ ‫م َم‬ ُ ‫ َفإ َّن ماْلَ مق‬42
‫ ط‬472 ‫ ص‬29 ‫اع ِب َع مي ِن َها (مجموع الفتاوى ج‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫ود ِم من اْلث َم ِان أن تكون ِم مع َي ًارا ِلْل مم َو ِال َيت َو َّس ُل ِب َها إلى َم مع ِرف ِة َمق ِاد ِير‬
َ ‫ص‬
ِ
)‫مجمع اْللك فهد‬
َّ َ ُ َ ‫ُ َ م َّ َ ُ َ َّ َ ُ َ م‬
ُ‫الث َمن َّي ُة ََل ُي ممكن‬ َّ َ َ ‫َ َّ م‬ َ َّ َ َ َّ ‫م َ ٌ َ م‬ ‫م‬ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ ‫ َ َ م ُ ُ ُ ُّ َ ُ م ُ م‬43
ِ ِ ‫ ف ِإن ِاَلن ِتفاع ال ِذي خ ِلقت الدر ِاهم والدن ِانير ِْلج ِل ِه وهو‬،‫وقوله (كل ما يم ِكن ِاَلن ِتفاع ِب ِه مع بق ِاء أص ِل ِه) اح ِترازعن الدر ِاه ِم والدنا ِن ِير‬
)‫ دارالفكر‬218 ‫ ص‬6 ‫ (العناية ج‬.‫ص ِل ِه ِفي ِمل ِك ِه‬
‫م‬ ‫به َما َم َع َب َقاء َأ م‬
ِ ِِ
‫ واْلعنى بالثمينة‬،‫ اْلراد باْلثمان اْلطلقة الدراهم والدنانير؛ ْلنهما أثمان بكل حال؛ ْلن هللا تعالى خلق الذهب والفضة ثمنا لْلشياء‬:‫ وقال اْلترازي‬44
)‫ ط دارالفكر‬15 ‫ ص‬8 ‫ ويتوصل به إليها ومما بهذه الصفة قبل الصياغة وبعدها(البناية ج‬،‫كونه بحال يقدربه مالية اْلشياء‬
)‫ ط دارالفكر‬15 ‫ ص‬8 ‫(البناية ج‬،‫ ويتوصل به إليها ومما بهذه الصفة قبل الصياغة وبعدها‬،‫ واْلعنى بالثمينة كونه بحال يقدربه مالية اْلشياء‬45
23 | P a g e

Thamaniyyah; Bitcoins are merely digits. However, Bitcoins resemble one element of Thaman Khilqī. Bitcoin

was developed to serve as a medium of exchange46 just as Thaman Khilqī was created to serve as a medium of

exchange47. Bitcoin has been developed to serve as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Bitcoin is not

commodity money because Bitcoin does not have any intrinsic value, whereas, commodity money has intrinsic

value and serves an alternative function besides being a medium of exchange. Commodity money was initially

assets (‘Urūḍ) which later gained prominence as money. Conversely, Bitcoin cannot be considered ‘Urūḍ as

‘Urūḍ have intrinsic value and serve another purpose besides being a medium of exchange48. Thus, when the

Fuqahā’ discuss Fulūs (copper and brass coins), they state how Fulūs could be sought for their ‘ayn (corpus) and

ṣūrah (image). However, Bitcoin does not have an ‘ayn and nor is it ever sought for its image and corpus.

Bitcoins are traded solely for their Māliyah and value, similar to Thaman Khilqī49. However, Bitcoins resemble

commodity money (Thaman ‘Urfī or Thaman Iṣṭilāḥī) from the angle that the Thamaniyyah has come from the

people50. Thamaniyyah is not inherent in Bitcoin, rather, people have acknowledged Thamaniyyah in Bitcoin.

Bitcoins are not fiat currency as fiat currencies are part of a centralised system. Furthermore, upon being

withdrawn, fiat currencies serve as collectible items due to their coinage. On the other hand, Bitcoins are part

of a decentralised system. Upon withdrawal or decline, will Bitcoin serve as a collectible or merely be strands of

random digits? Nonetheless, Bitcoin resembles fiat currencies from the aspect that in and of itself, it has no

46
Nakamoto, S., ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’.
)‫ وَل مقصود في عينها إنما اْلقصود الثمنية (اْلحيط البرهاني‬،‫ أثمان من كل وجه‬،‫ وهذا ْلن الدراهم والدنانير‬47
ُ ُ َ ُُ
،‫ والثمنية فيها إنما حصلت باصطالح الناس‬،‫ وهو غيرثمن‬،‫لكونها من النحاس‬ ِ ‫اْلصل فيها أن تكون مثمنة؛‬ ‫ بل‬،‫أثمان خلقة‬ ٍ ‫ حاصله أن الفلوس غير‬48
ً ً َّ َّ ً
ُ
ِ ‫ واصطالح‬،‫ إذ َل وجه للتصحيح إَل أن تكون معينة خارجة عن الثمنية‬،‫لتصحيح العقد‬
‫الغير َل‬ ِ ‫ فتبطل ثمني ُتها قصدا‬،‫والعاقدان لم يصطلحا عليه‬
َّ ‫الث‬َّ ُ َ َّ
‫ وتكون أعيانها‬،‫مني ِة فعادت مثمنة كما كانت‬ ‫ وإذا خرجت عن‬،‫باصطالح آخر‬ ٍ ‫اَلصطالح‬
ِ ‫نقض ذلك‬ ‫ فلهما‬،‫للغير عليهما‬ ِ ‫ إذ َل وَلية‬،‫يكون حجة عليهما‬
ً ً ً َ َ ٌ ُ ً
‫لصورت ِه َل‬
ِ ‫ ويأخذ فلسا واحدا طلبا‬،‫يعطي فلسين‬ ‫ فيمكن أن‬،‫باعتبارالثمنية وهي زائلة عنها باصطالحهما‬ ِ ‫ فإن ماليتها َل تكون إَل‬،‫مطلوبة َل ماليتها‬
)‫ (عمدة الرعاية‬.‫باعتبارماليته‬
ٌ َ َ ُ َ ‫م‬ َ ‫ َ َ م ِ َ َ م َّ َ َ َّ َ َ م ُ ٌ َّ َ م َ م ُ ُ م َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م‬49
)‫ ط اْلعرفة‬16 ‫ ص‬14 ‫ (اْلبسوط للسرخس ي ج‬،‫ وما وراء ذ ِلك ِهي واْلحجارسواء‬،،‫ إنما اْلقصود اْل ِالية‬،‫وليس ِفي غي ِرالدر ِاه ِم والدنا ِن ِيرمقصود‬
َّ َ َ َ َ َ َّ َ
‫ان ب م‬ ُ ُ ‫ َ َّ م َ َ َ َ م َ م َ م َ ُ م م َ َ َّ َ َ َ م م‬50
‫ ص‬14 ‫اع ِت َب ِار َم ِال َّي ٍة قا ِئ َم ٍة ِب ِصف ِة الث َم ِن َّي ِة ِف َيها (اْلبسوط للسرخس ي ج‬ ِ ‫ و ِإنما ك‬،‫وس‬
ِ ‫ِْلن ان ِعقاد هذا العق ِد لم يكن ِباع ِتب ِارم ِالي ٍة ق ِائم ٍة ِبعي ِن الفل‬
)‫ ط اْلعرفة‬29
24 | P a g e

intrinsic value, rather, something extrinsic is giving it value. In the case of fiat currencies, it is the government

backing that is giving value, whereas, Bitcoin draws its value from the trust of people, supply and demand and

from the overall concept of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not electronic money. Electronic money is part of the centralised

system and a digital representation of a fiat currency. In addition, electronic money is held in banks and

payment systems like PayPal and Mastercard. From a jurisprudential aspect, electronic money is always in the

ruling of a Qarḍ (loan) as it is stored in another organisation’s account. Thus, the Financial Conduct Authority

(FCA) describe electronic money as “stored monetary value, represented by a claim on the issuer”51. However,

Bitcoin is not stored in another organisation’s account or system. Bitcoin is stored on a ledger which is not

owned by any system or organisation. Therefore, Bitcoin is not in the ruling of Qarḍ. Consequently, Bitcoin and

electronic money are different despite both being digital.

The differences between Bitcoin and other types of currencies mandate Bitcoin to qualify as a new type of

currency according to Islamic economics. Bitcoin functions like traditional currencies: it is recognised and has a

value, it can be used to buy things, and its value can change according to market variables. Increased demand

for Bitcoin over the last few years has seen an increase in its circulation and value. In March 2014, PwC reported

a total value of $8 billion and between 60,000 to 80,000 transactions daily52. More recently, blockchain.info

reports over an average 200,000 transactions a day53. In the last 30 days or so of 2016, about $3 billion of

Bitcoins were traded, which averages out to $100 million per day54.

Economists argue that Bitcoin falls short of being money as the extreme volatility compromises Bitcoin being a

store of value and a unit of account. However, traditional currencies in the past have also suffered extreme

51
https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/electronic-money-regulations
52 PwC (2014), Virtual Currencies Out of the deep web, into the light.

53 https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions

54 http://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-traded-currencies-2016/
25 | P a g e

volatility. For example, Zambian kwacha fell 42% against the U.S. dollar in 2015 as copper, which accounts for

70% of the African nation’s exports, dropped to a six-year low. The Belarusian ruble experienced a 41.8% drop

against the U.S. dollar in 2015, falling from 11,900 Belarusian rubles to the U.S. dollar on Jan. 1, 2015, to 18,569

on the same day in 2016. The Argentine peso had suffered a 2015 drop of roughly 35% against the U.S. dollar as

of Dec. 24. Brazil struggled with headwinds including budget woes, concerns about China’s economy and high

inflation. Amid these woes, the real dropped 33% against the U.S. dollar in 2015. Mozambique, a nation in

southern Africa, struggled to cope with the effects of a decline in exports of sugar, coal and cotton. Economic

growth in the nation suffered because of this drop-in shipments to other countries, and amid these difficulties,

the metical fell 32% in 201555. Therefore, volatility is not a strong argument to dismiss Bitcoin as a currency.

Volatility can be explained by the fact that Bitcoin is still in its infancy and people are speculating on its future.

Fatāwā on Bitcoin

1) Professor Monzer Kahf56

Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim

Alhamdu Lillahi Rab al Alamin, wa al Salatu wa al Salamu ala Sayyidina Muhammad, wa ala Aalihi wa Sahbihi

Ajma’in

Dear Br.

Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh

I made some thinking on bitcoin and even asked one of my student to write a term paper on it…

Bitcoin is a unit of account for those who accept it.

