Hand to Hand: The Rule That Makes a Gold Trade Valid
Gold is one of the six commodities named in the hadith of riba. The rule is short, and almost every modern question about gold comes back to it.
Gold is not an ordinary commodity in Islamic law. It is one of the six items the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم named when he set out the rules of exchange, and those rules govern how it may be traded.
Sahih Muslim 1587 — Ubadah ibn as-Samit“Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt — like for like, equal for equal, hand to hand. If these classes differ, then sell as you wish, so long as it is hand to hand.”
What the hadith requires
- Same for same — Gold traded for gold must be equal in weight, whatever the craftsmanship — a heavier plain bar is not evened out by a lighter ornate chain.
- Different for different — Gold for money may be any price both sides accept.
- Always on the spot — Either way, both sides must be settled in the same sitting. Delay on one side is riba al-nasi’ah.
The practical test
Ask one question of any gold arrangement: does the gold and the payment both change hands now? If the gold is delivered but payment is deferred, or paid for now and delivered “later” with no real allocation, the contract has the defect the hadith closed off.
Where this bites today
- Buying jewellery on instalments — Payment is deferred while the gold is taken home — the settlement is not hand to hand.
- Old gold exchanged for new — Gold-for-gold, so weight must match and the difference in workmanship is settled separately in money, not in extra grams.
- Leveraged “gold” contracts — Nothing is delivered at all; what is traded is a position, not the metal.
Where to take the detailed question
This lesson gives the principle only. Specific rulings — with the dalil quoted in full — live in our Fatwa Library, and you can put your own case to a scholar.
The rulings, with evidence
Browse verified fatwas on gold, or ask your question directly.
Zakat on the gold you hold
Once you own gold, zakat becomes due on it at 2.5% a year once you pass the nisab and a lunar year completes. Our calculator does the whole computation, including jewellery.