Goldsmiths' dust (turab al-sagha)

Goldsmiths' dust is the ash that falls in the workshops of goldsmiths, with no knowing what gold or silver is in it. The schools differ over selling it. ^{1 3}

The term combines turab (dust) and sagha (goldsmiths, plural of the word for one who works gold into ornaments). The Malikis define it as the ash found in goldsmiths' shops whose contents are unknown. ¹

• Tibr: in Maliki usage, unminted gold; for the Shafi'is, gold and silver before minting, or gold alone. ²
• Turab al-ma'adin (dust of a mine): what falls from the ore itself without mixing with another substance; goldsmiths' dust is what falls mixed with earth or sand. ^{2 3}

The Hanafis hold that it is not lawful to sell silver dust for silver, since if nothing is found in it the sale is a gamble, and if silver is found it is silver sold for silver by guesswork. It may be sold for gold or for gold dust, since the kinds differ; the buyer may cancel the sale when he sees it. ² The Hanbalis hold that it may not be sold for any of its own kind, since it is usurious property sold for its kind without knowing equality. ³ The Malikis forbid selling it for its great uncertainty; a sale made is cancelled. ³ The Shafi'is forbid selling it before it is refined and the gold or silver separated from it, since the object is unknown or hidden, as with selling meat in its hide before flaying. ³