Narrated Abu Rafi': The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬borrowed a young camel, and when the camels

of zakat came to him, he ordered me to pay the man his young camel. I said: I find only an excellent
camel in its seventh year. So the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said: Give it to him, for the best person is he who
repays his debt in the best manner.
[Reported by al-Bukhari no. 2392; Muslim no. 1600; Abu Dawud no. 3346 and others]

Shaykh Abdul Muhsin al-Abbad – may Allah preserve him – said in explanation of the
aforementioned narration:
“The author’s [Abu Dawud] sating: ‘Chapter: Repaying Ones Debts in the Best Manner’ i.e.
when the time of repayment comes upon a debtor, he should repay what he owes in the
best manner. It is permissible that his repayment is an increased amount – either in
number, size, or type. For example, if a person borrowed money, it is permissible that he
repays his creditor more than he owes him. Similarly, if a person borrowed a young camel, it
is permissible at the time of repayment that he gives back a mature camel – which is larger
and more valuable. This is permissible providing there is no prior agreement or consent. As
for if the two [parties] agreed at the time of the loan that the debtor would repay more
than what he borrowed, or there was mutual consent between them – such as if one of
them hinted or alluded – that there would be an increase, even if they did not explicitly
state it in the written contract between them, this is strictly impermissible. This is a loan
that brings about benefit and is usury. There is unanimous scholarly consensus regarding
this matter, and it is mentioned as being the wording of a very weak narration as al-Hafidh
[Ibn Hajr] pointed out in ‘Bulugh al-Maram’. However, its meaning is something all of the
scholars are in agreement concerning.

[See: http://audio.islamweb.net/audio/index.php?page=FullContent&audioid=172674 for a

voice recording of the Shaykh along with an Arabic transcript]

https://islamqa.info/en/12541

https://islamqa.info/en/91474

Shaykh al-Albaanee – may Allah have mercy upon him – was asked:

Q. What is the authenticity of the narration: “Every loan which brings a benefit is usury?”

A. [The questioner is asking] regarding the narration: “Every loan which brings about benefit
is usury” – a quick verification of its authenticity, a short explanation of its meaning, its
benefits and that which it warns against.

“Every loan which brings about benefit is usury”: Its chain of transmission is weak. As far the
chain of narrators is concerned, then it is weak.

However, its meaning is correct as long as it is understood in a restricted sense. We do not

understand it unrestrictedly because it is authentically established in the Prophetic
traditions that the Messenger r took a loan and repaid more than he borrowed; he
borrowed one camel but paid two camels back. Due to this, the narration in question is not
only weak as far as its chain of transmitters is concerned, but it also opposes that which is
authentically established.
The restriction that it must be understood in light of, is: ‘Every loan that stipulates as a
precondition or a prerequisite is usury’. With this meaning it is true.

As for loans which bring about benefit due to the good manners of the debtor and the
creditor then there is no harm in that, contrary to a debt wherein a creditor stipulates an
increase – this is usury, and is mentioned by the narration, despite its weakness.

[See: https://alathar.net/home/esound/index.php?op=tadevi&id=9651&coid=164876 for a

voice recording of the Shaykh along with the Arabic transcript]

Also see: https://islamqa.info/en/49015