Let me put it this way: if you and I agree that I buy a laptop from you for 20 units if X. I get the laptop and

become under debt to you for 20 Xs. If several other persons come into this agreement and accept to make

55 https://www.fxcm.com/insights/top-10-most-volatile-currencies-of-2015/

56 http://lightuponlight.com/blog/fatwa-on-bitcoin-by-monzer-kahf/
26 | P a g e

similar exchanges, let us say we become 100 and we exchanged goods of the value of 2000Xs. Don’t you think

that this 2000 for this universe of 100 people is a money that they can exchange any within the

accounting/settlement system they have among themselves? Is this any different than bitcoin? If we have more

people accepting to price goods/services for Xs and give them in exchange of Xs this X becomes more common

and more accepted.

A problem may come from two angles: 1) if people lost confidence in the accounting/settlement system the X

money will then crumble. 2)if you want to value this X in terms of Dollars or Rials/ here you will need to go back

to the market and find a relation between goods and Rials or Dollars and take then in proportion to relationships

between these goods and services and the X money. If this these proportional relationship (pricing) are done in

the open market and among a large number of transactors the price of X in terms of Dollar and Rial may be

accepted as a product of market forces (they may not be rally ideal or immune to any manipulation but this is the

nature of any market). but if these relationships are done in closed circles I have as great suspicion of

manipulation and my confidence collapses in the X money. This is exactly what I have in bitcoin. Until it becomes

traded in the open market chances of manipulation are high and my confidence in it is low.

Let us now look at the Shari’ah aspect. Like any other currency it is money within its community and exchanging

it with other currencies is definitely subject, in my opinion, to same conditions of exchanging currencies which

are: 1) had delivery of both at tine of exchange, no leverages and no futures, and 2) no speculations on currencies

which means people who exchange it must have a cause to buy or to sell other than the idea of currency for

currency (buy to use it or sell because you got it but in need for other currency)

Wa Allahu A’alam

Wa Alhamdu Lillahi Rab al Alamin

Wassalam

Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf

27 | P a g e

Islamic Finance and Economics

Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies

T: +974 4454 6567 F +974 4454 6576

2) Darul Iftaa Jamiatur Rasheed, Karachi

28 | P a g e
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Bitcoin related Fiqh

Transacting in Bitcoin

Transaction fees are service fees which are lawful.

Mining Bitcoin

The process of mining Bitcoins and eventually being rewarded with a Bitcoin upon successfully deciphering the

mathematical puzzle is a Ju’ālah contract.

Conclusion

This paper was a result of individual passion to research Bitcoin. However, such a topic needs to be researched
by the various global Fiqh academies with experts from all different backgrounds. My limited conclusions are
more from the Islamic law perspective. Thus, Bitcoin possesses all the traits necessary to be considered money
according to Islamic law and economics. Bitcoin is a new paradigm of currency and an opportunity for the
Islamic Finance industry to develop Shariah compliant products using Bitcoin. Bitcoin is Māl (wealth) and
possesses Taqawwum (legal value). Furthermore, Bitcoin possesses Thamaniyyah: the ability of money to
valuate goods and to be accepted in an exchange. Further research is required in terms of Forex and Bitcoin,
Ribā and Bitcoin and other such laws.

And Allah Ta’ālā Alone Knows Best

Mufti Faraz Adam al-Mahmudi,

www.darulfiqh.com
17th April 2017
 ‫‪32 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪APPENDIX 1: Gold and Silver Money‬‬

‫‪Gold and silver jewellery are not ṣarīḥ money, hence, they will not be treated as currency and money unless‬‬

‫‪there is Ta’āmul. The Haqīqah in jewellery is then left due to Dalālatul ḥāl/’Urf and the Majāz of jewellery being‬‬

‫‪Thaman is considered. The Thamaniyyah is still a trait of gold and silver jewellery, however, it is secondary to‬‬

‫‪their usage as jewellery. Thamaniyyah can never be cancelled or eliminated in gold and silver, regardless of how‬‬

‫‪gold and silver are used.‬‬

‫‪Gold and silver moulded into jewellery (Maṣūg)57 as well as unminted gold and silver58, still have Thamaniyyah in‬‬

‫‪them, however, the element of being Thaman is not ṣarīh when the gold and silver are not coined and minted as‬‬

‫‪currency. Gold and silver jewellery are not treated as currency and money, hence, jewellery and unminted gold‬‬

‫‪and silver cannot be capital investment in partnership contracts as they are not standardised in their current‬‬

‫‪form. However, the Thamaniyyah still remains in these pieces of gold and silver but in a weaker sense59.‬‬

‫‪ )3( 57‬قوله َل خاتم فضة اَل إذا كان مصوغا على هيئة خواتم النساء فح يحنث كذا ذكره الزيلعي (عمدة الرعاية ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪)343‬‬
‫غيرمضروب‪.‬‬ ‫ذهب ُ‬ ‫الت مب ُر‪ٌ :‬‬ ‫‪ِ 58‬‬
‫ٌ‬
‫والن مقرة‪ :‬فضة ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬
‫غيرمضروبة‪( .‬عمدة الرعاية ج ‪ 6‬ث ‪ 282‬ط دارالكتب)‬
‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫َّ م َ م َ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ ََ ُ‬ ‫ض ِة َف َق مد َج َع َل ُه في َه َذا مال ِك َت َ م َ م ُ ُ‬
‫الذ َهب َو مالف َّ‬ ‫‪ َّ َ َ 59‬م ُ َّ‬
‫الدنا ِن َير‪َ ،‬واْل مم ُر ِف ِيه َم موكو ٌل إلى‬ ‫اب الصر ِف ِبمن ِزل ِة الدر ِاهم و‬ ‫وض‪ ،‬وجعله ِفي ِكت ِ‬ ‫اب ِبمن ِزل ِة العر ِ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫(وأما) ِتبر‬
‫ََ َ ُ ُ مُ َ ََ ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ م َ ُ َ ََ َ َُ َ َُ َ َ م‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ م َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ ُ َ َ م َ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ َ َ َ ُ ُ م ُ َ َ َ ُ‬
‫وض فال تجوز اْلضاربة‬ ‫التعام ِل‪ ،‬ف ِإن كان الناس يتعاملون ِب ِه فهو ِبمن ِزل ِة الدر ِاهم والدنا ِنيرفتجوز اْلضاربة ِب ِه‪ ،‬و ِإن كانوا َل يتعاملون ِب ِه فهو كالعر ِ‬
‫ِب ِه‪(.‬بدائع الصنائع ج ‪ 6‬ص ‪ 82‬دارالكتب)‬
‫َ َّ م َ َ ُّ م َ َ ُ م ُ م ُ ُ َ م َ م َ َّ َ َ م َ م َ َ ً م َ م َ َ ُ م ُ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ َ م َ م َ َّ م َ م َ َ َ م َ َ م ٌ َ ُ م َ م َّ َ َ م ُ‬
‫التبروالنقرة تش ِبه العروض ِمن وج ٍه؛ ِْلنها ليست ثمنا ِلْلشي ِاء وتش ِبه الدر ِاهم والدنا ِنير ِمن وج ٍه؛ ِْلن العقد عليها صرف فأع ِطيت الشبه ِمن ك ِل‬ ‫ِْلن ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ م َ م ََ َ َُ َ ُم َ م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ ُ م َ م‬ ‫م ُ َ َ م ُ َ م َ َ َ ُ َّ‬ ‫َ‬
‫اس ِفي التعام ِل ف ِإذا تعاملوا ِبها أل ِحقت ِبالدر ِاه ِم‪ ،‬و ِإن لم يتعاملوا ِبها أل ِحقت ِبغي ِرالدر ِاه ِم‪( .‬الجوهرة النيرة ص‪287‬‬ ‫اح ٍد ِمنهما فاعت ِبرت ِفيها عادة الن ِ‬ ‫و ِ‬
‫ط دارالكتب)‬
‫‪( :‬إَل أن تعامل الناس بالتبر) ش‪ :‬بكسرالتاء اْلثناة من فوق وسكون الباء اْلوحدة وهو من الذهب والفضة ما كان غيرمصوغ‪(.‬البناية ج ‪ 7‬ص ‪ 391‬ط‬
‫دارالكتب)‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ ُّ م َ َ َ م م َ ُ م ُ َ َ ُ م َ َ َ َ َ م ُ َ ُ م َ َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ َ َ ُ ُ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َّ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ م َ ُ َ َ م ُ م َ‬
‫الرواي ِة ِفي‬ ‫وغ ( والنقر ِة ) و ِ مهي ال ِقطعة اْلذابة ِمن َه َا ‪ ،‬ونقل ماْلص ِنف اخ ِتالف ِ‬ ‫التب ِر) وهو غير اْلص‬ ‫( وَل تجوز الش ِركة ِبما وراء ذ ِلك إَل أن يتعامل الناس ِبها ك ِ‬
‫َّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ مُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م ُ َ ٌ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ م َّ َ ُ َ ُ ُ م ُ َ َ ِ َ‬ ‫َ َ ُ ُ مَُ َ َ ُ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َُ م َ‬
‫ات‬‫التبر ِسلعة تتعين ِبالتع ِي ِين فال تصلح رأس م ِال الش ِرك ِ‬
‫م‬
‫التبرفعلى ه ِذ ِه ِ‬ ‫يل ذه ٍب أو ِفض ٍة ‪ ،‬ومراده ِ‬ ‫ذ ِلك ‪ِ ،‬رواية الج ِام ِع ‪َ :‬ل تكون اْلفاو َضة ِبمثا ِق ِ‬
‫َ َ‬
‫س َم ٍال ِف ِيه َما ‪َ ،‬و َهذا ِْلا‬ ‫ص ُل ُح َرأ َ‬ ‫الت مسليم ‪َ ،‬ف َع َلى َه َذا َت م‬ ‫َ َّ َ َ م َ ُ م َ م ُ َ َ َ َ م َ َّ‬ ‫ُّ م َ َ َ َ ُ َّ‬
‫الص مر ِف أ َّن النق َرة َل تت َع َّين ِبالت مع ِي ِين حتى َل ينف ِسخ العقد ِبهال ِكها قبل‬ ‫ض َارَبات ‪َ ،‬و َذ َك َرفي ك َتاب َّ‬ ‫َ مُ َ‬
‫واْل‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫ُ َ َ َّ ُ َ ُ َ َ َ َ‬
‫ع ِرف أنهما خ ِلقا ثمني ِن ‪.‬‬
 ‫‪33 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪APPENDIX 2: The Concept of Ta’āmul and Iṣṭīlāḥ‬‬

