Buying and Selling

 

Know that it is religiously obligatory for every morally responsible person to understand and know the laws of buying and selling, especially one who desires to engage in business transactions.

 

The conditions of a sound sell are: an offer; and acceptance from one morally responsible or a minor who has the permission from his/her guardian; as well as customary wording that indicates ownership. Examples of this wording are the statement of the seller: “I sold” and the statement of the buyer: “I bought.”       

 

The sold item and the price are fixed.

 

The sold item must be present in the possession of the seller. It is not valid to sell an item that isn’t there.

 

It is impermissible to sell anything religiously prohibited; similarly, selling something ritually impure, the skin of a carcass, or using it in any way.

 

In the case of a capital asset that you own, it is invalid to sell rights, such as the right of free passage (haqq al-murūr) or the right of pre-emption (haqq ash-shuf’a); included is the selling of what is termed “selling of the hand” (baya’ al-yad) regarding endowments. This is prohibited and invalid.

 

Similarly, it is invalid to sell the animal still in the womb and milk before separating them, as well as the fruit before it ripens and beneficial.

 

One does not buy anything or the like before one holds ownership of it. One should own something before one sells it because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, prohibited one from selling something that one does not own.

 

Whatever one buys by measure or weight and intends to sell must be sold by its definite measure or weight. 

 

Conditions of Validity and Invalidity

Among the conditions of validity is that there be no ambiguity concerning the contract, sale, or price.

• Similar to the condition of choice, the period of time must be known. If the period of time is unknown, the sell is invalidated.
• Similar to the case where a cow had milk and he was to say that it has a lot of milk, the sell is invalidated.
• If one was to postpone the payment to a known time; but if there was ignorance regarding that, the sell is also invalidated.

 

Among the conditions of validity is that which is stipulated by the contract. For example, there may be a condition that the seller delivers the product to one’s house because it is a sell and hire.

 

The one who invalidates any of the conditions that is not connected to the contract invalidates it also. For example, there may be two conditions such as: “I sold such and such from you if it was in cash or if such and such was postponed.” Another example is that one may sell two things in one sell. For instance: “I will sell you such and such at this price if you buy this thing as an offer.”

 

Usury

Know the usury is a great sin and grave offense. How many verses have Allah revealed concerning it! How many warnings have the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, issued regarding it and made clear the consequences! Allah, the Exalted, says: {O you who believe, be conscious of Allah! Give up all remaining portions of usury; if you are indeed believers. If you do not do so, know that you are at war with Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you can have your principal. In this way you are not unjust nor are you treated unjustly} (Q. 2:278-279). Also, it is narrated on the authority of Anas:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, addressed us in a sermon. He mentioned usury and emphasized its gravity. He said((A man committing fornication 36 times is considered lighter than one who consumes one dirham of usury. The highest usury is when one speaks against a Muslim’s honour)).   

There are other proofs for that.

 

Know that there are different types, insomuch that if we were to mention them, it would be 70 chapters. It is the right of every morally responsible person to know what they are so that one does not fall into any of them.

 

If payment was to differ in type as well as appreciation by measure and weight, which enables quantitative disparity.( Preference of one type to the other is permitted like selling of a ratl of margarine) for the weight of a ša’ of wheat. Deferment is permissible. It is to delay the delivery (taslīm) of one of the substitutes.

If payment was to differ in type only but agree in appreciation, like selling wheat (burr) for barley; or if payment was to differ in appreciation only but agree in type, like selling pressed wheat dough for its weight in flour. Similar is the case if payment was not originally estimated, like selling one sheep for two. In these three situations, quantitative disparity is permitted but deferment is not permissible. It is the delivery of one form of payment and delaying the other to a deadline. Unless it is valued monetarily then both things [disparity and deferment] are permissible.

 

When there is agreement in appreciation and type then it would be one kind of usury. Examples of this include: selling wheat for wheat, barley for barley, corn for corn, silver for silver, gold for gold and so forth. It is impermissible to sell one of these things for the other except with the following conditions:

·       First: both must be together and present in the property. It is invalidated if both are absent or if one is present while the other is absent

●     Second: the incorporation (al-halul), which means that it should be handled from hand to hand. So, the condition of handing one over, and delaying the other, may not be valid, even if the period of delaying is short. The one which is credited is just like the one which is handed over.

●     Third: It has to be certain that both of the similar ones are equal, or else it shall be judged like the forbidden voided usury. So, it may not be permissible to barter ripe dates with dried dates, raisins with the grapes, or things alike to them, as they are not known to be equal.

 

The buyer and the seller must avoid the following matters:

●     Receiving the goods that are intended to be sold, outside the market.

●     Monopolising human's food while the people need it.

●     The one from a town selling to the one from the desert.

●     Separating the relatives before the child attains puberty, like the one who buys the bondmaid without her child.

