Business Transactions

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "None withholds goods till the price rises but a sinner."[Reported by Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Do not tie up the udders of camels and goats. He who buys them after that (has been done) has two choices open to him after milking them: he may keep them if he wishes, or may return them along with one Sa' of dates."[Agreed upon].

"He has three days in which to decide to keep them or not."

"He must return with it one Sa' of any grain but wheat."[al-Bukhari said, "(One Sa' of) dates is mentioned in more narrations than not].

If anyone buys a goat whose udder has been tied up and he returned it, he must return it with one Sa'.[Reported by al-Bukhari].

"of dates."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) once came upon a heap of grain, and when he put his hand inside it, his fingers felt some dampness. So, he asked, "What is this, O owner of the grain?" He replied, "Rain had fallen on it, O Allah's Messenger." He said, "Why did you not put it (the damp part) on the top of the foodstuff so that people might see it? Whoever cheats has nothing to do with me."[Reported by Muslim].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Whoever hoards grapes in the vintage (harvest) season till he sells them to those who make wine from them, has hastily thrown himself into Hell-fire with clear knowledge."[at-Tabarani reported it in al-Awsat with a Hasan (good) chain of narrators].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Any profit goes to the one who bears responsibility."[Reported by al-Khamsah. al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud graded it Da'if (weak). at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaimah, Ibn Jarud, Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim and Ibn al-Qattan graded it Sahih (authentic)].

The Prophet (ﷺ) gave him a Dinar to buy a sacrificial animal or a sheep. He bought two sheep with it, sold one of them for a Dinar and came back to him with a goat and a Dinar. So he invoked blessings on him in his business dealings, and he was such that if he had bought soil (of the earth) he would have made profit from it.[Reported by al-Khamsah except an-Nasa'i].

al-Bukhari also recorded it within another Hadith but did not report its exact wording.

at-Tirmidhi reported a Shahid (supporting narration of similar meaning) for it from the Hadith of Hakim bin Hizam.

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade buying what is in the wombs of domestic animals till they give birth; selling what is in their udders; buying a runaway slave; buying (something from) the spoils of war until they are divided; buying Sadaqat before they are received; and the unknown catch (find) of a diver.[Ibn Majah, al-Bazzar and ad-Daraqutni reported it with a weak chain of narrators].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Do not buy the fish that is in the water, for it involves uncertainty (risk)."[Reported by Ahmad who indicated that the correct view is that it is Mawquf (saying of a Companion, i.e. Ibn Mas'ud].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the selling of a fruit till it becomes ripe, or the selling of fur which is (still) on the back (of an animal) or milk which is (still) in the udder.[Reported by at-Tabarani in al-Awsat. ad-Daraqutni also reported it].

Abu Dawud reported in al-Marasil as a saying of 'Ikrimah, and that is the strongest opinion.

He also reported it Mawquf (as a saying of a Companion, i.e.) Ibn 'Abbas with a strong chain of narrators, and al-Baihaqi held it to the most correct narration.

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the sale of what is in the womb of a she-camel, and the semen that is in the body of a male-camel.[Reported by al-Bazzar and there is weakness in its Isnad (chain of narrators)].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Whoever accepts back what he sold to a Muslim, Allah will forgive his fault."[Reported by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah. Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim graded it Sahih (authentic)].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul the transaction, so long as they have not separated and remain together; or one of them gives the other the choice (to conclude or annul the transaction); so, if one of them gives the other the choice (to conclude or annul the transaction) and then they make the transaction accordingly, the transaction then becomes binding; or if they separate after having made the transaction and none of them has annulled it, the transaction then becomes binding."[Agreed upon, and the wording is Muslim's].