If you have loaned a man a loan, and he comes to you with your loan along with a gift, then take your loan and return his gift to him." Both were narrated by al-Athram (16). Al-Bukhari (17) narrated from Abu Burdah, from Abu Musa, who said: "I arrived in Medina and met Abdullah ibn Salam." He mentioned a hadith, which includes: "Then he said to me: 'You are in a land where usury is rampant. If you are owed a debt by a man, and he gifts you a load of straw, or a load of barley, or a load of fodder, do not take it, for it is usury.'" Ibn Abi Musa said: "If he loaned him a loan, and then employed him for work, and he would not have employed him for the like of it before the loan, then it is a loan that has drawn a benefit." If he invites his debtor to a meal, and it was not the custom between them to do so, he should deduct what he ate from the debt; this is based on what Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan (18) from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "If one of you loans a loan, and the borrower gifts him something, or carries him on his mount, he should not ride it and should not accept it, unless it was something that took place between him and him before that." This all applies during the duration of the loan. As for after the settlement, it is like an increase without a condition, as we will mention, if Allah Almighty wills.

Section: If he loans it to him absolutely without a condition, and he pays him back with something better in quantity or quality, or less than it, with their mutual consent, it is permissible. Likewise, if he writes a bill of exchange (suftajah) for him, or pays it back in another city, it is permissible. This was permitted by Ibn Umar, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, al-Hasan, al-Nakha'i, al-Sha'bi, al-Zuhri, Makhul, Qatadah, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. Abu al-Khattab said: "If he pays him back with something better than it, or adds an increase after the settlement without prior agreement, there are two narrations [regarding its permissibility]." It was narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Ibn 'Abbas, and Ibn Umar that he should only take the like of his loan and not take any excess, because if he takes an excess, it becomes a loan that has drawn a benefit. Our view is that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, borrowed a young camel and returned a better one than it, saying: "The best of you is the best of you in repayment." Agreed upon (19). In al-Bukhari's version: "The most excellent of you is the best of you in repayment." This is because he did not make that increase a compensation for the loan, nor a means to it, nor a means to collect his debt, so it is lawful, just as if there were no loan. Ibn Abi Musa said: "If he adds an increase to him after the settlement, and then the borrower returns after that to seek a second loan, and he does so, he should not take from him except the like of what he gave him. If he takes an increase, or something better than what he gave him, it is forbidden, by a single consensus." If a man is known for his good repayment, it is not disliked to loan him. The Qadi said: "There is another position that it is disliked, because he might covet his good habit." This is incorrect, for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was known for good repayment, and is it permissible for anyone to say that loaning him is disliked? Furthermore, the one known for good repayment is the best and most virtuous of people, and he is the most deserving of having his needs fulfilled, his requests answered, and his distress relieved, so it is not permissible for that to be disliked. The only thing prohibited is the stipulated increase. If he loaned him broken currency, and he brought him whole currency in its place without a condition, it is permissible. But if he brought him whole currency of a lesser amount, and he accepted it as full payment for his right, it is not permissible, by a single consensus, because that is an exchange of currency for less than its value, which constitutes usury.

Section: If he stipulates in the loan that he will repay him less than what he loaned him, and that is something in which usury occurs, it is not permissible, because it leads to the loss of equality where it is a condition. If it is in something else, it is also not permissible. This is one of the two positions held by the followers of al-Shafi'i; in the other position, it is permissible because the loan was established to be a kindness to the borrower, and the condition of a decrease does not remove it from its intended purpose, unlike an increase. Our view is that a loan requires the like [in return], so the condition of a decrease opposes its requirement; thus it is not permissible, just like the condition of an increase.

Section: If one borrows half a dinar from a man, then gives him a whole dinar, saying, "Half of it is repayment and half of it is a trust (wadi'ah) with you," or "a payment in advance (salam) for something," it is valid. If the lender refuses