Business Transactions

Yahya related to me from Malik from a reliable source from Amribn Shuayb from his father from his father's father that the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbadetransactions in which nonrefundable deposits were paid.Maliksaid, "That is, in our opinion, but Allah knows best, that forinstance, a man buys a slave or slave-girl or rents an animal and thensays to the person from whom he bought the slave or leased the animal,'I will give you a dinar or a dirham or whatever on the condition thatif I actually take the goods or ride what I have rented from you, thenwhat I have given you already goes towards payment of the goods orhire of the animal. If I do not purchase the goods or hire the animal,then what I have given you is yours without liability on your part.' "Malik said, "According to the way of doing things with usthere is nothing wrong in bartering an arabic speaking merchant slavefor abyssinian slaves or any other type that are not his equal ineloquence, trading, shrewdness, and know-how. There is nothing wrongin bartering one slave like this for two or more other slaves with astated delay in the terms if he is clearly different. If there is noappreciable difference between the slaves, two should not be barteredfor one with a stated delay in the terms even if their racial type isdifferent."Malik said, "There is nothing wrong in sellingwhat has been bought in such a transaction before taking possession ofall of it as long as you receive the price for it from some one otherthan the original owner."Malik said, "An addition to theprice must not be made for a foetus in the womb of its mother when sheis sold because that is gharar (an uncertain transaction). It is notknown whether the child will be male or female, good-looking or ugly,normal or handicapped, alive or dead. All these things will affect theprice."Malik said that in a transaction where a slave orslave-girl was bought for one hundred dinars with a stated creditperiod that if the seller regretted the sale there was nothing wrongin him asking the buyer to revoke it for ten dinars which he would payhim immediately or after a period and he would forgo his right to thehundred dinars which he was owed.Malik said, "However, ifthe buyer regrets and asks the seller to revoke the sale of a slave orslave-girl in consideration of which he will pay an extra ten dinarsimmediately or on credit terms, extended beyond the original term,that should not be done. It is disapproved of because it is as if, forinstance, the seller is buying the one hundred dinars which is not yetdue on a year's credit term before the year expires for a slave-girland ten dinars to be paid immediately or on credit term longer thanthe year. This falls into the category of selling gold for gold whendelayed terms enter into it."Malik said that it was notproper for a man to sell a slave-girl to another man for one hundreddinars on credit and then to buy her back for more than the originalprice or on a credit term longer than the original term for which hesold her. To understand why that was disapproved of in that case, theexample of a man who sold a slave-girl on credit and then bought herback on a credit term longer than the original term was looked at. Hemight have sold her for thirty dinars with a month to pay and then buyher back for sixty dinars with a year or half a year to pay. Theoutcome would only be that his goods would have returned to him justlike they were and the other party would have given him thirty dinarson a month's credit against sixty dinars on a year or half a year'scredit. That was not to be done.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a slave who has wealth is sold,that wealth belongs to the seller unless the buyer stipulates itsinclusion."Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way ofdoing things among us is that if the buyer stipulates the inclusion ofthe slave's property whether it be cash, debts, or goods of known orunknown value, then they belong to the buyer, even if the slavepossesses more than that for which he was purchased, whether he wasbought for cash, as payment for a debt, or in exchange for goods. Thisis possible because a master is not asked to pay zakat on his slave'sproperty. If a slave has a slave-girl, it is halal for him to haveintercourse with her by his right of possession. If a slave is freedor put under contract (kitaba) to purchase his freedom, then hisproperty goes with him. If he becomes bankrupt, his creditors take hisproperty and his master is not liable for any of his debts."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibnMuhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm that Aban ibn Uthman and Hisham ibn Ismailused to mention in their khutbas built-in liability agreements in thesale of slaves, to cover both a three day period and a similar clausecovering a year. Malik explained, "The defects a lave or slave-girlare found to have from the time they are bought until the end of thethree days are the responsibility of the seller. The year agreement isto cover insanity, leprosy, and loss of limbs due to disease. After ayear, the seller is free from any liability."Malik said,"Aninheritor or someone else who sells a slave or slave-girl without anysuch built-in guarantee is not responsible for any fault in the slaveand there is no liability agreement held against him unless he wasaware of a fault and concealed it. If he was aware of a fault, thelack of guarantee does not protect him. The purchase is returned. Inour view, built-in liability agreements only apply to the purchase ofslaves."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Salim ibnAbdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar sold one of his slaves for eighthundred dirhams with the stipulation that he was not responsible fordefects. The person who bought the slave complained to Abdullah ibnUmar that the slave had a disease which he had not told him about.They argued and went to Uthman ibn Affan for a decision . The mansaid, "He sold me a slave with a disease which he did not tell meabout." Abdullah said, "I sold to him with the stipulation that I wasnot responsible." Uthman ibn Affan decided that Abdullah ibn Umarshould take an oath that he had sold the slave without knowing that hehad any disease. Abdullah ibn Umar refused to take the oath, so theslave was returned to him and recovered his health in his possession.Abdullah sold him afterwards for 1500 dirhams.Malik said,"The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us about a manwho buys a female slave and she becomes pregnant, or who buys a slaveand then frees him, or if there is any other such matter which hasalready happened so that he cannot return his purchase, and a clearproof is established that there was a fault in that purchase when itwas in the hands of the seller or the fault is admitted by the selleror someone else, is that the slave or slave-girl is assessed for itsvalue with the fault it is found to have had on the day of purchaseand the buyer is refunded,from what he paid,the difference between theprice of a slave who is sound and a slave with such a defect.Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among usregarding a man who buys a slave and then finds out that the slave hasa defect for which he can be returned and meanwhile another defect hashappened to the slave whilst in his possession, is that if the defectwhich occurred to the slave in his possession has harmed him, likeloss of a limb, loss of an eye, or something similar, then he has achoice. If he wants, he can have the price of the slave reducedcommensurate with the defect (he bought him with ) according to theprices on the day he bought him, or if he likes, he can paycompensation for the defect which the slave has suffered in hispossession and return him. The choice is up to him. If the slave diesin his possession, the slave is valued with the defect which he had onthe day of his purchase. It is seen what his price would really havebeen. If the price of the slave on the day of purchase without faultwas 100 dinars, and his price on the day of purchase with fault wouldhave been 80 dinars, the price is reduced by the difference. Theseprices are assessed according to the market value on the day the slavewas purchased . "Malik said, "The generally agreed upon wayof doing things among us is that if a man returns a slave girl in whomhe has found a defect and he has already had intercourse with her, hemust pay what he has reduced of her price if she was a virgin. If shewas not a virgin, there is nothing against his having had intercoursewith her because he had charge of her."Malik said, "Thegenerally agreed upon way of doing things among us regarding a person,whether he is an inheritor or not, who sells a slave, slave-girl, oranimal without a liability agreement is that he is not responsible forany defect in what he sold unless he knew about the fault andconcealed it. If he knew that there was a fault and concealed it, hisdeclaration that he was free of responsibility does not absolve him,and what he sold is returned to him."Malik spoke about asituation where a slave-girl was bartered for two other slave-girlsand then one of the slave-girls was found to have a defect for whichshe could be returned. He said, "The slave-girl worth two other slave-girls is valued for her price. Then the other two slave-girls arevalued, ignoring the defect which the one of them has. Then the priceof the slave-girl sold for two slave-girls is divided between themaccording to their prices so that the proportion of each of them inher price is arrived at - to the higher priced one according to herhigher price, and to the other according to her value. Then one looksat the one with the defect, and the buyer is refunded according to theamount her share is affected by the defect, be it little or great. Theprice of the two slave-girls is based on their market value on the daythat they were bought."Malik spoke about a man who bought aslave and hired him out on a long-term or short-term basis and thenfound out that the slave had a defect which necessitated his return.He said that if the man returned the slave because of the defect, hekept the hire and revenue. "This is the way in which things are donein our city. That is because, had the man bought a slave who thenbuilt a house for him, and the value of the house was many times theprice of the slave, and he then found that the slave had a defect forwhich he could be returned, and he was returned, he would not have tomake payment for the work the slave had done for him. Similarly, hewould keep any revenue from hiring him out, because he had charge ofhim. This is the way of doing things among us."Malik said,"The way of doing things among us when someone buys several slaves inone lot and then finds that one of them has been stolen, or has adefect, is that he looks at the one he finds has been stolen or theone in which he finds a defect. If he is the pick of those slaves, orthe most expensive, or it was for his sake that he bought them, or heis the one in whom people see the most excellence, then the whole saleis returned. If the one who is found to be stolen or to have a defectis not the pick of the slaves, and he did not buy them for his sake,and there is no special virtue which people see in him, the one who isfound to have a defect or to have been stolen is returned as he is,and the buyer is refunded his portion of the total price."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Ubaydullahibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud told him that Abdullah ibn Masudbought a slave-girl from his wife, Zaynab Ath Thaqafiyya. She made acondition to him, that if he bought her, she could always buy her backfor the price that he paid. Abdullah ibn Masud asked Umar ibn al-Khattab about that and Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Do not go near herwhile anyone has a condition concerning her over you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarwould say, "A man should not have intercourse with a slave girl exceptone whom, if he wished, he could sell, if he wished, he could giveaway, if he wished, he could keep, if he wished, he could do with herwhat he wanted ."Malik said that a man who bought a slave-girl on condition that he did not sell her, give her away, or dosomething of that nature, was not to have intercourse with her. Thatwas because he was not permitted to sell her or to give her away, soif he did not own that from her, he did not have complete ownership ofher because an exception had been made concerning her by the hand ofsomeone else. If that sort of condition entered into it, it was amessy situation, and the sale was not recommended.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abdullah ibnAmir gave Uthman ibn Affan a slave-girl who had a husband whom he hadpurchased at Basra. Uthman said, "I will not go near her until herhusband separates from her." Ibn Amir compensated the husband and heseparated from her.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salamaibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf bought a slave-girl and found that she had a husband, so he returned her.

