Is the absence of immediate قبض (seizure/possession) in the currency exchange session when purchasing foreign currency with Egyptian pounds – where the transferred amount is delayed – considered usury (riba)? Does this contradict the condition of قبض in the session? And what is the possible sharia-compliant modification for this transaction?

The exchange contract requires the acquisition (qabd) of both बदले in the session of the contract, which is not realized in the described scenario because the amount remains frozen in the friend's account after the exchange contract. For the exchange to be valid, the contract must be delayed until the friend is able to transfer the money. As for the three days that the transfer takes, if this period is customarily known in the markets due to the delay in the effect of the bank entry, then it is overlooked by most contemporary jurists, and the constructive possession (al-qabd al-hukmi) is achieved thereby. However, if this is not the case, or if the period exceeds what is customary, then the exchange is not valid.