Business Transactions

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn Qusaytsaw Said ibn al-Musayyab sell gold counterpoising for gold. He pouredhis gold into one pan of the scales, and the man with whom he wascounterpoising put his gold in the other pan of the scale and when thetongue of the scales was balanced, they took and gave.

Maliksaid, "According to the way things are done among us there is no harmin selling gold for gold, and silver for silver by counterpoisingweight, even if 11 dinars are taken for 10 dinars hand to hand, whenthe weight of gold is equal, coin for coin, even if the number isdifferent. Dirhams in such a situation are treated the same way asdinars."

Malik said, "If, when counterpoising gold for goldor silver for silver, there is a difference of weight, one partyshould not give the other the value of the difference in silver orsomething else. Such a transaction is ugly and a means to usurybecause if one of the parties were permitted to take the differencefor a separate price, it could be as if he had bought it separately,so he would be permitted. Then it would be possible for him to ask formany times the value of the difference in order to permit thecompletion of the transaction between the two parties.

Maliksaid, "If he had really been sold the difference without anything elsewith it, he would not have taken it for a tenth of the price for whichhe took it in order to put a 'legal front' on the transaction. Thisleads to allowing what is forbidden . The matter is forbidden."

Malik said that it was not good when counterpoising to give goodold gold coins and put along with them unminted gold in exchange forworn kufic gold, which was unpopular and to then treat the exchange aslike for like.

Malik said, "The commentary on why that isdisapproved is that the owner of the good gold uses the excellence ofhis old gold coins as an excuse to throw in the unminted gold with it.Had it not been for the superiority of his (good) gold over the goldof the other party, the other party would not have counterpoised theunminted gold for his kufic gold, and the deal would have beenrefused.

"It is like a man wanting to buy three sa of ajwadried dates for two sa and a mudd of kabis dates, and on being toldthat it was not good, then offering two sa of kabis and a sa of poordates desiring to make the sale possible. That is not good because theowner of the ajwa should not give him a sa of ajwa for a sa of poordates. He would only give him that because of the excellence of kabisdates.

"Or it is like a man asking some one to sell him threesa of white wheat for two and a half sa of Syrian wheat, and beingtold that it was not good except like for like, and so offering two saof wheat and one sa of barley intending to make the sale possiblebetween them. That is not good because no one would have given a sa ofbarley for a sa of white wheat had that sa been by itself. It was onlygiven because of the excellence of Syrian wheat over the white wheat.This is not good. It is the same as the case of the unminted gold."

Malik said, "Where gold, silver and food, things which shouldonly be sold like for like, are concerned, something disliked and ofpoor quality should not be put with something good and desirable inorder to make the sale possible and to make a bad situation halal.When something of desirable quality is put with something of poorquality and it is only included so that its excellence in quality isnoticed, something is being sold which if it had been sold on its own,would not have been accepted and to which the buyer would not havepaid any attention. It is only accepted by the buyer because of thesuperiority of what comes with it over his own goods. Transactionsinvolving gold, silver, or food, must not have anything of thisdescription enter into them. If the owner of the poor quality goodswants to sell them, he sells them on their own, and does not putanything with them. There is no harm if it is like that."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "Someone who buys food, must not resell it until he takesdelivery of it all."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar fromAbdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Someone who buys food, must not sell it untilhe takes possession of it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid, "In the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, we used to buy food. He sent orders for us to moveour purchases from the place in which we purchased them to anotherplace before we re-sold them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Hakim ibn Hizamtraded in food for people as Umar ibn al-Khattab had ordered him todo. Hakim re-sold the food before he had taken delivery of it. Thatreached Umar ibn al-Khattab and he revoked the sale and said, "Do notsell food which you have purchased until you take delivery of it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that receiptswere given to people in the time of Marwan ibn al-Hakam for theproduce of the market at al-Jar. People bought and sold the receiptsamong themselves before they took delivery of the goods. Zayd Thabitand one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, went to Marwan ibn al-Hakam and said,"Marwan! Do you make usury halal?" He said, "I seek refuge with Allah!What is that?" He said, "These receipts which people buy and sellbefore they take delivery of the goods." Marwan therefore sent a guardto follow them and to take them from people's hands and return them totheir owners.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a manwanted to buy food from a man in advance. The man who wanted to sellthe food to him went with him to the market, and he began to show himheaps, saying, "Which one would you like me to buy for you." The buyersaid to him, "Are you selling me what you do not have?" So they cameto Abdullah ibn Umarand mentioned that to him. Abdallah ibn Umar saidto the buyer, "Do not buy from him what he does not have." He said tothe seller, "Do not sell what you do not have."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Jamilibn Abd ar-Rahman the Muadhdhin say to Said ibn al-Musayyab, "I am aman who buys whatever Allah wills of the receipts for the provisionswhich people are offered at al-Jar. I want to take payment for goodsthat I guarantee to deliver at a future date." Said said to him, "Doyou intend to settle these things with receipts for provisions youhave bought?" He said, "Yes." So he forbade that.