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, "If palm trees are sold after they have been pollinated, thefruit belongs to the seller unless the buyer makes a stipulation aboutits inclusion."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Ibn Umar that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbadeselling fruit until it had started to ripen. He forbade thetransaction to both buyer and seller.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil from Anas ibnMalik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, forbade selling fruit until it had become mellow. He was asked,"Messenger ofAllah! What do you mean by become mellow?" He said, "Whenit becomes rosy."The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, added, "Allah may prevent the fruit frommaturing, so how can you take payment from your brother for it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'r-Rijal Muhammad ibn Abdar-Rahman ibn Haritha from his mother, Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman thatthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,forbade selling fruit until it was clear of blight. Malik said,"Selling fruit before it has begun to ripen is an uncertaintransaction (gharar) ."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Kharija ibnZayd ibn Thabit that Zayd ibn Thabit did not sell fruit until thePleiades were visible, at the end of May.Malik said, "Theway of doing things among us about selling melons, cucumbers, water-melons, and carrots is that it is halal to sell them when it is clearthat they have begun to ripen. Then the buyer has what grows until theseason is over. There is no specific timing laid down for that becausethe time is well known with people, and it may happen that the cropwill be affected by blight and put a premature end to the season. Ifblight strikes and a third or more of the crop is damaged, anallowance for that is deducted from the price of purchase."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarfrom Zayd ibn Thabit that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, allowed the holder of an ariya to barter thedates on the palm for the amount of dried dates it was estimated thatthe palms would produce.

Yahya related to me from Malik fromDa'ud ibn al-Husayn from Abu Sufyan, the mawla of Ibn Abi Ahmad, fromAbu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, allowed the produce of an ariya to be bartered for anestimation of what the produce would be when the crop was less thanfive awsuq or equal to five awsuq. Da'ud wasn't sure whether he saidfive awsuq or less than five.Malik said, ''Ariyas can besold for an estimation of what amount of dried dates will be produced.The crop is examined and estimated while still on the palm. This isallowed because it comes into the category of delegation ofresponsibility, handing over rights, and involving a partner. Had itbeen like a form of sale, no one would have made someone else apartner in the produce until it was ready nor would he have renouncedhis right to any of it or put someone in charge of it until the buyerhad taken possession."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'r-Rijal Muhammad ibn Abdar-Rahman heard his mother, Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman say, "A man boughtthe fruit of an enclosed orchard in the time of the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he tended it whilestaying on the land. It became clear to him that there was going to besome loss. He asked the owner of the orchard to reduce the price forhim or to revoke the sale, but the owner made an oath not to do so.The mother of the buyer went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, and told him about it. The MessengerofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'By this oath,he has sworn not to do good.' The owner of the orchard heard about itand went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, the choice is his.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnAbd al-Aziz decided in a case to make a reduction for crop damage.Malik said, "That is what we do in the situation."Malik added, "Crop damage is whatever causes loss of a third or morefor the purchaser. Anything less is not counted as crop damage."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abd ar-Rahman thatal-Qasim ibn Muhammad would sell produce from his orchard and keepsome of it aside.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr thathis grandfather, Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm sold the fruit of anorchard of his called al-Afraq, for 4,000 dirhams, and he kept aside800 dirhams' worth of dry dates.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'r-Rijal, Muhammad ibnAbdar-Rahman ibn Haritha that his mother, Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman usedto sell her fruit and keep some of it aside.Malik said, "Thegenerally agreed upon way of doing things among us is that when a mansells the fruit of his orchard, he can keep aside up to a third of thefruit, but that is not to be exceeded. There is no harm in what isless than a third."Malik added that he thought there was noharm for a man to sell the fruit of his orchard and keep aside onlythe fruit of a certain palm-tree or palm-trees which he had chosen andwhose number he had specified, because the owner was only keepingaside certain fruit of his own orchard and everything else he sold.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Ata ibnYasar said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, 'Dried dates for dried dates is like for like.' It wassaid to him, 'Your agent in Khaybar takes one sa for two.' TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,'all him to me.' So he was called for. The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, asked, 'Do you take one sa fortwo?' He replied, 'Messengerof Allah! Why should they sell me gooddates for assorted low quality dates, sa for sa!' The Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Sell theassorted ones for dirhams, and then buy the good ones with thosedirhams.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Hamid ibn Suhayl ibnAbd ar-Rahman ibn Awf from Said ibn al-Musayyab from Abu Said al-Khudri and from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, appointed a man as an agent in Khaybar,and he brought him some excellent dates. The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, "Are all the datesof Khaybar like this?" He said,"No. By Allah, Messenger of Allah! Wetake a sa of this kind for two sa or two sa for three." The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not dothat. Sell the assorted ones for dirhams and then buy the good oneswith the dirhams."