An exchange of two counter-values (badalain) such as price for commodity (ba’i), currency for currency (sarf), price for usufruct (ijarah), or commodity for commodity (muqayadah). Mubadalah involves also the exchange of commodity for price (salam). In this sense, mubadalah has the same meaning as mutajarah. For example, murabaha is a type of mubadalah as it involves the exchange of price (thaman) for commodity.

Mubadalah may also refer to an unqualified transfer of ownership.

Mubadalah is an Arabic term (مبادلة) that translates as “swap” or “swapping”.