Selling gold and silver jewelry

Gold and silver, the two monies

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).

Jewelry and crafted gold

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 Hanbali opinion (Taqi ad-Din) exempts common crafted pieces, not meant to serve as money, from the strict equality, a minority view. Malik's warning covers copper fulus: deferred fulus against gold or silver draws the same ban.

The composite necklace

I had bought on the day of Khaybar a necklace for twelve dinars, containing gold and gems; I took it apart and found more than twelve 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, not a commodity rising and falling in the market, otherwise people's dealings are corrupted.

Practical note

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.