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Yazid that Zaydibn Ayyash told him that he had once asked Sad ibn Abi Waqqas aboutselling white wheat for a type of good barley. Sad asked him which wasthe better and when he told him the white wheat, he forbade thetransaction. Sad said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, being asked about selling dried datesfor fresh dates, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, 'Do the dates diminish in size when they becomedry?' When he was told that they did, he forbade 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,forbade muzabana. Muzabana was selling fresh dates for dried dates bymeasure, and selling grapes for raisins by measure.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn from AbuSufyan, the mawla of Ibn Abi Ahmad, from Abu Said al-Khudri that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbademuzabana and muhaqala. Muzabana was selling fresh dates for drieddates while they were still on the trees. Muhaqala was renting land inexchange for wheat.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, forbade muzabana and muhaqala. Muzabana was selling freshdates for dried dates. Muhaqala was buying unharvested wheat inexchange for threshed wheat and renting land in exchange for wheat.Ibn Shihab added that he had asked Said ibn al-Musayyab aboutrenting land for gold and silver. He said, "There is no harm in it."Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, forbade muzabana. The explanation of muzabana is thatit is buying something whose number, weight and measure is not knownwith something whose number, weight or measure is known, for instance,if a man has a stack of food whose measure is not known, either ofwheat, dates, or whatever food, or the man has goods of wheat, datekernels, herbs, safflower, cotton, flax, silk, and does not know itsmeasure or weight or number and then a buyer approaches him andproposes that he weigh or measure or count the goods, but, before hedoes, he specifies a certain weight, or measure, or number andguarantees to pay the price for that amount, agreeing that whateverfalls short of that amount is a loss against him and whatever is inexcess of that amount is a gain for him. That is not a sale. It istaking risks and it is an uncertain transaction. It falls into thecategory of gambling because he is not buying something from him forsomething definite which he pays. Everything which resembles this isalso forbidden."Malik said that another example of that was,for instance, a man proposing to another man, "You have cloth. I willguarantee you from this cloth of yours so many hooded cloaks, themeasureof each cloak to be such-and-such, (naming a measurement).Whatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill you thespecified amount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhapsthe man proposed, "I will guarantee you from this cloth of yours somany shirts, the measurement of each shirt to be such-and-such, andwhatever loss there is, is against me and I will fulfill the specifiedamount and whatever excess there is, is mine." Or perhaps a manproposed to a man who had cattle or camel hides, "I will cut up thesehides of yours into sandals on a pattern I will show you. Whateverfalls short of a hundred pairs, I will make up its loss and whateveris over is mine because I guaranteed you." Another example was that aman say to a man who had ben-nuts, "I will press these nuts of yours.Whatever falls short of such-and-such a weight by the pound, I willmake it up, and whatever is more than that is mine."Maliksaid that all this and whatever else was like it or resembled it wasin the category of muzabana, which was neither good nor permitted. Itwas also the same case for a man to say to a man, who had fodderleaves, date kernels, cotton, flax, herbs or safflower, "I will buythese leaves from you in exchange for such-and-such a sa, (indicatingleaves which are pounded like his leaves) . . or these date kernelsfor such-and-such a sa of kernels like them, and the like of that inthe case of safflower, cotton, flax and herbs."Malik said,"All this is what we have described of muzabana."

Malik said, "There is no harm in buying dates from specifiedtrees or a specified orchard or buying milk from specified sheep whenthe buyer starts to take them as soon as he has payed the price. Thatis like buying oil from a container. A man buys some of it for a dinaror two and gives his gold and stipulates that it be measured out forhim. There is no harm in that. If the container breaks and the oil iswasted, the buyer has his gold back and there is no transactionbetween them."Malik said, "There is no harm in everythingwhich is taken right away as it is, like fresh milk and fresh pickeddates which the buyer can take on a day-to-day basis. If the supplyruns out before the buyer has what he has paid for in full, the sellergives him back the portion of the gold that is owed to him, or elsethe buyer takes other goods from him to the value of what he is owedand which they mutually agree about. The buyer should stay with theseller until he has taken it. It is disapproved of for the seller toleave because the transaction would then come into the forbiddencategory of a debt for a debt. If a stated time period for payment ordelivery enters into the transaction, it is also disapproved. Delayand deferment are not permitted in it, and are only acceptable when itis standard practice on definite terms by which the seller guaranteesit to the buyer, but this is not to be from one specific orchard orfrom any specific ewes."Malik was asked about a man whobought an orchard from another man in which there were various typesof palm-trees - excellent ajwa palms, good kabis palms, adhq palms andothertypes. The seller kept aside from the sale the produce of acertain palm of his choice. Malik said, "That is not good because ifhe does that, and keeps aside, for instance, dates of the ajwa varietywhose yield would be 15 sa, and he picks the dates of the kabis intheir place, and the yield of their dates is 10 sa or he picks theajwa which yield 15 sa and leaves the kabis which yield 10 sa, it isas if he bought the ajwa for the kabis making allowances for theirdifference of quality. This is the same as if a man dealing with a manwho has heaps of dates before him - a heap of 15 sa of ajwa, a heap of10 sa of kabis, and a heap of 12 sa of cadhq, gives the owner of thedates a dinar to let him choose and take whichever of the heaps helikes." Malik said, "That is not good."Malik was asked whata man who bought fresh dates from the owner of an orchard and advancedhim a dinar was entitled to if the crop was spoilt. Malik said, "Thebuyer makes a reckoning with the owner of the orchard and takes whatis due to him of the dinar. If the buyer has taken two-thirds of adinar's worth of dates, he gets back the third of a dinar which