We present a combinatorial proof of the $q$-Pfaff--Saalschütz identity by a composition of explicit bijections, in which $q$-binomial coefficients are interpreted as counting subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_q$-vector spaces. As a corollary, we obtain a new multiplication rule for quantum binomial coefficients and hence a new presentation of Lusztig's integral form $\mathcal{U}_{\mathbb{Z}[q, q^{-1}]}(\mathfrak{sl}_2)$ of the Cartan subalgebra of the quantum group $\mathcal{U}_q(\mathfrak{sl}_2)$.