‫‪Ta’āmul refers to common usage. The term Ta’āmul is synonymous to ‘Urf and ‘Ādah60. Ta’āmul is established‬‬

‫‪when the usage of something becomes dominant and becomes the standard61 in affairs and dealings.‬‬

‫َ َ َ ُ َ م َّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫َّ م م َ‬
‫اْل مخ ُ‬ ‫الث َمن َّي َة َت مخ َت ُّ‬ ‫َ َّ َّ‬ ‫َ ً َ َّ َ َّ َ ُ َ‬ ‫ُث َّم َق َ َّ َ َّ م َ َّ َ َ َ ُّ َ م‬
‫وص ) فخ َر َج ض مرُب َها ُح ِل ًّيا ف ِإ َّن َها تت َع َّين أل َبتة ‪،‬‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ص ِبالضر ِب‬ ‫َ‬
‫ال ( إَل أن اْلول أصح ) يع ِني ِد َراية ؛ ِْلن ُهما إنما خ ِلقا ِل ِلتج َار ِة ( ل ِكن ِ‬
‫ص ُّح ‪َ ،‬و ُه َو‬ ‫است مث َن ًاء م من َق موله َأ َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ َ م َ م َّ َ ُ ُ َ َ م ُ َّ َ َ َّ َ م َ م َي َّ َ ُ ُ َ َ م م َ ُّ م‬ ‫َ م َّ م‬ ‫ََم َ ُ م َ م ُ ََ‬
‫ِِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫التب ِروالنق َر ِة ِ‬ ‫وينف ِسخ العقد ِبهال ِك َها قب َل التس ِل ِيم ( ولم يج ِرالتعامل ِب ِهما ) أي ثم قال ( إَل أن يج ِر التعامل ِب ِهما ) أي ِب ِ‬
‫َّ َ م ُ َ‬ ‫ص َل َح مت َرمأ َ‬ ‫ضة َ‬ ‫َ َّ َ َ م َّ‬ ‫َ م ُ َ َ َ ُّ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َ َّ م َ َ َ َ ُ‬
‫س َم ٍال ِفي الش ِرك ِة َواْلض َارَب ِة ‪(.‬فتح القديرج ‪ 13‬ص ‪)485‬‬ ‫كون ُهما َل ت ِصح الش ِركة ِب ِهما فكان الث ِابت أن ُهم إذا تعاملوا ِب ِقط ِع الذه ِب وال ِف ِ‬
‫ُ ُ م ُ‬ ‫م َّ َ َ م َّ م َ َ م م َ َ ُ َ َّ َ َّ ُ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ م َ ُ م َ َ ُ َ م ُ َ‬ ‫ض في ماْلَ ُ‬ ‫ط مال َق مب ُ‬ ‫َ َّ َ ُ َ‬
‫ض ُه َوَل َي مسقط اش ِت َراط‬ ‫وغ ِمن الذه ِب وال ِفض ِة ِباع ِتب ِارأص ِل ِخلق ِت ِه وهو الثم ِنية؛ ِْلن الثم ِنية َل تتعين ِبالتع ِي ِين فيشترط قب‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫و ِإنما ش ِر‬
‫م َ م َ م م ُّ م َ ُ م ُ ُ َ ُ م َ َ ٌ م َ َ‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ م َ َ َ ُ م َ َ َ َّ‬ ‫مَ‬
‫ات ملحقة ِبالح ِقيق ِة‪( .‬بدائع الصنائع ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 89‬ط دارالكتب)‬ ‫ض ِبالصنع ِة ِلبق ِاء شبه ِة عد ِم التعي ِن ِباع ِتب ِار اْلص ِل إذ الشبهة ِفي الحرم ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫الق مب‬
‫َ َ َ م َ َ َ َّ ً َ م َ َ ً َ َ َ َ َّ ً َ م َ َ ً َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ م َ ً َ م َ ُ م م ُ َ َ َ م َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َّ ُ َ م ُ ُ َ‬
‫اَّلل ‪ -‬ف َيأخذ َها َوَل‬ ‫قال (و ِإن غصب ِفضة أو ذهبا) إذا غصب ِفضة أو ذهبا فضربها در ِاهم أو دنا ِنيرأو ِآنية لم يزل ِملك م ِال ِكها عنها ِعند أبي ح ِنيفة ‪ -‬ر ِحمه‬
‫َ ً ِ م َ م َ َ َ َ ى َ َّ ُ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫ُ َ َ َ م م ُ َ َ َّ ُ َ م َ َ َ م َ ً ُ م َ َ َ ً ُ َ َ َ ً َ َّ َ م َ‬ ‫ََ َ َم َُ م َ‬ ‫َ َ م َ‬
‫إح َداث َها َح َّق اْل ِال ِك ه ِالكا ِمن وج ٍه‪ :‬أَل تر أنه كسره وفات‬ ‫اصب وعلي ِه ِمثلها‪ِْ ،‬لنه أحدث صنعة معتبرة متق ِومة صير‬ ‫اص ِب‪ .‬وقاَل‪ :‬يم ِلكها الغ ِ‬ ‫ش ميء ِللغ ِ‬
‫م ُ َ َ َ َ َّ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ ُ َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ م ً َ ُ َ َ َ م ُ ُ َم َ مَ‬ ‫َ م ُ مََ‬
‫صل َح ِلذ ِل َك‪.‬‬ ‫ات وبعدما ضربه‬ ‫ات والش ِرك ِ‬ ‫س اْل ِال ِفي اْلضارب ِ‬ ‫اص ِد وكان قبل ذ ِلك ِتبرا وهو َل يصلح رأ‬ ‫بعض اْلق ِ‬
‫َ ََ‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ ٌ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ م ً َ م ً َ َّ ُ َ م َ َّ م َ َ ُ َ َّ م ً َ َّ ً َ‬
‫ضة َوذ َه ًبا َو َب مع َد ُه َد َر ِاه َم َو َدن ِان َير‪َ ،‬و ِمث ُل ذ ِل َك َيقط ُع َح َّق اْل ِال ِك ك َما تق َّد َم‪.‬‬ ‫و ِفي ذ ِلك د ِليل على تغاي ِر ِهما معنى واسما‪ِْ ،‬لنه قبل الضر ِب كان يسمى ِتبرا و ِف‬
‫َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َّ ُ َ َّ م َ م َ َ َ ٌ م ُ َ م َ َ َ َ ى َ َّ م َ َ َ م َ م َ ُ م َ م َ َ ُ م ُ َ َ َ ُ َّ َ َ م َّ َ َ َّ َ َّ ُ َ َ م ُ ُ َ م ُ ً‬
‫اق واْلحكام اْلربعة اْلتع ِلقة ِبالذه ِب وال ِفض ِة و ِهي الثم ِنية وكونه موزونا‬ ‫وِْل ِبي ح ِنيفة ‪ -‬ر ِحمه اَّلل ‪ -‬أن العين با ِقية ِمن ك ِل وج ٍه؛ أَل تر أن ِاَلسم ب ٍ‬
‫َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ ُ ُ ُ َّ َ َ َ‬
‫الزك ِاة كذ ِل َك‪(،‬العناية ج ‪ 9‬ص ‪ 337‬دارالكتب)‬ ‫الربا ووجوب‬ ‫وجريان ِ‬
‫م‪( :‬وله) ش‪ :‬أي وْلبي حنيفة ‪ -‬ر ِحمه اَّلل ‪ -‬م‪( :‬أن العين باق من كل وجه‪ ،‬أَل ترى أن اَلسم باق) ش‪ :‬حيث يقال بعد الصنعة ذهب وفضة م‪( :‬ومعناه‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫اْلصلي الثمنية) ش‪ :‬أراد أن اْلعنى اْلصلي الالزم للعين وهو الثمنية قائم كما كان بال خالف م‪( :‬وكونه موزونا) ش‪ :‬عطف على قوله الثمنية م‪( :‬وأنه باق)‬
‫ش‪ :‬أي وإن كل واحد من الثمنية وكونه موزونا باق‪ ،‬ثم بين بقاء هذين الشيئين بقوله م‪( :‬حتى يجري فيه الربا باعتباره) ش‪ :‬أي باعتبارالوزن‪.‬‬
‫والحاصل أن اْلحكام اْلربعة اْلتعلقة بالذهب والفضة وهي الثمنية وكونه موزونا وجريان الربا ووجوب الزكاة‪ ،‬يدل على أن العين باق من كل وجه‪.‬‬
‫م‪( :‬وصالحيته لرأس اْلال) ش‪ :‬جواب عن قوله والتبرَل يصلح رأس اْلال وتقريره أن الصالحية أمرزائد على مقتض ى الطبيعة م‪( :‬من أحكام الصنعة‬
‫دون العين) ش‪ :‬يعني َل من حكم العين‪( ،‬البناية ج ‪ 11‬ص ‪)213‬‬
‫ص َل به منم‬ ‫وغ ب َس َبب َما َّات َ‬ ‫م َ ُ َ م َّ م َ َّ م َ ُ َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ م ُ مَ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م ُ ُ َ م َ ُ َ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ م َ ُ م َ م ُ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ َ َّ م َ ُ َ م ُ‬
‫ِِ ِ‬ ‫وغ أو ِبالنق ِد‪ ،‬ف ِإن اْلص ِ ِ‬ ‫وغ ِباْلص ِ‬ ‫(قول مه‪ :‬أ َي ما خ ِل َق ًِللثم ِني ِة) ذكرن َحو َه ِفي ُالبح مِر‪ .‬ث مم قال‪َ :‬و ِإنما فسرناه ِب ِ ٌه ِليدخل ِف ِيه بيع اْلص ِ‬
‫ص مرف اهـ‪( .‬حاشية ابن عابدين ج ‪ 5‬ص ‪ 257‬ط سعيد)‬ ‫يحا‪َ ،‬ول َهذا َيت َع َّين في ال َعقد َو َم َع ذل َك َب مي ُع ُه َ‬ ‫صر ً‬ ‫الصن َعة ل مم َي مب َق ث َمنا َ‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ َ م م ُ َّ َ َّ َ َ م َ َ َّ ً‬ ‫م‬
‫ً َ ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫صفا َلز ًما ) أ مي اْل معنى الذي ُجع َل َعل ًما َعلى ُحكم الن َ ُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬
‫( َو ُه َو َجائ ٌزأن َيكون َو م‬
‫وص علي ِه ِمثل الثم ِني ِة جعلناها ِعلة‬
‫َ‬ ‫ص يجوز أن يكو من وصفا َل ِزما ِللمنص ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫َ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ َ َّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م ُ م َُمَ‬ ‫َ‬
‫وغ‬
‫صَ ِ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬
‫وغ ِمن الذه ِب وال ِفض ِة ؛ ِْلنها إنما ت ِجب ِفي غي ِراْل‬ ‫َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِل َّلزك ِاة ِفي الحك ِم فقلنا ي ِجب ِفيها الزكاة سواء ِصيغت ِصياغة ت ِحل أو تحرم كما ت ِجب ِفي غي ِراْلص‬
‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ ُ َ َ م ُ ُ َ م ُ َ ُ ًّ َ َّ َّ َ َ َ م َّ َ َ م ٌ َ م َ ُّ م َ م َ َ ُ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ م َ م ُ‬ ‫ص َ َّ ُ َ َ ٌ َ م م م َ َ َ‬
‫صف ِب َح ٍال ‪ ،‬أَل‬ ‫الصفة َل تبطل ِبصيرورِت ِه ح ِليا ف ِإن الذهب وال ِفضة خلق جوه ِري اْلثم ِان َل يع ِارضهما هذا الو‬ ‫ف أنه ثمن ِبأص ِل ال ِخلق ِة وه ِذ ِه ِ‬ ‫ِلو ِ‬
‫َ م‬
‫َت َرى أ َّن َ َ َّ َ َ َّ َ م َ ُ َ َ م َ م ُ َ م ُ م ُ َ م َ َ َ َ ُ ًّ َ َ م َ م‬ ‫َ‬
‫ف (كشف اَلسرارج ‪ 6‬ص ‪)443‬‬ ‫الربا ْلا تعلق ِعنده هذا الوصف ب ِق َي الحكم بعدما صارح ِليا ِلبق ِاء الوص ِ‬ ‫ِ‬