isowed him. If the buyer has taken three-quarters of a dinar's worth ofdates, then he gets back the quarter which is owed to him, or theycome to a mutual agreement, and the buyer takes what is owed him fromhis dinar from the owner of the orchard in something else of hischoosing. If, for instance, he prefers to take dry dates or some othergoods, he takes them according to what is due. If he takes dry datesor some other goods, he should stay with him until he has been paid infull."Malik said, "This is the same situation as hiring outa specified riding-camel or hiring out a slave tailor, carpenter orsome other kind of worker or letting a house and taking payment inadvance for the hire of the slave or the rent of the house or camel.Then an accident happens to what has been hired resulting in death orsomething else. The owner of the camel, slave or house returns whatremains of the rent of the camel, the hire of the slave or the rent ofthe house to the one who advanced him the money, and the owner reckonswhat will settle that up in full. If, for instance, he has providedhalf of what the man paid for, he returns the remaining half of whathe advanced, or according to whatever amount is due." Malik said,"Paying in advance for something which is on hand is only good whenthe buyer takes possession of what he has paid for as soon as he handsover the gold, whether it be slave, camel, or house, or in the case ofdates, he starts to pick them as soon as he has paid the money."It is not good that there be any deferment or credit in such atransaction.Malik said, "An example illustrating what isdisapproved of in this situation is that, for instance, a man may saythat he will pay someone in advance for the use of his camel to ridein the hajj, and the hajj is still some time off, or he may saysomething similar to that about a slave or a house. When he does that,he only pays the money in advance on the understanding that if hefinds the camel to be sound at the time the hire is due to begin, hewill take it by virtue of what he has already paid. If an accident, ordeath, or something happens to the camel, then he will get his moneyback and the money he paid in advance will be considered as a loan."Malik said, "This is distinct from someone who takesimmediate possession of what he rents or hires, so that it does notfall into the category of 'uncertainty,' or disapproved payment inadvance. That is following a common practice. An example of that isthat a man buys a slave, or slave-girl, and takes possession of themand pays their price. If something happens to them within the periodof the year indemnification contract, he takes his gold back from theone from whom he bought it. There is no harm in that. This is theprecedent of the sunna in the matter of selling slaves."Malik said, "Someone who rents a specified slave, or hires a specifiedcamel, for a future date, at which time he will take possession of thecamel or slave, has not acted properly because he did not takepossession of what he rented or hired, nor is he advancing a loanwhich the person is responsible to pay back."

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among usis that some one who buys some fruit, fresh or dry, should not resellit until he gets full possession of it. He should not barter things ofthe same type, except hand to hand. Whatever can be made into dryfruit to be stored and eaten, should not be bartered for its own kind,except hand to hand, like for like, when it is the same kind of fruit.In the case of two different kinds of fruit, there is no harm inbartering two of one kind for one of another, hand to hand on thespot. It is not good to set delayed terms. As for produce which is notdried and stored but is eaten fresh like water melon, cucumber, melon,carrots, citron, medlars, pomegranates, and soon, which when dried nolonger counts as fruit, and is not a thing which is stored up as isfruit, I think that it is quite proper to barter such things two forone of the same variety hand to hand. If no term enters into it, thereis no harm in it."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "TheMessenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, orderedthe two Sads to sell a vessel made of either gold or silver from thebooty. They either sold each three units of weight for four units ofweight of coins or each four units of weight for three units of weightor coins. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said to them, 'You have taken usury, so return it.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Musa ibn Abi Tamim from Abu'lHubab Said ibn Yasar from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A dinar for a dinar, adirham for a dirham, no excess between the two."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abu Said al-Khudrithat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "Do not sell gold for gold except like for like and do notincrease one part over another part. Do not sell silver for silver,except like for like and do not increase one part over another part.Do not sell some of it which is not there for some of it which is."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki thatMujahid said, "I was with Abdullah ibn Umar and an artisan came to himand said, 'Abu Abd ar-Rahman - I fashion gold and then sell what Ihave made for more than its weight. I take an amount equivalent to thework of my hand.' Abdullah forbade him to do that, so the artisanrepeated the question to him, and Abdullah continued to forbid himuntil he came to the door of the mosque or to an animal that heintended to mount. Then Abdullah ibn Umar said, 'A dinar for a dinar,and a dirham for a dirham. There is no increase between them. This isthe command of ourProphet to us and our advice to you.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard from hisgrandfather, Malik ibn Abi Amir that Uthman ibn Affan said, "TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said tome, 'Do not sell a dinar for two dinars nor a dirham for two dirhams.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibnYasar that Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan sold a gold or silver drinking-vessel for more than its weight. Abu'dDarda said, "I heard theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,forbidding such sales except like for like." Muawiya said to him, "Idon't see any harm in it." Abu'd-Darda said to him, "Who will excuseme from Muawiya? I tell him something from the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, and he gives me his own opinion!I will not live in the same land as you!" Then Abu'd-Darda went toUmar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him. Umar ibn al-Khattabtherefore wrote to Muawiya, "Do not sell it except like for like,weight for weight."