Shirā’, an Unfair Barter Exchange in the Holy Qur’an: A Linguistic Study

Shirā’ is one of the most important economic exchanges in Arabian Peninsula at the age of revelation of the Holy Qur’an. Taking critical approach towards the idea of synonymy between Shirā’ and other economic exchanges like Bayʿ and Tijāra, this essay identifies its unique entity and functions. According to evidences, Shirā’ denotes the direct exchange of goods for each other without the medium of money. Moreover, linguistic evidences indicate two origins for the term "Shirā’" merged with each other throughout a linguistic contact. Therefore, "Shirā’" signifies a special type of barter exchange which is described by economic anthropologists as "zero-sum game barter". These results have been strengthened by (a) anthropological data on barters, (b) environmental data on Arabian Peninsula, and (c) Qur’anic usages of this term. Eventually, the reason for metaphorical usages of this term in the Holy Qur’an is also examined.