‫‪ 60‬أصول اإلفتاء وآدابه للمفتي محمد تقي العثماني ص ‪ 254‬ط مكتبة معارف الفرآن‬
‫َّ ُ َ م ُ َ َّ م َ َ َ م‬
‫‪ 61‬إن َما ت معت َب ُرال َع َادة إذا اط َر َدت أ مو غل َبت (اْلشباه والنظائرج ‪ 1‬ص ‪)271‬‬
‫واْلراد من كونها عامة أن تكون مطردة أو غالبة في جميع البلدان ومن كونها خاصة أن تكون كذلك في بعضها فاَلطراد والغلبة شرط َلعتبارها سواء‬
‫كانت عامة أو خاصة (شرح القواعد الفقهية)‬
‫‪34 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪Iṣṭilāḥ (common agreement) is a similar concept to Ta’āmul. Imam Abū Ḥanīfah (d.150 H) and Imam Abū Yūsuf‬‬

‫‪(d.182 H) were of the opinion that a commodity can be considered as money upon the agreement of only the‬‬

‫‪two transacting parties. Whereas, Imam Muhammad (d.189 H) viewed that for commodities to be considered‬‬

‫‪currency and money, general and widespread Iṣṭilāḥ is required for commodities to be money and currency62.‬‬

‫‪Thus, according to Imam Muhammad (d.189 H), only when commodity has public acceptance will it be regarded‬‬

‫‪as money63. Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani states that the preponderant position is that of Imam‬‬

‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫ن يكون العرف مطردا أو غالبا‪ ،‬في ((كتب اْلشباه))‪(( :‬إنما تعتبرالعادة إذا اطردت أو غلبت))(‪ .)2‬والغلبة واَلطراد إنما يعتبران إذا وجدا عند أهل‬
‫العرف من البالد أو الطوائف‪ ،‬أما الشهرة في كتب الفقه فال عبرة بها‪،‬‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫ومن الشروط أيضا أن تكون العادة مطردة أو غالبة‪ ،‬وذلك بأن يكون العمل بها مستمرا في جميع الحوادث أو أغلبها‪ .‬وأن تكون العادة كذلك موجودة‬
‫ً‬
‫عند إنشاء التصرف سواء سابقة عليه أو مقارنة له وإَل فال تعتبر‪ .‬ثم أَل تعارض العادة شرطا للعاقدين أو أحدهما بعدم العمل بها‪ ،‬فإذا تحققت هذه‬
‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬
‫الشروط في العرف أو العادة كان صحيحا يعمل به ويعتمد عليه في بناء اْلحكام‪ ،‬وأما إذا لم تتوفرالشروط أو أحدها كان العرف فاسدا أو باطال‪.‬‬
‫(اْلدخل إلى الفقه اإلسالمي وأصوله ص ‪)271‬‬

‫م َ م َ م َ م َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َّ ٌ َ َ ُ ُ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ م ُ َ َ َ ُ‬ ‫‪ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ َ 62‬م ُ م َ م‬
‫اص ِطال ِح الك ِل فال ت مبط ُل‬‫س ِبالفلسي ِن ِبأعي ِان ِهما) ِعند أ ِبي ح ِنيفة وأ ِبي يوسف‪ ،‬وقال محمد‪َ :‬ل يجوز ِْلن الثم ِنية تثبت ِب‬ ‫قال (ويجوز بيع الفل ِ‬
‫م َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫م َ َ م َ َ ُ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫م َ َ َ َ َ َ م م َ ً َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م م َ َ َ َ َ م‬
‫اص ِطال ِح ِه َما إذ َل‬ ‫الدرهمي ِن‪ .‬ولهما أن الثم ِنية ِفي ح ِق ِهما تثبت ِب‬ ‫ِباص ِطال ِح ِهما‪ ،‬و ِإذا ب ِقيت أثمانا َل تتعين فصاركما إذا كانا ِبغي ِرأعي ِان ِهما وكبي ِع ا ِلد مره ِم ِب ِ‬
‫َ م‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ َ م َ م َ َ م َ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َّ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ م َ َ َ ُ ُ م‬
‫ص ِطال ِح َعلى ال َع ِد (الهداية)‬‫ود َوز ِن ًّيا ِل َبق ِاء ِاَل‬ ‫ِوَلية ِللغي ِرعلي ِهما فتبطل ِباص ِطال ِح ِهما و ِإذا بطلت الثم ِنية تتعين ِبالتع ِي ِين وَل يع‬

‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫‪ َ َّ َ َّ َّ َ ُ ُ َ َ ُ َّ ُ َ َ ٌ َّ َ ُ َ َ َ 63‬م َ م َ م ُ ُ م َ م ُ َ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ م ُ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ‬

‫اص ِطال ِح ِه َما ِل َع َد ِم ِوَل َي ِت ِه َما َعلى‬ ‫س تثبت ِباص ِطال ِح الك ِل‪ ،‬وما يثبت ِباص ِطال ِح الك ِل َل يبطل ِب‬ ‫وقال محمد َ‪ -‬ر ِحمه اَّلل ‪َ :-‬ل يجوز؛ ِْلن الثم ِنية ِفي الفل ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ََ َ م َ َمَ ُ ََم َ َ َ َ َ َم َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م َ َ َ َ م م َ ً َ َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ‬
‫الدرهمي ِن‪.‬‬ ‫الدره ِم ِب ِ‬ ‫اق‪ ،‬فال فرق بينه وبين ما إذا كانا ِبغي ِرأعي ِان ِهما وصاركبي ِع ِ‬ ‫غي ِر ِهما فب ِق َيت أثمانا و ِهي َل تتعين ِب ِاَل ِتف ِ‬
‫َّ‬ ‫َ َ ََ م َ‬ ‫م َ َ َ َ م ََ َ مً ُُ‬ ‫َ َّ َ م ُ َ م َ‬ ‫َ َ َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ م ُ ُ َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ م َ َ ً َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ م‬
‫وس ُم َع َّين ٍة ف َهلكت ق مب َل الت مس ِل ِيم‬ ‫و ِبهذا يتبين أن الفلوس الرا ِئجة ما دامت َرا ِئجة َل تتعين ِبالتع ِي ِين حتى لو ق ِوبلت ِب ِخال ِف ِجن ِسها كما إذا اشترى ثوبا ِبفل ٍ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َ م َ م ُ م م َ م ُ َ َّ َ َ م َّ َ َ ُ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ‬
‫اص ِطال ِح ِه َما ِفي َح ِق ِه َما َي مبط ُل‬ ‫لم يبطل العقد كالذه ِب وال ِفض ِة (ولهما أن الثم ِنية ِفي ح ِق ِهما تثبت ِباص ِطال ِح ِهما إذ َل ِوَلية ِلغي ِر ِهما علي ِهما) وما ثبت ِب‬
‫َ َ‬ ‫م َ‬
‫اص ِطال ِح ِه َما كذ ِل َك‪.‬‬ ‫ب‬
‫م َ َ َ َ َ م ُ ُّ ُ َّ ً َ َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫م‬ ‫م َ مَُ َ َ م َ َ ُ َ م َ َ ُ َ ُ ُ ً َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ِ َ م ُ َ َ َ م َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ م َ م ُ َ َ ُ ُ َ‬
‫اق الك ِل َل تكون ثمنا ِباص ِطال ِح اْلتعا ِقدي ِن في ِجب أن َل تكون عروضا أيضا ِباص ِطال ِح ِهما إذا كان الكل مت ِفقا على‬ ‫واعت ِرض علي ِه ِبأنها إذا كسدت ِب ِاتف ِ‬
‫وز َ م َ ُ َن َ َ ً‬ ‫مَ م ََ َ ُ ُ‬ ‫َ م َ ُ َ ُ ُ ً َ م َ ُ ُ َ َ َ َّ َ َّ َ م َ م َ َ َ َ َ‬ ‫َ َ َّ َ َ ُ َ َ ُ َ َ َّ م َ م َ م ُ ُ‬
‫وس أن تكون عروضا‪ ،‬فاص ِطالحهما على الثم ِني ِة بعد الكس ِاد على ِخال ِف اْلص ِل‪ ،‬فال يج أن تكو ثمنا‬ ‫ثم ِني ِتها ِسواهما‪ .‬وأ ِجيب ِبأن اْلصل َ ِفي الفل ِ‬
‫اصط َالحه َما ل ُو ُقوعه َع َلى خ َالف ماْل م‬
‫ص ِل‪.‬‬ ‫م‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِِ‬ ‫ِب ِ ِ ِ ِ‬
‫الث َمن َّية‪َ ،‬وفيه َن َظ ٌر؛ َْل َّن ُه ُي َنافي َق مو َل ُه َّ‬ ‫َ َ َّ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ ُ ُ ً َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ م َ َ َ َ ً َ م َ َ َ م َ ُ َ ُ َّ َ َ َ َّ‬
‫إن‬ ‫َِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫اق اْلص ِل فكان ج ِائزا و ِإن كان من ِسواهما مت ِف ِقين على ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫وأما إذا اصطلحا على كو ِن ِهما عروضا كان ذ ِلك على ِوف ِ‬
‫اصط َالحه َما‪َ ،‬أ مو ب َش مرط أ من َي ُكو َن َمنم‬ ‫َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ م ُ ُ م َ َ م َ َ َ َ م َ م َ َ م َ َ ُ م ُ َ م ُ َ َ َ م َ ُ َ َّ َّ‬
‫الث َمن َّي َة َق مب َل مال َك َساد َت مث ُب ُت ب م‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫الثم ِنية ِفي ح ِق ِهما تثبت ِباص ِطال ِح ِهما إذ َل ِوَلية ِللغي ِرعلي ِهما‪ .‬ويم ِكن أن يقال‪ :‬معناه أن ِ‬
‫ان َب مي َع َف ملس ب َف مل َس مين َومنم‬ ‫َ م َ َ َ َ م َ م ً َ َ م َ مز َّ ً َ َ َ‬
‫وضا تت َع َّين ِبالت مع ِيي ِن‪ .‬ف ِإن ِقيل‪ :‬إذا عادت عرضا عادت و ِنية فك‬
‫َ ُ َ ُ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ َ َ م َّ َ َّ ُ َ َ م َ ُ ُ ً َ َ ُ َّ‬
‫ِسواهما مت ِف ِقين على الثم ِني ِة‪ ،‬و ِإذا بطلت الثم ِنية ف ِلعو ِدها عر‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ٍ ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫مَ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ م ُ َ ُ َ َ ُ َّ ُ َ م َ َ َ ُ ُ َ م ًّ َ َّ ُ َ م م َ َ َ َ َ م َ م َ ُ َ َ َ م‬ ‫مَ ُم‬ ‫َم‬
‫اح ِد ِب ِاَلثني ِن‬ ‫اإلقد ِام على هذا العق ِد ومقابل ِة الو ِ‬ ‫َبي ِع ِقطع ِة صف ٍر ِب ِقطعتي ِن وذ ِلك َل يجوز‪ .‬أجاب اْلص ِنف ‪ -‬ر ِحمه اَّلل ‪ِ -‬بقو ِل ِه وَل يعود وز ِنيا؛ ِْلنهما ِب ِ‬
‫َ َ‬ ‫م َ َ َ م م َ َّ َ َّ ُ َن م َ َ م ُ َ م َ م َ َ م َ م َ َ م َ ُ م م َ ُّ َ م ُ َ َّ َ َّ َ َّ َ م َ َ م َ َ َ َ َ َ م ُ ً َ م َ‬
‫است َد َّل َعلى َبق ِاء‬ ‫أعرضا عن اع ِتب ِارالثم ِني ِة دو الع ِد حيث لم ير ِجعا إلى الوز ِن ولم يكن العد ملزوم الثم ِني ِة حتى ينت ِفي بان ِتف ِائها فب ِقي معدودا‪ ،‬و‬
‫م َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ م َ م َ َ َ ٌ َ َّ ُ ُ َّ ِ َ م َ م َ َ م ُ َّ َ َ َ َ م َ م ُ َ م ُ ُ َ َ‬ ‫م َم‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م َ‬
‫ص ِطال ِح ِفي َح ِق ال َع ِد ِبق مو ِل ِه إذ ِفي نق ِض ِه‪َ :‬ي مع ِني ِاَلص ِطالح ِفي ح ِق الع ِد فساد العق ِد‪ ،‬و ِف ِيه نظر؛ ِْلنه مدعى الخص ِم ولو ضم إلى ذ ِلك واْلصل حمله على‬ ‫ِاَل‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ م َ َّ ُ َ م ُ ٌ َ َّ َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َّ َ َ َ ُ َ م َ ُ َ م َ م ُ َ م ُ م َ م َ َ م َ ُ م َ ً َ م َ‬
‫ات‪ ،‬واْلول ممنوع والث ِاني َل ي ِفيد (العناية ج ‪ 7‬ص ‪ 21‬ط دارالفكر)‬ ‫الصح ِة كان له أن يقول اْلصل حمل العق ِد عليها مطلقا أو ِفي غي ِر ِ‬
‫الرب ِوي ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
35 | P a g e

