Banknotes were borrowed, then gold became dearer

Question

Question: Those who issue banknotes (the government) commit a deception, in that they do not have as much gold as the notes they print and spread through the country; and the dearness of goods is also very great. So if in ’38 AH someone borrowed a hundred rupees when gold was a hundred rupees per tola (a unit of weight, ≈ 11.66 g), then now, if the debtor repays a hundred rupees for the loan, gold will cost two hundred and fifty rupees for one tola. How, then, will the debtor be relieved of the obligation?

Answer

Whatever deception those who issue banknotes may have committed, they are the ones responsible for it. The one from whom the notes were borrowed has the right to receive back only notes. If a note of a hundred was taken, let him return a note of a hundred, and he will be free of the obligation. Its dearness will not affect him.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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