●     Propagandising (an-najash), like when the man says he would pay more to buy a good (which is more than its price), but in fact, he does not want to buy it. He only does this to make the others pay more than him. Similar is the case when someone praises some merchandise so that the others hear him and pay more for it. However, he is not telling the truth, and the merchandise is not as good as he alleges.

●     Bargaining after a bargain and selling after having accepted the first sale by the two parties.

●     Selling with two conditions; for example, selling an item from the merchandise with a specified price if it was instantly bough and a different price if it was postponed to a specified time. Similar is the case with selling two sales in one sale, like someone who says: “I sell you these with dirhams on condition that you sell me some of them later.”

●     Postponing the sale to a specified time, which means increasing the price because of delaying the payment.

●     Borrowing and selling, which is deceiving in order to escape from the previously mentioned by doing a trick, which is borrowing the price from the seller and he hand it over to him again as the price of the item he wanted to buy. Then all of this is not allowed to be done, and it is forbidden. Consequently, every trick that leads to a forbidden act is forbidden as well.

 

Exemption

It is from the acts of proximity (al-qurab). This is because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said: ((Whoever exempts a debt, Allah will exempt his/her sins on the Day of Judgment)). What is not included in this is Alraja an invalid sell or prohibited usury.

 

Options

The types are: 

●     The option of the useless, like the ewe which is not milked for long time. Then the buyer has the option to return it or keep it.

●     The option of the sight, which means that when someone buys an absent thing. S/he bought it upon hearing a good description about it. Then he shall have the right to return it back when he sees and differentiates it.

●     The option of the conditional till a specific period, which means that when the buyer or the seller made an agreement with each other that the good can be returned during a specific period. Then both of them shall have the right to return it during the agreed period.

●     The defect option, which means that if the sold item has any defect, and the said defect already existed when it was a property of the seller, before selling it to the buyer; and the said defect reduces the value of the sold item, then it may be returned to the seller. However, in case the buyer knew about this defect before buying it, or if s/he accepted to buy the item with the existence of the defect and s/he was satisfied with the rest of the item, or if he asked for completing the sale, or if he fixed this defect, or if this defect has disappeared when the buyer bought it, or if it was discovered by the buyer and he treated if; then all of these reneges the buyer the right to return the bought item if they are done after knowing the defect.

The seller is forbidden to sell the defected thing unless he informs the buyer about this defect. If it was discovered that the sold thing was not owned by the seller, then the buyer may return it to its real owner, and he must take the price he paid from the seller.

And if the sold thing is damaged before handing it over, then the sale is to be invalid, and the seller may return the price.

 

The Valid, Corrupted, and Invalid sale

●     The valid sale is what has gathered all the previous conditions.

●     The invalid sale is that in which the agreement is violated, like that which is too young to be sold, when the price is not mentioned, or the sold item is not named. Similar is the case with that which is not allowed to be owned, like carcass and the flesh of swine; that which has occurred without satisfaction and agreement; or the sale that has been done by force and without the agreement of its owner. Consequently, it is considered a sin and the one who does this is to be guaranteed, like in case of the money of an orphan.

●     The corrupted sale is anything else other than what was previously mentioned, like option selling without determining a known period.

 

Loans

It is one of the best means of proximity to Allah. Whoever lends shall be considered like the one who gives charity every day, until s/he claims his/her money. It shall be considered invalid if it has any of the conditions of the usury. For example, if the one who lends made a condition which is that the borrower must refund more than the money he borrowed, then it is to be considered forbidden and invalid.

 

It is strictly forbidden that the amount of the loan increases [i.e. the profits of the loan], except if when the borrower himself decides to increase it without any conditions, then it shall be considered an allowed charity.

 

Whoever borrows must take care of repayment, and s/he should pay in time and never temporize. In this topic we found texts that praises and warns.

 

Forward Buying (As-Salam)

It is not to be allowed to deal except only with the religious and virtuous ones, because most of the deeds of the people can be considered usury.

 

Money Changing

This is selling gold by gold, or by silver, or vice versa.

 

Its judgments are the same ones that were previously mentioned in the usury. It is forbidden to buy the things which are made from silver like the jewelry or anything alike to it, using dirhams; except when their weight is known to be exactly equal. As the hadīth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, says: ((Sell the dirham by the dirham, one by one from hand to hand)).

 

If any of the equals was accompanied by another then it has to be known that they are equal, even if it was not from the same type, or any other condition, without deception.

 

Intercession

 

It is a right for every partner of origin, then the partner of drinking, then the partner of the road, then the close neighbour, and it is to be done instantly. The one who slacken and delays it, his intercession shall be invalid, even if he did that for a little period of time. Whoever is informed about the sale while he is absent, then he should be asked to come, or he sends someone immediately. Then the partner has to pay the same [quantity and form of] the price that is paid by the buyer.