Muhammad. Thus, Iṣṭīlāḥ can only be activated and deactivated by the public and not by the transacting parties

alone64.

Besides Dinar and Dirham, other assets which became a currency without the intervention of a state did so upon

Ta’āmul and Iṣṭilāḥ65. In historical times, assets and raw metals were commonly used in daily chores and affairs.

Therefore, assets and raw metals which served other purposes in daily life would not be regarded as money until

Ta’āmul (usage as money) transpired66. Ta’āmul and Iṣṭilāḥ were the indicators of something transforming from

‘Urūḍ (assets) to Thaman (money). Ta’āmul is a natural process which takes time to establish. A habit is formed

after an industry, area or market deal with something as money over a given period of time, establishing a

Ta’āmul. Some of the apparent indicators of Ta’āmul are:

• The ẓāhir and apparent understanding of such assets is that it is money.

• People regard them as money extemporaneously.

• The first description or definition that comes to mind of such assets is of money.

• Thamaniyyah becomes their second nature and innate trait.

• The obvious form of payment becomes these assets.

However, money which was coined and released by the government, was money from its inception. A natural

process of Ta’āmul was not required as people regarded that asset as money upon circulation67. The

government establish Ta’āmul and ‘Urf by legislation. Thus, Mufti Taqi Uthmani indicates that an ‘Urf can be

established with legislation68. Minted coins served no other purpose but as a medium of exchange from

‫ ط مكتبة معارف القرآن‬734 ‫ ص‬2 ‫ فقه البيوع ج‬64

َّ ‫م َ م َي‬
‫الت َع ُام ُل ب م‬ َ َّ َ َ َ َ ُ َ
َ‫ُ َ َ ُ م‬ َ ‫م‬ َّ َ ‫م‬ َ ‫م‬ ‫ص ب َّ م‬ َّ َّ َ َ ‫م َ م‬
ُّ ‫الث َمن َّي َة َت مخ َت‬ َ َ ُ َ َّ َ ‫َ م ُ م‬
‫اس ِت مع َم ِال َها‬ ِ ‫اه ًرا إَل أن يج ِر‬ َ
ِ ‫وص ِْلنه ِعند ذ ِلك َل يصرف إلى ش مي ٍء آخر ظ‬
ُ
ِ ‫الضر ِب ماْلخص‬ ِ ِ ‫اه ُراْلذه ِب أن‬ ِ ‫ وجه اْلو ِل وهو ظ‬65
َ ُ ‫َّ م َ َ ُ ُ َ َ ً َ َ م ُ ُ َ م‬ َ ‫م‬ َّ ‫َ ً َ م‬
)‫ اْلعرفة‬720 ‫ ص‬1 ‫(مجمع اْلنهرج‬.‫س اْل ِال‬ ‫ث َمنا ف َين ِز ُل الت َع ُام ُل ِب َمن ِزل ِة الضر ِب فيكون ثمنا ويصلح رأ‬
َّ َ َ ‫َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ ٌ َ م م م َ َ م ُ َ ُ م‬ ‫َم َ م‬ ُُ‫م‬ َّ َ َّ َ َ َّ َ ُ ُ ‫ َو َت محق‬66
)‫ ط اْلعرفة‬183 ‫ ص‬12 ‫اس (اْلبسوط ج‬ ِ ‫وس ليست ِب ِصف ٍة َل ِزم ٍة موَل هو ث ِابت ِب َأص ِل ال ِخلق ِة بل يع ِارض اص ِطالح الن‬ ِ ‫يقه أن ِصفة الث مم ِني ِة ِفي َالفل‬ ِ
ً َ َ َ ‫َّ ُ م َ َ َ َ ُ م َ ُ َ َ م‬ ُ ‫َّ م َ م‬ ُّ َ ‫َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ م‬ َ ‫ َ م ُ م َ َّ َ ُ َ َ ُ َ م‬67
)‫ اْلعرفة‬720 ‫ ص‬1 ‫(مجمع اْلنهرج‬. ‫اهرا‬ ِ ‫وص ِْلنه ِعند ذ ِلك َل يصرف إلى ش ي ٍء آخرظ‬ ِ ‫اهراْلذه ِب أن الثم ِنية تختص ِبالضر ِب اْلخص‬ ‫ل‬
ِ ‫وجه اْلو ِ وهو ظ‬
‫ مكتبة معارف القرآن‬401 ‫ ص‬1 ‫ فقه البيوع ج‬68
‫‪36 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪inception due to the ‘Urf being implemented and imposed by the government. In such an instance, the natural‬‬

‫‪process of Ta’āmul and forming a habit is fast tracked by legislation.‬‬

‫‪Assets which become money and are given the quality of Thamaniyyah upon Ta’āmul can also be deactivated as‬‬

‫‪money once they are withdrawn or no longer used as money69. The Thamaniyyah being removed from such‬‬

‫‪items reverts them back to assets and raw metals70. This can be understood in commodity money which serve‬‬

‫‪their primary function upon being withdrawn.‬‬

‫‪The Thamaniyyah (monetary element) in Dinar and Dirham can never be deactivated or removed, as that is‬‬

‫‪intrinsically and innately instilled in these precious metals by Allah71.‬‬

‫َ َ َ َ َ م َّ َ َّ ُ َ َ م َ ُ ُ ً َ َ ُ َّ‬
‫وضا تت َع َّين ِبالت مع ِي ِين‪( .‬العناية ج ‪ 7‬ص ‪ 21‬ط دارالفكر)‬‫و ِإذا بطلت الثم ِنية ف ِلعو ِدها عر‬ ‫‪69‬‬

‫مُم َ‬ ‫م َ ُ َ م ُ ً َ َ ُ َّ ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م َم ً َ‬ ‫م َ‬ ‫َ م َم َ ً ُ م َ َ َ م َ ُ ُ َ‬ ‫َ َ ُ َّ‬

