What is the ruling on exchanging a card worth 49 liras, which can only be spent in July, for a balance that costs 35 liras? Is it obligatory to standardize the price for the general public, and is it permissible to reduce it for relatives? Is it permissible to purchase this card for 35 liras in cash?

The money written on a worker's cards is considered a debt owed by its issuer, and a worker's purchase with it is a sale of their debt. It is permissible to sell a debt to someone other than the debtor in exchange for a commodity, such as buying phone credit, with two conditions: the buyer of the commodity must be able to collect the debt, and the seller of the debt must not profit, meaning they should not take a commodity whose value exceeds the value of their debt. However, selling a debt in exchange for a debt or cash is not permissible, due to the absence of the simultaneous exchange ( قبض ) and equivalence ( تماثل ) required in the sale of currencies, which falls under the category of usury (riba). The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has permitted the sale of a debt to someone other than the debtor in exchange for a specific commodity or a specific usufruct.