Malik said,"The generally agreed on way of doing things among us in which thereis no dispute, about buying food - wheat, barley, durra-sorghum, pearlmillet, or any pulse or anything resembling pulses on which zakat isobliged, or condiments of any sort - oil, ghee, honey, vinegar,cheese, sesame oil, milk and so on, is that the buyer should not re-sell any of that until he has taken possession and complete deliveryof it.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'z-Zinad heard Sa'id ibnal-Musayyab andSulayman ibn Yasar forbid a man to sell wheat for goldon delayed terms and then to buy dried dates with the gold before hehad taken delivery of the gold.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Kathir ibn Farqad asked AbuBakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm about a man who sold food to bedelivered at a future date to a man for gold and then with the gold,he bought dates before he had taken delivery of the gold. Hedisapproved of that and forbade it.

Yahya related to me fromMalik from Ibn Shihab the like of that.

Malik said, ''Saidibn al-Musayyab, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibnHazm, and Ibn Shihab forbade that a man sell wheat for gold and thenbuy dates with that gold before he had received the gold from thetransaction in which he sold the wheat. There is no harm for someoneto buy dates on delayed terms, on the strength of the gold for whichhe sold the wheat, from someone other than the person to whom he soldthe wheat before taking possession of the gold, and to refer the onefrom whom he bought the dates to his debtor who bought the wheat, forthe gold he is owed for the dates."

Malik said, "I asked morethan one of the people of knowledge about that and they did not seeany harm in it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid that there was no harm in a man making an advance to another manfor food, with a set description and price until a set date, as longas it was not in crops, or dates which had not begun to ripen.

Malik said, "The way of doing things among us concerning someonewho makes an advance for foodstuffs at a known rate until a stateddate, and the date arrives and he finds that there is not enough ofwhat he was sold with the seller to fulfill his order, and so herevokes the sale, is that he must only take back the silver, gold, orprice which he paid exactly. He does not buy anything else from theman for the same price until he has got back what he paid. That isbecause if he took something else besides the price which he paid himor exchanged it for goods other than the goods which he bought fromhim, it would be selling food before getting delivery of it."

Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, forbade selling food before getting delivery of it."

Malik said that it was not good if the buyer regretted his purchaseand asked the seller to revoke the sale for him and he would not presshim immediately for what he had paid. The people of knowledge forbadethat. That was because when the food was made ready for the buyer bythe seller, the buyer deferred his due from the seller in order thathe might revoke the sale for him. That was the sale of food withdelayed terms before taking delivery of the food.

Malik said,"The explanation of that is that when the date of delivery comes andthe buyer dislikes the food, the seller takes by it money to be paidlater and so it is not revocation. Revocation is that in which neitherthe buyer nor the seller is increased. When increase occurs bydeferment of payment for a time period, or by anything which increasesone of them over the other or anything which gives one of them profit,it is not revocation. When either of them do that, revocation becomesa sale. There is an indulgence for revocation, partnership, andtransfer, as long as i ncrease, decrease, or deferment does not comeinto them. If increase, decrease, or deferment comes into it, itbecomes a sale. Whatever makes a sale halal makes it halal andwhatever makes a sale haram makes it haram."

Malik said, "Ifsomeone pays in advance for Syrian wheat, there is no harm if he takesa load after the term falls due."