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Do not sell gold for gold except likefor like, and do not increase one part over another part. Do not sellsilver for silver except like for like, and do not increase one partover another part. Do not sell silver for gold, one of them at handand the other to be given later. If someone seeks to delay paying youuntil he has been to his house, do not leave him. I fear rama foryou." Rama is usury.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar fromAbdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Do not sell gold forgold except like for like. Do not increase part of it over anotherpart. Do not sell silver for silver except like for like, and do notincrease part of it over another part. Do not sell some of it which isthere for some of it which is not. If someone asks you to wait forpayment until he has been to his house, do not leave him. I fear ramafor you." Rama is usury.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Oasimibn Muhammad said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'A dinar for a dinar,and a dirham for adirham, and a sa for a sa. Something to be collectedlater is not to be sold for something at hand. ' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'z-Zinad heard Said ibnal-Musayyab say, "There is usury only in gold or silver or what isweighed or measured of what is eaten or drunk."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said heard Said ibnal-Musayyab say, "Keeping gold and silver out of circulation is partof working corruption in the land."Malik said, "There is noharm in buying gold with silver or silver with gold without measuringif it is unminted or a piece of jewellery which has been made. Counteddirhams and counted dinars should not be bought without reckoninguntil they are known and counted. To abandon number and buy them atrandom would only be to speculate. That is not part of the businesstransactions of Muslims. As for what is weighed of unminted objectsand jewellery, there is no harm in buying such things withoutmeasuring. To buy them without measuring is like buying wheat, drieddates, and such food-stuffs, which are sold without measuring, eventhough things like them are measured "Malik spoke aboutbuying a Qur'an, a sword or a signet ring which had some gold orsilver work on it with dinars or dirhams. He said, "The value of theobject bought with dinars, which has gold in it is looked at. If thevalue of the gold is up to one-third of the price, it is permitted andthere is no harm in it if the sale is hand to hand and there is nodeferment in it. When something is bought with silver which has silverin it, the value is looked at. If the value of the silver is one-third, it is permitted and there is no harm in it if the sale is handto hand. That is still the way of doing things among us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Malik ibn Ausibn al-Hadathan an-Nasri that one time he asked to exchange 100dinars. He said, "Talha ibn Ubaydullah called me over and we made amutual agreement that he would make an exchange for me. He took thegold and turned it about in his hand, and then said, 'I can't do ituntil my treasurer brings the money to me from al-Ghaba.' Umar ibn al-Khattab was listening and Umar said, 'By Allah! Do not leave him untilyou have taken it from him!' Then he said, 'The Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Gold for silver isusury except hand to hand. Wheat for wheat is usury except hand tohand. Dates for dates is usury except hand to hand. Barley for barleyis usury except hand to hand." "'Malik said, "When a manbuys dirhams with dinars and then finds a bad dirham among them andwants to return it, the exchange of the dinars breaks down, and hereturns the silver and takes back his dinars. The explanation of whatis disapproved of in that is that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, 'Gold for silver is usury excepthand to hand.' and Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'If someone asks you towait to be paid until he has gone back to his house, do not leavehim.' When he returns a dirham to him from the exchange after he hasleft him, it is like a debt or something deferred. For that reason, itis disapproved of, and the exchange collapses. Umar ibn al-Khattabwanted that all gold, silver and food should not be sold for goods tobe paid later. He did not want there to be any delay or deferment inany such sale, whether it involved one commodity or different sorts ofcommodities."

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 .

Yahya related to me from Malik from Salih ibn Kaysan from Hasanibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib that Ali ibn Abi Talib sold one ofhis camels called Usayfir for 20 camels to be delivered later.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarbought a female riding-camel for four camels and he guaranteed to givethem in full to the buyer at ar-Rabadha.

Yahya related to me that Malik asked Ibn Shihab about sellinganimals, two for one with delayed terms. He said, "There is no harm init."Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing thingsamong us is that there is no harm in bartering a camel for a camellike it and adding some dirhams to the exchange, from hand to hand.There is no harm in bartering a camel for a camel like it with somedirhams on top of the exchange, the camels to be exchanged from handto hand, and the dirhams to be paid within a period." He said, "Thereis no good however in bartering a camel for a camel like it with somedirhams on top of it, with the dirhams paid in cash and the camel tobe delivered later. If both the camel and the dirhams are deferredthere is no good in that either."Malik said, "There is noharm in buying a riding camel with two or more pack-camels, if theyare from inferior stock. There is no harm in bartering two of them forone with delayed terms, if they are different and their difference isclear. If they resemble each other whether their species are differentor not, two are not to be taken for one with delayed terms."Malik said, "The explanation of what is disapproved of in that, isthat a camel should not be bought with two camels when there is nodistinction between them in speed or hardiness. If this is accordingto what I have described to you, then one does not buy two of them forone with delayed terms. There is no harm in selling those of them youbuy before you complete the deal to somebody other than the one fromwhom you bought them if you get the price in cash."Maliksaid, "It is permitted for someone to advance something on animals fora fixed term and describe the amount and pay its price in cash.Whatever the buyer and seller have described is obliged for them. Thatis still permitted behaviour between people and what the people ofknowledge in our land do."

