Islamic Fiqh > Financial transactions > Selling gold and silver jewelry
Selling jewelry, buying gold, exchanging pieces: sarf rules applied to precious metals and market pitfalls.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
Gold and silver carry the rules of riba: same species, equal for equal, hand to hand; one against the other, surplus allowed and deferment forbidden. Malik ibn Aws came to Talha for a deferred exchange of dirhams; Umar intervened: "silver for gold is riba unless hand to hand" (Muslim 1586).
Minted coin and raw gold are equal: "its raw and its crafted are equal" (Abu Dawud 3349, an-Nasa'i 4563). The good and the bad are equal, as with the dates of Khaybar (al-Bukhari 2202, Muslim 1593). The jeweler who sold his work above the weight of its gold was corrected by Abdullah ibn Umar; the criterion of the schools is weight, not value. Most jurists weigh jewelry by its metal; a riwaya of Ahmad adopted by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim exempts lawful crafted pieces (the silver ring, women's jewelry) from the strict equality, a minority view.
Copper fulus follow a different rule: the majority of the schools (the Hanafis except Muhammad, the Shafi'is and one Hanbali view) allow surplus and deferment in fulus, gold and silver remaining the only true monies.
I had bought on the day of Khaybar a necklace for 12 dinars, containing gold and gems; I took it apart and found more than 12 dinars of gold in it. I mentioned it to the Prophet and he said: it is not sold until it is separated.
Fadala ibn Ubayd, Muslim 1591
This is the case called the mudd of ajwa: a riba good mixed with another good may not be exchanged as one block against more of its like; the majority (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) forbid it, the Hanafis allowing the combined exchange since equality of weight is met on both sides. The wisdom of the strictness on the monies, in Ibn al-Qayyim's words, is the function of valuation: money must remain the standard that measures all things, with no surplus sought between the two monies, otherwise the very purpose of prices is corrupted.
To sell gold jewelry lawfully: weigh the metal, sell equal for equal on the spot, or sell for silver or goods with any margin, but hand to hand; separate the stones, or agree knowingly on their share.