Malik said, "It is the samewith whoever advances for any kind of thing. There is no harm in himtaking better than whatever he has made an advance for or worse thanit after the agreed delivery date. The explanation of that is that if,for instance, a man advances for a certain weight of wheat. There isno harm if he decides to take some barley or Syrian wheat. If he hasmade an advance for good dates, there is no harm if he decides to takepoor quality dates. If he paid in advance for red raisins, there is noharm if he takes black ones, when it happens after the agreed deliverydate, and when the measure of what he takes is like the measure ofwhat he paid for in advance."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Sulaymanibn Yasar said, "The fodder of the donkeys of Saad ibn Abi Waqqas ranout and so he told his slave to take some of the family's wheat andbuy barley with it, and to only take a like quantity."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Sulayman ibn Yasartold him that one time the fodder of the animals of Abd ar-Rahman ibnal-Aswad ibn Abd Yaghuth was finished so he said to his slave, "Takesome of your family's wheat as food and buy with it barley, and takeonly a like quantity.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard the same as thatfrom al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from Ibn Muayqib ad-Dawsi.

Maliksaid, "This is the way of doing things among us . "

Maliksaid, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us is thatwheat is not sold for wheat, dates for dates, wheat for dates, datesfor raisins, wheat for raisins, nor any kind of food sold for food atall, except from hand to hand. If there is any sort of delayed termsin the transaction, it is not good. It is haram. Condiments are notbartered except from hand to hand."

Malik said, "Food andcondiments are not bartered when they are the same type, two of onekind for one of the other. A mudd of wheat is not sold for two muddsof wheat, nor a mudd of dates for two mudds of dates, nor a mudd ofraisins for two mudds of raisins, nor is anything of that sort donewith grains and condiments when they are of one kind, even if it ishand to hand.

"This is the same position as silver for silverand gold for gold. No increase is halal in the transaction, and onlylike for like, from hand to hand is halal."

Malik said, "Ifthere is a clear difference in foodstuffs which are measured andweighed, there is no harm in taking two of one kind for one ofanother, hand to hand. There is no harm in taking a sa of dates fortwo sa of wheat, and a sa of dates for two sa of raisins, and a sa ofwheat for two sa of ghee. If the two sorts in the transaction aredifferent, there is no harm in two for one or more than that from handto hand. If delayed terms enter into the sale, it is not halal ."

Malik said, "It is not halal to trade a heap of wheat for a heapof wheat. There is no harm in a heap of wheat for a heap of dates,from hand to hand. That is because there is no harm in buying wheatwith dates without precise measurement."

Malik said, "Withkinds of foods and condiments that differ from each other, and thedifference is clear, there is no harm in bartering one kind foranother, without precise measurement from hand to hand. If delayedterms enter into the sale, there is no good in it. Bartering suchthings without precise measurement is like buying it with gold andsilver without measuring precisely."

Malik said, "That isbecause you buy wheat with silver without measuring precisely, anddates with gold without measuring precisely, and it is halal. There isno harm in it."

Malik said, "It is not good for someone tomake a heap of food, knowing its measure and then to sell it as if ithad not been measured precisely, concealing its measure from thebuyer. If the buyer wants to return that food to the seller, he can,because he concealed its measure and so it is an uncertaintransaction. This is done with any kind of food or other goods whosemeasure and number the seller knows, and which he then sells withoutmeasurement and the buyer does not know that. If the buyer wants toreturn that to the seller, he can return t. The people of knowledgestill forbid such a transaction."

Malik said, "There is nogood in selling one round loaf of bread for two round loaves, norlarge for small when some of them are bigger than others. When care istaken that they are like for like, there is no harm in the sale, evenif they are not weighed."

Malik said, "It is not good to sella mudd of butter and a mudd of milk for two mudds of butter. This islike what we described of selling dates when two sa of kabis and a saof poor quality dates were sold for three sa of ajwa dates after thebuyer had said to the seller, 'Two sa of kabis dates for three sa ofajwa dates is not good,' and then he did that to make the transactionpossible. The owner of the milk puts the milk with his butter so thathe can use the superiority of his butter over the butter of the otherparty to put his milk in with it."