Yahya related to me from Malih from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,forbade the transaction called habal alhabala. It was a transactionwhich the people of Jahiliya practised. A man would buy the unbornoffspring of the unborn offspring of a she-camel.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "There is no usury in animals. There are three thingsforbidden in animals:
al-madamin, al-malaqih and habal al-habala. Al-madamin is the sale of what is in the wombs of female camels. Al-malaqih is the sale of the breeding qualities of camels" (i.e. forstud).Malik said, "No one should buy a specified animal whenit is concealed from him or in another place, even if he has alreadyseen it, very recently or not so recently, and was pleased enough withit to pay its price in cash."Malik said, "That isdisapproved of because the seller makes use of the price and it is notknown whether or not those goods are found to be as the buyer saw themor not. For that reason, it is disapproved of. There is no harm in itif it is described and guaranteed."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Said ibnal-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, forbade bartering live animals for meat.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn that heheard Said ibn alMusayyab say, "Part of the gambling of the people ofJahiliya was bartering live animals for slaughtered meat, for instanceone live sheep for two slaughtered sheep."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad that Said ibn al-Musayyab said, "Bartering live animals for dead meat is forbidden."Abu'z-Zinad said, "I said to Said ibn Musayyab, 'What do you think ofa man buying an old camel for 10 sheep?' " Said said, "If he buys itto slaughter it, there is no good in it." Abu'z-Zinad added, "All thepeople (i.e. companions) that I have seen forbade bartering liveanimals for meat."Abu'z-Zinad said, "This used to be writtenin the appointment letters of governors in the time of Aban ibn Uthmanand Hisham ibn Ismail."

Malik said, "It is the generally agreed on way of doing thingsamong us that the meat of camels, cattle, sheep and so on is not to bebartered one for one, except like for like, weight for weight, fromhand to hand. There is no harm in that. If it is not weighed, then itis estimated to be like for like from hand to hand."Maliksaid, "There is no harm in bartering the meat of fish for the meat ofcamels, cattle, and sheep and so on two or more for one, from hand tohand. If delayed terms enter the transaction however, there is no goodin it."Malik said, "I think that poultry is different fromthe meat of cattle and fish. I see no harm in selling some of it forsomething different, more of one than another, from hand to hand. Noneof that is to be sold on delayed terms."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Bakr ibnAbd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham from Abu Masud al-Ansari thatthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,forbade the sale price of a dog, the earnings of a prostitute and theearnings of a fortune teller.By the earnings of a prostitutehe meant what a woman was given for fornication. The earnings of afortune teller were what he was given to tell a fortune.Malik said, "I disapprove of the price of a dog, whether it is ahunting dog or otherwise because the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, forbade the price of a dog."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade'selling and lending.'Malik said, "The explanation of whatthat meant is that one man says to another, 'I will take your goodsfor such-and-such if you lend me such-and-such.' If they agree to atransaction in this manner, it is not permitted. If the one whostipulates the loan abandons his stipulation, then the sale ispermitted."Malik said, "There is no harm in exchanging linenfrom Shata, for garments from Itribi, or Qass, or Ziqa. Or the clothof Herat or Merv for Yemeni cloaks and shawls and such like as one fortwo or three, from hand to hand or with delayed terms. If the goodsare of the same kind, and deferment enters into the transaction, thereis no good in it."Malik said, "It is not good unless theyare different, and the difference between them is clear. When theyresemble each other, even if the names are different, do not take twofor one with delayed terms, for instance two garments of Herat for onefrom Merv or Quhy with delayed terms, ortwo garments of Furqub for onefrom Shata. All these sorts are of the same description, so do not buytwo for one, on delayed terms."Malik said, "There is no harmin selling what you buy of things of this nature, before you completethe deal, to some one other than the person from whom you purchasedthem if the price was paid in cash."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that al-Qasimibn Muhammad said, ''I heard Abdullah ibn Abbas say, when a man askedhim about a man making an advance on some garments and then wanting tosell them back before taking possession of them, 'That is silver forsilver,' and he disapproved of it."Malik said, "Our opinionis - and Allah knows best that was because he wanted to sell them tothe person from whom he had bought them for more than the price forwhich he bought them. Had he sold them to some one other than theperson from whom he had purchased them, there would not have been anyharm in it."Malik said, "The generally agreed on way ofdoing things among us concerning making an advance for slaves, cattleor goods is that when all of what is to be sold is described and anadvance is made for them for a date, and the date falls due, the buyerdoes not sell any of that to the person from whom he has purchased itfor more than the price which he advanced for it before he has takenfull possession of what he has advanced for. It is usury if he does.If the buyer gives the seller dinars or dirhams and he profits withthem, then, when the goods come to the buyer and he does not take theminto his possession but sells them back to their owner for more thanwhat he advanced for them, the outcome is that what he has advancedhas returned to him and has been increased for him."Maliksaid, "If someone advances gold or silver for described animals orgoods which are to be delivered before a named date, and the datearrives, or it is before or after the date, there is no harm in thebuyer selling those goods to the seller, for other goods, to be takenimmediately and not delayed, no matter how extensive the amount ofthose goods is, except in the case of food because it is not halal tosell it before he has full possession of it. The buyer can sell thosegoods to some one other than the person from whom he purchased themfor gold or silver or any goods. He takes possession of it and doesnot defer it because if he defers it, that is ugly and there entersinto the transaction what is disapproved of:
