All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

Islam has placed stringent restrictions on transactions involving ribawī (usurious) commodities — foremost among which are gold and silver, as they are the foundation of all monetary exchange — in order to preserve the stability of currency and commerce, and to ward off the grave harms that flow from ribā. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt — like for like, equal for equal, hand to hand. If these commodities differ, then sell as you wish, provided the exchange is hand to hand." — Narrated by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ.

Gold is therefore a ribawī commodity in which equivalence of weight is an absolute condition when exchanged for gold of the same kind. The criterion is the actual weight of pure gold — differences in quality, craftsmanship, or carat grade carry no weight in this regard, as the Sharia evidences stipulate equivalence without reference to attributes that cause variation in value.

Imam Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated:

"As for quality, the Sharī'ah has disregarded it entirely, as indicated by the ruling that good and poor grades are equal." — [Al-Majmū' Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, Vol. 10/P.70]

Differences in carat grade fall under this same principle of disregarded quality and are therefore of no Sharia consequence in such exchanges.

The Sharī'ah Standards likewise address this matter in Standard No. 57 on gold and the regulations governing its sale, which states:

"3/3/1/2 — The second type: gold mixed with something not intended for its own sake, where the purpose of mixing is to calibrate the purity or colour of the gold and the like — such as the addition of materials in specific proportions to produce gold of a defined carat grade, such as 21-carat or 18-carat gold. The added materials are not intended for their own sake; therefore, when exchanging such gold for gold of the same type, on-the-spot handover is required, along with verification that the weight of pure gold in each of the two counter values is equal."

Accordingly, it is not permissible to exchange gold for gold with a surplus on one side under the pretext of precaution due to the carat being slightly higher, as such a surplus constitutes ribā al-faḍl (usury of excess).

The lawful way out of this situation is as follows: each quantity of gold intended for exchange should first be sold for Jordanian dinars at an agreed price, and then the desired quantity should be purchased with Jordanian dinars at the agreed price — provided that the exchange of both counter values takes place in the same contractual sitting (majlis al-'aqd). And Allah Almighty knows best.