Business Transactions
كتاب البيوع
Chapter 11: Usury - Section 3
The last verse to be sent down was that on usury (Al-Qur’an 2:275) but God's Messenger was taken without having expounded it to us; so leave aside usury and whatever is doubtful. Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.
I came to Medina and met 'Abdallah b. Salam who said, "You are in a land in which usury is common, so when anyone owes you anything and presents you with a load of straw, or a load of barley, or a rope of lucerne grass, do not accept it for it is usury." Bukhari transmitted it.
Chapter 1: Earning, and Seeking what is Lawful - Section 1
Al-Miqdam b. Ma'dikarib reported God's Messenger as saying, “No one has ever eaten better food than what he eats as a result of the labour of his hands. God’s prophet David used to eat from what he had worked for with his hands.” Bukhari transmitted it.
Rafi' b. Khadij reported God’s Messenger as saying, "The price paid for a dog is impure, the hire paid to a prostitute is impure, and the earnings of a cupper are impure.” Muslim transmitted it.
Chapter 2: Earning, and Seeking what is Lawful - Section 2
We shall mention the tradition of Jabir, “He forbade eating cats”, in the chapter 'Lawful and unlawful food’ in Book 21.
‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud reported God’s Messenger as saying, “No man who acquires unlawful property and gives some of it in alms will have it accepted from him; neither will he receive a blessing for it if he con-tributes some of it; and if he leaves some of it behind him (i.e. when he dies) it will be his provision for hell. God does not obliterate an evil deed by an evil one, but He obliterates an evil deed by a good one. What is impure does not obliterate what is impure.” Ahmad transmitted it, and the same is given in Sharh as-sunna.
the wine-presser, the one who has it pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who conveys it, the one to whom it is conveyed, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who benefits from the price paid for it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is bought. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.
Ibn 'Umar reported God's Messenger as saying, "God has cursed* wine, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who conveys it and the one to whom it is conveyed." Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.* This might equally well be translated "God curse ...” as the perfect expresses both past time and a wish.
Muhayyisa said he asked permission of God's Messenger regarding the hire of the cupper, but he forbade him. He kept on asking his permission, and at last he said, "Feed your watering-camel with it and feed your slaves with it."*Malik, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.* Ibn Abd al-Barr (Isti'ab, p. 286) says Muhayyisa had a slave called Nafi' Abu Taiba who was a cupper. On p. 654 he says the name of Abu Taiba was Dinar, or Nafi', or Maisara, but God knows best. In this tradition Muhayyisa is told that he may not apply to his private use anything earned by his slave for cupping.
Chapter 3: Earning, and Seeking what is Lawful - Section 3
Rafi' b. Khadij said God's Messenger was asked what type of earning was best and replied, “A man’s work with his hand and every business transaction which is approved.”Ahmad transmitted it.
Nafi' said he used to fit out business expeditions to Syria and to Egypt. Having fitted out one to ‘Iraq he went to ‘A’isha, the mother of the faithful, and told her that he had been accustomed to fit out expeditions to Syria, and now he had done so to ‘Iraq. She told him not to do so, asking him what was the matter with the place with which he had traded, for she had heard God's Messenger say, “When God has appointed provision for any of you in a particular direction he should not give it up till it changes for the worse.”* Ahmad and Ibn Majah transmitted it.* Alternatives are given for this last phrase. They amount to the same thing, and so it may be understood that there was doubt as to which word was used. It reads hatta yataghayyara lahu au yatanahhara lahu. But it has been suggested that the first verb refers to lack of profit and the second to loss of capital. Cf. Mirqat, iii, 299.
Abu Bakr had a slave who brought him his earnings and Abu Bakr would eat* some of his earnings. One day he brought him something and when Abu Bakr had eaten some of it the slave asked him whether he knew what it was. Abu Bakr asked what it was, and he replied, "I acted as a soothsayer for a man in the pre-Islamic period, and not being good at it, I deceived him; but he met me and gave me that, so this is the thing of which you have eaten.” She said that Abu Bakr then put his hand in his mouth and vomited everything which was in his stomach. Bukhari transmitted it.* Here the word is used in its literal sense. Elsewhere the word is often translated by "enjoy when it is not clear that something is actually eaten.”
Abu Bakr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Nobody which has been nourished with what is unlawful will enter paradise.” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman.
Zaid b. Aslam said that 'Umar b. al-Khattab drank some milk which pleased him and asked the one who had given him the drink where he had got that milk from. He informed him that he had gone down to a watering-place which he named where there were some of the camels of the sadaqa. The people who were watering the camels had drawn some milk for him which he had put in his milk-skin, and that was what he had given him. ‘Umar then put his hand in his mouth and vomited it. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman.
Chapter 4: Gentleness in Business Dealings - Section 1
Hudhaifa reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Before your time there was a man to whom the angel came to take his spirit, and he was asked whether he had done anything good. On his replying that he did not know, he was told to consider, and then said that the only thing he knew was that he used to have business dealings with people in the world and would demand his rights from them, giving the rich time to pay and letting the poor off. So God brought him into paradise.” In a version by Muslim there is something similar on the authority of ‘Uqba b. ‘Amir and Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari. God said, “I have more right to do this than you. Forgive my servant.”(Bukhari and Muslim).
Chapter 5: Gentleness in Business Dealings - Section 2
This chapter does not contain a Section 3.
In the time of God's Messenger we used to be called brokers, but God’s Messenger came upon us one day and called us by a better name than that, saying, "Company of merchants, unprofitable speech and swearing have a place in business dealing, so mix it with sadaqa. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.
Chapter 6: Conditional Bargains* - Section 1
Ibn 'Umar reported God's Messenger as saying, "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul it so long as they have not separated, except in transactions which have been made subject to the right of the parties to annul them.” The version by Bukhari and Muslim has "or one of them tells the other to exercise his right” instead of "or exercise the right.”(Bukhari and Muslim.)A version by Muslim says, "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul the bargain so long as they have not separated, or when their bargain has attached to it the right to annul it, for when such a condition has been made it remains valid.” A version by Tirmidhi says, "The two parties in a business transaction have a right to annul it so long as they have not separated, or exercise the right.”
Chapter 9: Usury - Section 1
He reported God’s Messenger as saying, "Do not sell gold for gold unless it is like for like, and do not make one amount greater than the other; do not sell silver for silver unless it is like for like, and do not make one amount greater than the other; and do not sell for ready money something to be given later*.” A version has, "Do not sell gold for gold or silver for silver unless both are of equal weight.”(Bukhari and Muslim.)* Payment is not to be made till the goods are received.
Abu Sa'id and Abu Huraira told that God’s Messenger appointed a man over Khaibar and he brought him dates of a very fine quality. He asked him whether all the dates of Khaibar were like that, and he replied, “I swear by God that they are certainly not, Messenger of God. We take a sa‘ of this kind for two, and two for three." So he said, "Do not do so. Sell the lot for dirhams, then buy the very fine dates for dirhams." He said that it was the same when things were sold by weight. (Bukhari and Muslim.)
Abu Sa'id said that Bilal brought the Prophet some barni* dates, and when he asked him where he had got them he replied, "I had some inferior dates, so I sold two sa's of them for a sa." He said, "Ah, the very essence of usury, the very essence of usury. Do not do so, but when you wish to buy, sell the dates in a separate transaction, then buy with what you get." (Bukhari and Muslim.)* A type of dates of the best quality, sweet and luscious, red tinged with yellow.
Chapter 10: Usury - Section 2
Samura b. Jundub told that the Prophet, forbade selling animal for animals when payment was to be made at a later date. Tirmidhi, Abu Da.wud, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.