Aslam

Gold and silver used as bargain of interest : He who opens the business of purchase and sale of gold and silver in order to eafn profit or in other words to take usury and interest, will be working against the plan and object of God and therefore will commit sin. He is ungrateful to the gift of God as these two things have not been created for purchase and sale but as mediums to get necessary things. When there is business of the same kind of things, there is action against the will of God. The plan of these two thing in like the place of a word in a sentence or the place of a mirror in colours. So exchange of gold and silver for gold and silver has got no meaning. If the object be hoarding, it will be an actofopperssion.

Question: Why is it that gold can be purchased legally in exchange of silver ?

Answer : The object of gold is separate from that of silver, as a piece of gold can be exchanged for several pieces of silver, just as .
a rupee can be exchanged for one hundred paisa by which many small things can be purchased. If it is prohibited, things cannot be easily purchased or sold. One rupee can be exchanged for another rupee as nobody will be willing to do that without profit, but one rupee cannot be exchanged for more than one rupee. The use of counterfeit coins is not lawful as an owner of good coins will not be ready to receive counterfeit coins, even though the number of the latter is greater. Barter system is not also lawful as the good and bad of it are the same.

Hoarding of food-stuffs is bad as they have been created for the upkeep of the body. If there is hoarding business of these things for long the object for which food stuffs have been created is frustrated. He who has got surplus food-stuff should transfer it to those who have got necessity for them. He who wants food-stuff in exchange of the same kind of food-stuff cannot legally get it as he has got no need of it. For this reason, Shariat cursed those who hoard up food stuff.

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VoI-IV THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES 85

There are illustrations about the objects of the creation of gold, silver and food-stuff. So don't misuse anything for which it has been created. God says : He who has been given wisdom has been given abundant good-2 : 269 Q. Those minds which are the store houses of temptations and playgrounds of the devil cannot grasp the root-cause of God's object in creating a thing. For this, the Prophet said : Had not the devil moved in the heart of man, they would have seen the sovereignty of God. When you have understood this thing, you can guess whether your movements and actions are grateful or ungrateful as there is nothing which is outside these two attributes.