Malik said, "Flour forwheat is like for like, and there is no harm in that. That is if hedoes not mix up anything with the flour and sell it for wheat, likefor like. Had he put half a mudd of flour and half of wheat, and thensold that for a mudd of wheat, it would be like what we described, andit would not be good because he would want to use the superiority ofhis good wheat to put flour along with it. Such a transaction is notgood."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn AbiMaryam asked Said ibn al-Musayyab's advice. "I am a man who buys foodwith receipts from al-Jar. Perhaps I will buy something for a dinarand half a dirham, and will be given food for a half." Said said, "No.You give a dirham, and take the rest in food." (A half dirham did notexist as a coin.)

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that MuhammadSirin used to say, "Do not sell grain on the ears until it is white."

Malik said, "If someone buys food for a known price to bedelivered at a stated date, and when the date comes, the one who owesthe food says, 'I do not have any food, sell me the food which I oweyou with delayed terms.' The owner of the food says, 'This is notgood, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, forbade selling food until the deal was completed.' The onewho owes the food says to his creditor, 'Sell me any kind of food ondelayed terms until I discharge the debt to you.' This is not goodbecause he gives him food and then he returns it to him. The goldwhich he gave him becomes the price of that which is his right againsthim and the food which he gave him becomes what clears what is betweenthem. If they do that, it becomes the sale of food before the deal iscomplete."

Malik spoke about a man who was owed food which hehad purchased from a man and this man was owed the like of that foodby another man. The one who owed the food said to his creditor, "Iwill refer you to my debtor who owes me the same amount of food as Iowe you, so that you may obtain the food which I owe you ."

Malik said, "If the man who had to deliver the food, had gone out, andbought the food to pay off his creditor, that is not good. That isselling food before taking possession of it. If the food is an advancewhich falls due at that particular time, there is no harm in payingoff his creditor with it because that is nota sale. It is not halal tosell food before receiving it in full since the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade that. However, thepeople of knowledge agree that there is no harm in partnership,transfer of responsibility and revocation in sales of food and othergoods."

Malik said, "That is because the people of knowledgeconsider it as a favour rendered. They do not consider it as a sale.It is like a man lending light dirhams. He is then paid back indirhams of full weight, and so gets back more than he lent. That ishalal for him and permitted. Had a man bought defective dirhams fromhim as being the full weight, that would not be halal. Had it beenstipulated to him that he lend full weight in dirhams, and then hegave faulty ones, that would not be halal for him."

Malik said, "Another example of that is that the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade the salecalled muzabana and granted an indulgence in the ariya for computingthe equivalent in dates. It was distinguished between them that themuzabana-sale was based on shrewdness and trade, and the ariya salewas based on a favour rendered, and there was no shrewdness in it."

Malik said, "A man must not buy food for a fourth, a third,or a fraction of a dirham on the basis that he be given that food oncredit. There is no harm in a man buying food for a fraction of adirham on credit and then he gives a dirham and takes goods with whatremains of his dirham because he gave the fraction he owed as silver,and took goods to make up the rest of his dirham. There is no harm inthat transaction."

Malik said, "There is no harm in a manplacing a dirham with another man and then taking from him known goodsfor a fourth, third, or a known fraction. If there was not a knownprice on the goods and the man said, 'I will take them from you forthe price of each day,' this is not halal because there isuncertainty. It might be less one time, and more another time, andthey would not part with a known sale."

Malik said, "Ifsomeone sells some food without measuring precisely and does notexclude any of it from the sale and then it occurs to him to buy someof it, it is not good for him to buy any of it except what it would bepermitted for him to exclude from it. That is a third or less. If itis more than a third, it becomes muzabana and is disapproved. He mustonly purchase from what he would be permitted to exclude, and he isonly permitted to exclude a third or less than that. This is the wayof doing things in which there is no dispute with us."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnal-Khattab said, "There is no hoarding in our market, and men who haveexcess gold in their hands should not buy up one of Allah's provisionswhich he has sent to our courtyard and then hoard it up against us.Someone who brings imported goods through great fatigue to himself inthe summer and winter, that person is the guest of Umar. Let him sellwhat Allah wills and keep what Allah wills."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yunus ibn Yusuf from Said ibnal-Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab passed by Hatab ibn Abi Baltaawho was underselling some of his raisins in the market. Umar ibn al-Khattab said to him, "Either increase the price or leave our market."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Uthman ibnAffan forbade hoarding .