‫ودا َل ت مبط ُل الث َم ِن َّية ِل ِق َي ِام اْلقت ِض ي‬ ‫ص َارت أث َمانا ف َما َد َام ذ ِل َك ِاَلص ِطالح موج‬ ‫ص ِطال ِح‬ ‫وج؛ ِْل َّن َها ِب ِاَل‬ ‫‪(َ 70‬وَل َيت َع َّين ِبالت مع ِي ِين ِلكو ِن ِه أثمانا) يع ِني ما دامت تر‬
‫م َ َ َ‬ ‫م َ م َ م َ ٌ َ َّ َ َ م َ م ً‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫َّ َ َّ َ ُ َ م َ‬ ‫مُم َ‬ ‫إن َك َان مت ََل َت ُر ُ‬‫م‬ ‫َ َ َ ُ َّ‬
‫ص ِطال ِح ف ِإذا‬ ‫ص َارت أث َمانا ِب ِاَل‬ ‫ص ِطال ُح‪َ ،‬و َهذا؛ ِْل َّن َها ِفي اْلص ِل ِهي ِسلعة‪ ،‬و ِإنما‬ ‫وج) ِل َز َو ِال اْلقت ِض ي ِللثم ِني ِة‪ ،‬وهو ِاَل‬ ‫ال َ(و َيت َع َّين ِبالت مع ِي ِين‬ ‫ق‬
‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ َ ُ مُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ م َ َ‬
‫تركوا اْلعاملة ِبها رجعت إلى أص ِلها (تبيين الحقائق ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 141‬ط إمدادية)‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ َّ َّ َ ُ َ َّ َ ُ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ ُ م َ م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫‪ َ َ َ َ َ 71‬م َ ُ م ُ َ َ َ ُ َ م َ ُ َّ َّ َ َ َّ َ َ م َ م َ م َ َ َّ َ ُ ُ َ م ُ ُ‬
‫وس الرا ِئج ِة) ‪ ،‬أما الدر ِاهم والدن ِانيرف ِْلنهما ثمن اْلشي ِاء‬ ‫قال‪( :‬وَل تنع ِقد اْلفاوضة وال ِع َنان ِإَل ِبالدر ِاه ِم والدنا ِن ِيرو ِتبري ِهما ِإن جرى التعامل ِب ِه و ِبالفل ِ‬
‫وز َّ َّ َ ُ َ ُ َ م َ َ ُّ َ َّ ُ َ َ م‬ ‫وز ُ م َ ً َ َّ َّ َ َ َ م َّ َ ُ َ َ َ َ م َ َ َ َ ُ ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫الت مب ُر َف ِق َ‬ ‫م َ ً َ َ م ً َ َ َ َ َ َ َ َّ‬
‫يل‪َ :‬ي ُج مطلقا ; ِْلن الذهب وال ِفضة خ ِلقا ثمني ِن‪ ،‬و ِقيل‪َ :‬ل يج ِإَل ِبالتعام ِل وهو اْلصح ; ِْلنهما و ِإن‬ ‫ِخلقة ووضعا وَل ِخالف ِفي ذ ِلك‪ .‬وأما ِ‬
‫ً‬ ‫َ‬
‫َّ َّ م َ م َ َّ‬
‫الت َع ُام َل َم مج َرى َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫صر َف ِاَل مس ُم ِع من َد ماإل مط َالق إ َلى ِ م َ َّ َ َ م َ ُ َ م َ م ُ‬ ‫َّ م َ َّ َ َ م َ‬ ‫ُ َ َّ َ َّ َ م َ م‬
‫الض مر ِب َع َمال‬ ‫وب‪ِ ،‬إَل أنا أجرينا‬
‫التب ِر‪ ،‬و ِإنما ينص ِرف ِإلى اْلضر ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ف الضر ِب حتى َل ين ِ‬ ‫خ ِلقا ِللثم ِني ِة ل ِكن ِبوص ِ‬
‫م َّ‬ ‫ََم م َ‬ ‫م‬
‫ِبال ُع مر ِف فأل َحقن ُاه ِب ِه َما ِعن َد الت َع ُام ِل‪( .‬اَلختيارج ‪ 3‬ص ‪ 14‬ط دارالكتب)‬
 ‫‪37 | P a g e‬‬

‫‪APPENDIX 3: Types of wealth‬‬

‫‪The Islamic laws relating to prices and commodities are very detailed. If a dispute arises, it is necessary to know‬‬

‫‪what is serving as the price and what is the commodity being purchased in a transaction to settle the dispute.‬‬

‫‪Thus, the jurists have discussed different types of assets and their roles in a transaction72:‬‬

‫)‪1) Always the price and monetary amount (thaman‬‬

‫)‪2) Always subject matter of sale (mabī‬‬

‫‪3) Dual nature; has the potential to be Thaman or Mabī’ depending on other variables‬‬

‫)‪1) Always Thaman (price‬‬

‫‪Gold and silver are always Thaman and the price in any transaction. These are assets are created to serve as‬‬

‫‪money and currency and have intrinsic value73. Not only do they always serve as the price in a transaction, they‬‬

‫م‬ ‫َ ُ‬ ‫َ َ‬
‫ص َح مب َها َس َو ٌاء كان َما ُيق ِابل َها ِم من ِجن ِس َها‪،‬‬ ‫صح َب َها َح مر ُف مال َباء َأ مو َل مم َي م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ ُ َ َّ ُ َ َّ َ‬ ‫م َ م َ َ ٌ ََ ُ َ‬ ‫اْل مم َو ُ َ م َ ٌ َ َ َ ٌ َ م ٌ م َ‬ ‫‪ َ 72‬م َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ال أنواع ثالثة‪ :‬نوع ِمنها ِفي العق ِد ثمن على ك ِل ح ٍال‪ ،‬وهو الد َر ِاهم والدنا ِن ُير‪ِ ،‬‬ ‫و‬
‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ََ م ٌ ُ َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ مَ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م م‬ ‫َ ُ َ َ َم َ م َ َ م َم َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م م َم م َ َ َ م ٌ مَ َ ُ َ َ ٌ ََ ُ‬
‫يك‪ ،‬ونوع هو ثمن ِمن وج ٍه‪،‬‬ ‫اب‪ ،‬واْلم ِال ِ‬ ‫اب والدو ِ‬ ‫الثي ِ‬ ‫وض ك ِ‬ ‫ات اْلمث ِال ِمن العر ِ‬ ‫أو ِمن غي ِر ِجن ِسها‪ ،‬ونوع ِمنها ما هو م ِبيع على ك ِل ح ٍال‪ ،‬وهو ما ليس ِمن ذو ِ‬
‫يع َف ُه َو َث َم ٌن‪َ ،‬وإ من َلمم‬ ‫صح َب َها َح مر ُف مال َب ِاء َو َق َاب َل َها َمب ٌ‬ ‫يع ًة‪َ ،‬وإ من َل مم َت ُك من ُم َع َّي َن ًة َفإ من َ‬ ‫يع م من َو مجه؛ َك ماْلَكيل َو ماْلَ مو ُزون َفإ َّن َها َإذا َك َان مت ُم َع َّي َن ًة في مال َع مقد َت ُكو ُن َمب َ‬ ‫َ ٌ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫م ِب ِ‬
‫َ م َ مَ َ م ُ م َ َ َ ََ َ َ َ ٌ َ َ َ َ ٌ‬
‫يصحبها حرف الب ِاء‪ ،‬وقابلها ثمن فهِي م ِبيعة‪( ،‬اْلبسوط للسرخس ي ج ‪ 3‬ص ‪ 14-13‬ط اْلعرفة)‬
‫الد َواب‪َ ،‬و مال َعبيد َو َن مو ٌع َث َمنٌ‬ ‫يع ب ُكل َحال َكالث َياب‪َ ،‬و َّ‬ ‫صح َب ُه مال َب ُاء َأ مو ََل‪ُ ،‬قوب َل بج منسه َأ مو ب َغ ميرج منسه‪َ ،‬و َن مو ٌع َمب ٌ‬ ‫اْل مم َو َ َ م َ ٌ َ م ٌ َ َ ٌ ُ َ َ َّ م َ م َ‬ ‫َ َّ م َ‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ٍ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ال أنواع نوع ثمن ِبك ِل ح ٍال كالنقدي ِن ِ‬ ‫أن‬
‫صح َب ُه مال َب ُاء َو ُقوب َل ب ماْلَبيع َف ُه َو َث َمن‪ٌ.‬‬ ‫يعا‪َ ،‬وإ من َل مم َي ُك من ُم َع َّي ًنا َو َ‬ ‫ان َمب ً‬ ‫م َم َ َ‬ ‫َ م َ م ُز ن َ م َّ م َ م َ َّ ُ م َ َ ُ َ َّ ً‬ ‫م َ م َ ٌ م َ م َ مَ‬
‫ِ َ َ َّ ِ ِ م ِ ُ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫يل‪ ،‬واْلو َو ِ غي ِرالنقدي ِن َف ِإنه إن كان معينا ِفي العق ِد ك ِ‬ ‫ِمن وج ٍه م ِبيع ِمن وج ٍه كاْل ِك ِ‬
‫ً‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫م‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫م‬ ‫م َ َُ َ‬ ‫ََ م ٌ َ َ ٌ‬
‫الذ َّم ِة‬
‫اسدا‪ ،‬ف ُهو ِسلعة مث َّمن‪ ،‬وهذا؛ ِْلن الثمن ما يثبت دينا ِفي ِ‬ ‫وس‪ ،‬ف ِإن كان َر ِائجا كان ثمنا‪ ،‬و ِإن كان ك ِ‬ ‫ونوع ثمن ِب ِاَلص ِطال ِح‪ ،‬وهو ِسلعة ِفي اْلص ِل كالفل ِ‬
‫م م‬
‫ِعن َد ال َع َر ِب‪.‬‬
‫يل‪،‬‬ ‫يع ًة‪َ ،‬و ماْلَ ِك ُ‬ ‫وض ََل ُت مس َت َح ُّق ب مال َع مقد َّإَل َع مي ًنا َف َك َان مت َمب َ‬
‫ِ‬
‫ود ََل ُت مس َت َح ُّق ب مال َع مقد َّإَل َد مي ًنا في الذ َّمة َف َك َان مت َث َم ًنا ب ُكل َحال‪َ ،‬و مال ُع ُر ُ‬
‫ِ ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ َ َ َ َ ُ م َ َّ ُ َ ُّ‬
‫الن ُق ُ‬ ‫كذا ذكره الفراء‪ ،‬و‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ ِ ٍ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ م َ م ُز ُن َ م ُ َّ م َ م ُ م َ َ ُّ م َ م َ م ً َ َ ً َ َ م ً ُ م َ ى َ َ َ َ َ ً‬
‫واْلو و غيرالنقدي ِن يستحق ِبالعق ِد عينا تارة ودينا أخر فكان ثمنا ِفي ح ٍال م ِبيعا ِفي ح ٍال (تبيين الحقائق ج ‪ 4‬ص ‪ 143‬ط إمدادية)‬

‫َّ ُ‬
‫اح ٌد‪َ ،‬و ُه َو الث َم ِن َّية؛ (اْلبسوط ج ‪ 13‬ص ‪ 123‬ط اْلعرفة)‬ ‫َ مَم ُ ُ م َ َ‬
‫‪ 73‬فاْلقصود ِمن ُهما و ِ‬
‫م َ ُ َّ ُ‬ ‫س َواح ٌد في ماْلَ مع َنى‪َ ،‬و ماْلَ مق ُ‬
‫ور ًة‪َ ،‬و َل ِك َّن ُه َما ج من ٌ‬ ‫َ َ َّ َ ُ ُ َّ َ ُ َ َّ‬
‫الد َنان ُيرج من َسان ُ‬
‫ود ُه َو اْل ِال َّية َوالث َم ِن َّية (اْلبسوط ج ‪ 14‬ص ‪ 106‬ط اْلعرفة)‬
‫ص ُ‬
‫ِ ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ص َ‬
‫ِ‬ ‫ول ِكنا نقول‪ :‬الدر ِاهم‪ ،‬و ِ ِ‬
38 | P a g e

have natural Thamaniyyah in them which naturally makes them currency and money even if they are not used

as currency74. Historically, gold and silver were used as monies and as references for defining prices75. Fiat

currencies will also be the price in transactions76.

