Using the Dinar & Dirham

What is the striking process of SC for their mints?

Sunnah Currency uses a 50T hydraulic press machine to produce the mints; With 3 strikes in total, one at the top side of our mint, one at bottom side of our mint and one on the edge of our mint,  both the shiny/matte finishes are achieved during this striking process…

• The Islamic Dinar is a specific weight of 22k gold (917.) equivalent to 4.25 grams.
• The Islamic Dirham is a specific weight of pure silver equivalent to 3.0 grams.

Umar Ibn al-Khattab established the known standard relationship between them based on their weights: "7 dinars must be equivalent to 10 dirhams." The Revelation undertook to mention them and attached many judgements to them, for example zakat, marriage, and hudud, etc., therefore within the Revelation they have to have a reality and specific measure for assessment [of zakat, etc.] upon which its judgements may be based rather than on the non-shari'i [other coins]. Know that there is consensus [ijma] since the beginning of Islam and the age of the Companions and the Followers that the dirham of the shari'ah is that of which ten weigh seven mithqals [weight of the dinar] of gold. . . The weight of a mithqal of gold is seventy-two grains of barley, so that the dirham which is seven-tenths of it is fifty and two-fifths grains. All these measurements are firmly established by consensus.

[Ibn Khaldun, Al-Muqaddimah]

How are the Islamic dinar & dirham used?

1.- The Islamic Dinar & dirham can be used for savings because they are wealth in themselves.

2.- They are used to pay zakat and dowry as they are a requisite within Islamic Law.

3.- They are used to buy and sell since they are a legitimate medium of exchange.

Gold and silver are the most stable currency the world has ever seen.

From the beginning of Islam until today, the value of the Islamic bimetallic currency has remained surprisingly stable in relation to basic consumable goods: A chicken at the time of the Prophet ﷺ cost one dirham; today, 1,400 years later, a chicken costs approximately one dirham. In 1,400 years inflation has remained zero.

Could we say the same about the Pound Sterling, dollar or any other paper fiat currency in the last 25 years? In the long term the bimetallic currency has proved to be the most stable currency the world has ever seen. It has survived, despite all the attempts by governments to transform it into a symbolic currency by imposing a nominal value different from its weight.

Reliability

Gold cannot be inflated by printing more of it; it cannot be devalued by government decree, and unlike paper currency it is an asset which does not depend upon anybody's promise to pay.

Portability and anonymity of gold & silver are both important, but the most significant fact is that gold & silver is an asset that is no-one else's liability.

All forms of paper assets: Crypto currencies, bonds, shares, and even bank deposits, are promises to repay money borrowed. Their value is dependent upon the investor's belief that the promise will be fulfilled. As junk bonds and the Mexican peso have illustrated, a questionable promise soon loses value. Gold & Silver is not like this. A piece of gold or silver is independent of the financial system, and it’s worth is underwritten by 5,000 years of the human experience.

The Importance of Paying Zakat with Dinar & Dirham

"Islam is based on five: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, paying the Zakat, the Hajj and the fast of Ramadan."

Zakat cannot be paid with a promise of payment. Zakat can only be paid with tangible merchandise, called in Arabic 'ain. It cannot be paid with a promise to pay or a debt, called in Arabic dayn.

From the beginning the zakat was paid with dinars and dirhams. Most significant is that the payment of zakat was never allowed in paper money during all the ottoman period right until the fall of the Khalifate.

Shaykh Muhammad Alish (1802-1881), the great Maliki Qadi, said that if you were to pay zakat with paper-money only its value as merchandise ('ayn), that is, its value as paper can be accepted. Therefore, its nominal value is irrelevant as payment of zakat: If the Zakat was obligatory by considering its substance as a merchandise, then the nisab would not be stipulated according to its value but according to its substance and its quantity, as is the case with silver, gold, grain or fruits. Since its substance [paper] is irrelevant [in value] in respect to the Zakat, then it should be treated as the copper, iron or other similar substances.

To be continued in’Shaa’Allah

Ihyaa-us-Sunnah | Revival of Sunnah