Arabic (عارية) for a gratuitous loan (qard) whose underlying is a non-fungible (mithli) object or property, the substance of which is not depletable or exhaustible by use. The offeror of a’ariyah doesn’t taken anything from the offeree in exchange for enjoying the usufruct of the underlying. In this sense, a’ariyah differs from qard in that the latter is a loan of fungible objects (mithliat) which are typically consumed by use, and in which the qard taker has to return back to the offeror a similar object or commodity, but not the same object or commodity.
In essence, however, both a’ariyah and qard are based on virtuous attitudes towards others. In both cases, the borrowed object (in a’ariyah) or amount (in qard) is considered a liability on the borrower who is under obligation to give it back to its rightful owner.
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