When two assets are intrinsically Thaman, they will both be regarded as Mabī’ in the transaction77.

2) Always Mabī (subject matter of sale)

These are non-fungible items which will always be a commodity in any given transaction.

3) Dual nature

These are fungible assets. Fungible items can serve as a price or be the subject matter of sale depending on

other variables such as:

• If the fungible asset has been specified (mut’ayyin) and singled out to deliver in the exchange, then it

will become the subject matter.

• If the fungible asset has not been specified but merely mentioned in terms of quantity to deliver, then

it will become the price in a transaction.

ُ َّ ُ َ َ َّ َ َ ُ َ ‫َ َ َ ُ م‬ ً َ ‫َ َ َّ َ ُ َ َ م‬
)‫ ط إمدادية‬277 ‫ ص‬1 ‫الت َج َار ِة َوَل ت مبط ُل الث َم ِن َّية ِب ِاَل مس ِت مع َم ِال (تبيين الحقائق ج‬ ِ ‫ وِْلن ُهما خ ِلقا أثمانا ِل ِلتج َار ِة فال يحتاج ِف ِيهما إلى ِني ِة‬74
ُ َّ ُ ُ ‫ َ م َ م َ َ َّ َّ َ َ َ َّ َ َ َ م َ ٌ َ م َ ٌ َ َ َ م ُ َ َ م َ َّ َ م َ م‬75
)‫ ط اْلعرفة‬39 ‫ ص‬15 ‫ود الث َم ِن َّية (اْلبسوط ج‬ ‫واْلعنى أن الدر ِاهم والدنا ِنيرأثمان محضة وَل مقصود ِفي عي ِنها إنما اْلقص‬
‫وس‬
ُُ‫َ م َ َ م َ َ ً َ َ م ٌَ َ م‬ ‫م‬ َّ ُ َّ َ َ َ َ ٌ َ َ َ َ ً َ َ ‫م َ ٌ َ م َ َ م‬ ‫م َ َ َ َّ َ َ ُ َ م َ م‬ َ ‫ََم َ ُ م‬
ِ ‫اسدة فهِي ِسلعة كالفل‬ ِ ‫ و ِإن كانت ك‬، ‫ ف ِإن كانت را ِئجة فهِي ثمن َل تتعين ِبالتع ِي ِين‬، ‫ وينق ِسم ِباع ِتب ِار ِاَلص ِطال ِح على الث ِمين ِة وهو ِفي اْلص ِل ِسلعة‬76
)‫ ط دارالفكر‬60 ‫ ص‬16 ‫(فتح القديرج‬.
َ‫ َوإ من َع َّي َنها‬،‫الد َنانير‬ َّ ‫صط َالح َف َج َازب َها مال َب مي ُع َو َو َج َب في الذ َّمة َك‬
َّ ‫ َو‬،‫الد َراهم‬ ‫ص َار مت َث َم ًنا باَل م‬ َ ‫ال َم مع ُل‬
َ ‫وم ٌة‬ ٌ َ‫ َوإ من َل مم ُي َعي من)؛ َْل َّن َها َأ ممو‬،‫الناف َقة‬
َّ ُُ‫م‬ ‫َ َ م‬
‫ص َّح ال َب مي ُع ِبالفل‬
ِ ِ ِ ِِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫وس‬ ِ ‫(و‬
‫م‬ َ َ َ ‫َّ َ َ ُ َ م ُ م َ ُ َ م َ َ َ َّ َّ َ َّ َ َ َ م ُ ُ َ م َ َ َّ َّ م َ ُ م َ َ ُ َ م َ ُ َ َ َ َ م م‬ َ ‫م‬ ً َ َ ‫َ َ َ َ َّ ُ َ َّ َ َ َ م‬
‫اج ِب ووص ِف ِه‬ ِ ‫اس وله أن يع ِطيه غيرها؛ ِْلن الثم ِنية َل تبطل ِبتع ِي ِينها؛ ِْلن التع ِيين يحتمل أن يكون ِلبي ِان قد ِرالو‬ ِ ‫َل تتعين؛ ِْلنها صارت ث َمنا ِباص ِطال ِح الن‬
َ ‫م‬ َ ‫م ُ م‬ ‫َّ َ َ َ ُ ُ م َ ُ َ َ م‬ َ َ
)‫ ط إمدادية‬143 ‫ ص‬4 ‫ (تبيين الحقائق ج‬.‫يق الحك ِم ِبعي ِنها‬ ِ ‫كما ِفي الدر ِاه ِم ويجوز أن يكون ِلتع ِل‬
َ َ‫م‬ َّ َ َ ‫َّ م َ ٌ َ َّ م َ م َ َ ُ َّ َ ُ م ُ َ َ َ م‬
ً ‫الث َم َن مين َف ُي مج َع ُل ُك ُّل َواحد م من ُه َما َمب‬ َ ُ َ َّ
‫ ط دار‬139 ‫ ص‬7 ‫يعا ِل َع َد ِم اْل مول ِو َّي ِة (الهداية ج‬ ِ ِ ٍ ِ ِ ‫اب الصر ِف م ِبيع ِْلن البيع َل بد له ِمنه وَل ش يء ِسوى‬
ِ ‫ الثمن ِفي ب‬77
)‫الفكر‬
39 | P a g e

• The contract phraseology can also determine the subject matter and price when assets of dual nature

are being traded.

40 | P a g e

APPENDIX 4: Money in Economics

Secular jurists and economists may differ in the specifics of money as they are concerned with different aspects

of money. Thus, Ludwig von Mises in The Theory of Money & Credit highlights the different objectives of jurists

and economists78. He states that jurists seek the definition of money to determine how monetary liabilities can

be discharged, as money is a medium of payment to a jurist. He argues that economists may not adopt this

point of view as their concern is the advancement of economic theory.

Mankiw states,

“Money is the set of assets in the economy that people regularly use to buy goods and services from other

people.”79

McEachern (2012) states,

“Any commodity that acquires a high degree of acceptability throughout an economy becomes money.”80

Groth (2012) mentions,

“In economics money is defined as an asset (a store of value) which functions as a generally accepted medium of

exchange, i.e., it can in principle be used directly to buy any good. A note of IOU (a bill of exchange) may also be

a medium of exchange, but it is not generally accepted and is therefore not money. Generally accepted mediums

78 Von Mises, L., The Theory of Money & Credit, Yale University Press

79 Mankiw, Principles of Economics, 5th edition. South-Western Cengage Learning; 2011.

80 McEachern, W. (2012), Economics A Contemporary Introduction, South-Western, Cengage Learning

41 | P a g e

of exchange are also called means of payment. So money is characterized by being a fully liquid asset. An asset is

fully liquid if it can be used directly, instantly, and without any costs or restrictions to make payments.”

Economists tend to define money by the functions that money serves. These functions are81:

1) Store of value

2) Unit of account

3) Medium of exchange

4) Standard of deferred payment

1) Store of value

A store of value is an item that people can use to transfer purchasing power from the present to the future. In

other words, it is something that is expected to retain its value in a reasonably predictable way over time. Gold

or silver that was mined hundreds of years ago would still be valuable today. But perishable food would quickly

become worthless as it goes bad. So, gold or silver are good stores of value, but perishable food much less so.

2) Unit of account

A unit of account is the yardstick people use to post prices and record debts. It is the thing that goods and

services are priced in terms of, for example on menus, contracts or price labels. In modern economies, the unit

81 Bank of England. (2014). 2014 Q1. Quarterly Bulletin, 54(1).

Starr, R.M, Money: In Transactions and Finance, Department of Economics University of California, San Diego
Agarwala (2007), Principles of Economics, New Delhi: Excel books
42 | P a g e

of account is usually a currency, for example, the pound in the United Kingdom, but it could be a type of good

instead. In the past, items would often be priced in terms of something very common, such as staple foods

(‘bushels of wheat’) or farm animals.

3) Medium of exchange

A medium of exchange is an item that buyers give to sellers when they want to purchase goods and services. A

medium of exchange is anything that is readily acceptable as payment. Something that people hold because

they plan to swap it for something else, rather than because they want the good itself.

4) Standard of deferred payment

Money serves as a standard of payment contracted to be made at some future date. It facilitates borrowing and

lending activities.

These functions are all closely linked to each other. For example, an asset is less useful as a medium of exchange

if it will not be worth as much tomorrow — that is, if it is not a good store of value. Indeed, in several countries

where the traditional currency has become a poor store of value due to very high rates of price inflation, or

hyperinflation, foreign currencies have come to be used as an alternative medium of exchange. For example, in

the five years after the end of the First World War, prices of goods in German marks

doubled 38 times — meaning that something that cost one mark in 1918 would have cost over 300 billion marks

in 1923. As a result, some people in Germany at the time began to use other currencies to buy and sell things
43 | P a g e

instead. To make sure sterling does not lose its usefulness in exchange, one of the Bank of England’s objectives is

to safeguard the value of the currency. Although the medium of exchange needs to be a good store of value,

there are many good stores of value that are not good media of exchange. Houses, for example, tend to remain

valuable over quite long periods of time, but cannot be easily passed around as payment.

The balancing of production and consumption takes place in the market, where the different producers meet to

exchange goods and services by bargaining together. The function of money is to facilitate the business of the

market by acting as a common medium of exchange.

The Characteristics of Money

Economists have identified six characteristics that allow money to serve its functions, with the most importance

being acceptability. The characteristics of money are82:

1) Acceptability — Money must be widely accepted as a medium of exchange.

