The bill of exchange and the money order

Question

Question: Is it permissible to take and give a bill of exchange or not? If it is not permissible, then why is sending a money order (postal remittance) permissible? In a money order too, the very rupees deposited do not reach the addressee, do they?

Answer

The jurists have written that the bill of exchange is makruh (“Radd al-Muhtar”, vol. 4, p. 295), and the money order too is described as prohibited in “Fatawa Rashidiyya”, “Fatawa Ashrafiyya” and elsewhere; however, “Imdad al-Fatawa” also gives an interpretation (ta’wil) permitting it.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.