A loan of R2,000 was given in 1984 to Zaid who never repaid it.

Answer

The R2,000 loan given in 1984, which will be paid only now in 2016, should be repaid in terms of the value of gold. The amount of gold which R2,000 could procure in 1984, will be applicable today. That amount of currency notes or the actual amount of gold has to be paid.

(1) Yes, this is the compulsory way in which loans should be repaid. Ponder over the scenario of the currency going out of circulation. If the government cancels rands, and introduces a totally different currency, then the only way of repaying a debt will be by the gold standard which is the original currency created by Allah Ta'ala.

(2) If the creditor wholeheartedly accepts R2,000 in rand notes today, it will be permissible. It is permissible for a creditor to waive his rights.

(3) The creditor can demand only the gold value of R2,000 in 1984, regardless of the current price of gold, and the debtor is obliged to pay only that amount.

(4) In the loan scenario, the issue of profit does not arise. The creditor takes back only what is owed to him. In 1984 his R2000 could purchase, for example, three kruger gold coins. Today he has to be given that very same amount - 3 gold coins. He is not making any gain on his loan. He is taking back the original amount owed to him. Pieces of paper (rand notes) have no intrinsic monetary value. The demonitization of the

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