2) Divisibility — Money must be easily divided into small parts so that people can purchase goods and

services at any price.

3) Portability — Money must be easy to carry.

4) Scarcity — Money must be relatively scarce and hard for people to obtain.

5) Durability — Money must be able to withstand the wear and tear of many people using it.

6) Stability/uniformity — Money’s value must remain relatively constant over long periods of time.

82 Mankiw, Principles of Economics, 5th edition. South-Western Cengage Learning; 2011.

McEachern, W. (2012), Economics A Contemporary Introduction, South-Western, Cengage Learning

44 | P a g e

Types of Money

Economists have categorised money in the following types83:

1) Commodity Money

Commodity money are items used as money that also have intrinsic value in some other use. In other words, it

can serve as money as well as commodity due its intrinsic value. Gold, silver, salt, animals, shells, grains etc. are

forms of commodity money.

2) Fiat Money

Fiat money gets its value from a government order (i.e. fiat). That means, the government declares fiat money to

be legal tender, which requires all people and firms within the country to accept it as a means of payment.

Unlike commodity money, fiat money is not backed by any physical commodity. By definition, it does not have

intrinsic value. Hence, the value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand.

Most of the world’s paper money is fiat money.

3) Fiduciary Money

Fiduciary money depends for its value on the confidence that it will be generally accepted as a medium of

exchange. Unlike fiat money, it is not declared legal tender by the government, which means people are not

83 Choron, S. & Choron, H. (2011), Money: Everything You Never Knew About Your Favourite Thing to Save, Spend, and Covet,

Chronicle Books; 01 edition

45 | P a g e

required by law to accept it as a means of payment. Instead, the issuer of fiduciary money promises to exchange

it back for a commodity or fiat money if requested by the bearer. As long as people are confident that

this promise will not be broken, they can use fiduciary money just like regular fiat or commodity

money. Examples of fiduciary money include cheques, bank notes, or drafts84.

4) Electronic Money

This refers to money that is transmitted via the internet, computer networks, or other electronic systems. In an

electronic money system, no money actually changes hands, but rather a system of debits and credits is used to

make exchanges.

Electronic money, or e-money, is any electronic payment media—any material, device, or system that conducts

payment via the transfer of electromagnetically stored information. E-money may be “currency” in that it can be

stored in a physical “wallet” like a smart card or token, but it generally exists as account data on some electronic

storage device. Credit cards fit under this definition of e-money. Banks already create e-money as part of their

normal lending process, when they issue loans by crediting the deposit accounts of the borrowers (or the

receiver of the loan proceeds)85.

The FCA define electronic money as:

“Electronic money (e-money) is electronically (including magnetically) stored monetary value.”86

84 https://quickonomics.com/2016/09/different-types-of-money/

85 Fullenkam, C. & Nsouli, S.M, (2004), ‘Six Puzzles in Electronic Money and Banking, IMF Working Paper

https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2004/wp0419.pdf
86 https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/electronic-money-regulations
46 | P a g e

What does Legal Tender Mean?

The Bank of England describes legal tender in the following manner87:

Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning, which relates to settling debts. It means that if you are in

debt to someone then you can’t be sued for non-payment if you offer full payment of your debts in legal tender.

What is classed as legal tender varies throughout the UK. In England and Wales, legal tender is Royal Mint

coins and Bank of England notes. In Scotland and Northern Ireland only Royal Mint coins are legal tender.

Throughout the UK, there are some restrictions when using the lower value coins as legal tender. For example,

1p and 2p coins only count as legal tender for any amount up to 20p.

There are many acceptable payment methods which aren’t technically legal tender. This is why the term ‘legal

tender’ has little use in ordinary everyday transactions. Most shops accept payment by debit or credit card, and

some accept cheques and contactless payments. These are safe and convenient ways to pay, despite not being

classed as legal tender.

The same is true for Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes. Seven banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland

are authorised to issue banknotes. These notes make up the majority of banknotes in Scotland and Northern

Ireland and legislation is in place to ensure that noteholders have a similar level of protection as they would for

Bank of England notes. Despite this, Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes are not classified as legal tender

anywhere in the UK. Equally, Bank of England notes are not legal tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

87 http://edu.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/what-is-legal-tender/
47 | P a g e

Whether you pay with banknotes, coins, debit cards or anything else as payment is a decision between you and

the other person involved in the transaction.

In addition, shops are not obliged to accept legal tender. If you hand over a £50 note to pay for a banana in your

local grocery store, the staff are within their rights to choose not to accept it. Likewise for all other banknotes –

it’s a matter of discretion.

48 | P a g e

APPENDIX 5: Opinions on Bitcoins

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers the question of virtual currencies (VCs) qualifying as money

with the following:

VCs fall short of the legal concept of currency or money. While there is no generally accepted legal definition of

currency or money, the following may be noted:

• The legal concept of currency is associated with the power of the sovereign to establish a legal

framework providing for central issuance of banknotes and coins. Currency refers to the unit of account

and the medium of exchange denominated by reference to that unit of account, prescribed by law. In

the strict sense, currency refers to the banknotes and coins that are issued by a central authority (for

example, the central bank) that has the exclusive right to do so. Currencies are given the status of legal

tender under the state’s legal framework, which generally entitles the debtor to discharge monetary

obligations with the currency through its mandatory acceptance within the relevant jurisdiction. As such,

the value and credibility of a sovereign currency are intrinsically linked with the ability of the state to

support that currency.

• The legal concept of money is also based on the power of the state to regulate the monetary system. As

a legal matter, the concept of money is broader than the concept of currency, and includes not only

banknotes and coins but also certain types of assets or instruments that are readily convertible into such

banknotes and coins (for example, demand deposits). While money can be created by private parties

(for example, banks) as well as central banks, it must generally be denominated in a currency issued by a
49 | P a g e

sovereign authority, and must be intended to serve as a generally accepted medium of exchange within

that state (Procter 2012).

In terms of the economic understanding of money, the IMF states:

At present, VCs do not completely fulfill the three economic roles associated with money:

• High price volatility of VCs limits their ability to serve as a reliable store of value. VCs are not liabilities of

a state, and most VCs are not liabilities of private entities either. Their prices have been highly unstable

(see Figure 2), with volatility that is typically much higher than for national currency pairs. Both prices

and volatility appear to be unrelated to economic or financial factors, making them hard to hedge or

forecast (Yermack, 2013).

• The current small size and limited acceptance network of VCs significantly restricts their use as a

medium of exchange. Without legal tender status, a VC is accepted only when two parties agree to use

it. Despite the very rapid growth of VC-based payments, the number and volume of transactions in VCs

remain small. Indeed, the current total market value of VCs is about US$7 billion. 15 By contrast, U.S.

currency in circulation is US$1.4 trillion, while U.S. money supply (M2) is about US$12 trillion.

• As of now, there is little evidence that VCs are used as an independent unit of account. In other words,

rather than being used to measure the value of goods and services directly, they instead represent the

value in fiat currency based on the VC exchange rate. Retailers who accept payment in VCs will quote

prices in fiat currency, with the price in VC based on the exchange rate at a particular point in time.
50 | P a g e

The Bank of England88:

The extent to which an asset serves the various roles of money varies from person to person and over time. In

theory, digital currencies could serve as money for anybody with an internet-enabled computer or device. At

present, however, digital currencies fulfil the roles of money only to some extent and only for a small number of

people. They are likely at present to regularly serve all three purposes for perhaps only a few thousand people

worldwide, and even then only in parallel with users’ traditional currencies. The remainder of this section first

examines how widely digital currencies are used before assessing this usage against the three functions outlined

above.

Athough the views of the IMF and Bank of England are generic to virtual currencies, most virtual currencies and

in particular Bitcoin, were produced as currency to be independent of any central authority, transferable

electronically, more or less instantly, with very low transaction fees89. Therefore, the fact that virtual currencies

have an anti-central authority element to it, the opinions of the IMF and the Bank of England which represent

central authority may not reflect reality.

88
Bank of England (2014), ‘The Economies of Digital Currencies’, available at:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/2014/qb14q3digitalcurrenciesbitcoin2.pdf
89 www.coindesk.com/information/what-is-bitcoin/ (accessed 17th April 2014)
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APPENDIX 6: How Bitcoin Works

The following links can be read to understand Bitcoin:

1) Nakamoto, S., ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ Available at:

https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

2) Bonneau, et al., ‘SoK: Research Perspectives and Challenges for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies’ Available

at: http://www.jbonneau.com/doc/BMCNKF15-IEEESP-bitcoin.pdf

3) Viglione, R., ‘Does Governance Have a Role in Pricing’ available at:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2666243

4) Evans, C. (2015), ‘Bitcoins in Islamic Banking and Finance’, available at:

http://jibfnet.com/journals/jibf/Vol_3_No_1_June_2015/1.pdf

5) Bank of International Settlements, ‘Digital Currencies’, available at:

https://www.bis.org/cpmi/publ/d137.pdf

6) Poon, J. and Dryja, T. (2016), ‘The Bitcoin Lightning Network’, available at:

https://lightning.network/lightning-network-paper.pdf
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The following are common terminologies associated to Bitcoin90:

Balances - block chain

The block chain is a shared public ledger on which the entire Bitcoin network relies. All confirmed transactions

are included in the block chain. This way, Bitcoin wallets can calculate their spendable balance and new

transactions can be verified to be spending bitcoins that are actually owned by the spender. The integrity and

the chronological order of the block chain are enforced with cryptography.

Transactions - private keys

A transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets included in the block chain. Bitcoin wallets

keep a secret piece of data called a private key or seed, which is used to sign transactions, providing a

mathematical proof that they have come from the owner of the wallet. The signature also prevents the

transaction from being altered by anybody once it has been issued. All transactions are broadcast between users

and usually begin to be confirmed by the network in the following 10 minutes, through a process called mining.

Processing - mining

Mining is a distributed consensus system that is used to confirm waiting transactions by including them in the

block chain. It enforces a chronological order in the block chain, protects the neutrality of the network, and

allows different computers to agree on the state of the system. To be confirmed, transactions must be packed in

a block that fits very strict cryptographic rules that will be verified by the network. These rules prevent previous

90
https://bitcoin.org/en/how-it-works (accessed 17th April 2017)
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blocks from being modified because doing so would invalidate all following blocks. Mining also creates the

equivalent of a competitive lottery that prevents any individual from easily adding new blocks consecutively in

the block chain. This way, no individuals can control what is included in the block chain or replace parts of the

block chain to roll back their own spends.

Bitcoin Infographics
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