delay for delay. Delayfor delay is to sell a debt against one man for a debt against anotherman."Malik said, "If someone advances for goods to bedelivered after a time, and those goods are neither something to beeaten nor drunk, he can sell them to whomever he likes for cash orgoods, before he takes delivery of them, to some one other than theperson from whom he purchased them. He must not sell them to theperson from whom he bought them except in exchange for goods which hetakes possession of immediately and does not defer."Maliksaid, "If the delivery date for the goods has not arrived, there is noharm in selling them to the original owner for goods which are clearlydifferent and which he takes immediate possession of and does notdefer."Malik spoke about the case of a man who advanceddinars or dirhams for four specified pieces of cloth to be deliveredbefore a specified time and when the term fell due, he demandeddelivery from the seller and the seller did not have them. He foundthat the seller had cloth but inferior quality, and the seller saidthat he would give him eight of those cloths. Malik said, "There is noharm in that if he takes the cloths which he offers him before theyseparate. It is not good if delayed terms enter into the transaction.It is also not good if that is before the end of the term, unless hesells him cloth which is notthetypeof cloth for which he made anadvance.

Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among usabout whatever is weighed but is not gold or silver, i.e. copper,brass, lead, black lead, iron, herbs, figs, cotton, and any suchthings that are weighed, is that there is no harm in bartering allthose sorts of things two for one, hand to hand. There is no harm intaking a ritl of iron for two ritls of iron, and a ritl of brass fortwo ritls of brass."Malik said, "There is no good in two forone of one sort with delayed terms. There is no harm in taking two ofone sort for one of another on delayed terms, if the two sorts areclearly different. If both sorts resemble each other but their namesare different, like lead and black lead, brass and yellow brass, Idisapprove of taking two of one sort for one of the other on delayedterms."Malik said, "When buying something of this nature,there is no harm in selling It beforetaking possession of it to someone other than the person from whom it was purchased, if the price istaken immediately and if it was bought originally by measure orweight. If it was bought without measuring, it should be sold tosomeone other than the person from whom it was bought, for cash orwith delayed terms. That is because goods have to be guaranteed whenthey are bought without measuring, and they cannot be guaranteed whenbought by weight until they are weighed and the deal is completed.This is the best of what I have heard about all these things. It iswhat people continue to do among us."Malik said, "The way ofdoing things among us with what is measured or weighed of things whichare not eaten or drunk, like safflower, date-stones, fodder leaves,indigo dye and the like of that is that there is no harm in barteringall those sort of things two for one, hand to hand. Do not take twofor one from the same variety with delayed terms. If the types areclearly different, there is no harm in taking two of one for one ofthe other with delayed terms. There is no harm in selling whatever ispurchased of all these sorts, before taking delivery of them if theprice is taken from someone other than the person from whom they werepurchased."Malik said, "Anything of any variety that profitspeople, like gravel and gypsum, one quantity of them for two of itslike with delayed terms is usury. One quantity of both of them for itsequal plus any increase with delayed terms, is usury."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbadetwo sales in one sale.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man saidto another, "Buy this camel for me immediately so that I can buy himfrom you on credit." Abdullah ibn Umar was asked about that and hedisapproved of it and forbade it.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasimibn Muhammad was asked about a man who bought goods for 10 dinars cashor fifteen dinars on credit. He disapproved of that and forbade it.Malik said that if a man bought goods from a man for either10 dinars or 15 dinars on credit, that one of the two prices wasobliged on the buyer. It was not to be done because if he postponedpaying the ten, it would be 15 on credit, and if he paid the ten, hewould buy with it what was worth fifteen dinars on credit.Malik said that it was disapproved of for a man to buy goods fromsomeone for either a dinar cash or for a described sheep on credit andthat one of the two prices was obliged on him. It was not to be donebecause the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, forbade two sales in one sale. This was part of two sales inthe one sale.Malik spoke about a man saying to another, "'Iwill either buy these fifteen sa of ajwa dates from you, or these tensa of sayhani dates or I will buy these fifteen sa of inferior wheator these ten sa of Syrian wheat for a dinar, and one of them isobliged to me.' Malik said that it was disapproved of and was nothalal. That was because he obliged him ten sa of sayhani, and leftthem and took fifteen sa of ajwa, or he was obliged fifteen sa ofinferior wheat and left them and took ten sa of Syrian wheat. This wasalso disapproved of, and was not halal. It resembled what wasprohibited in the way of two sales in one sale. It was also includedunder the prohibition against buying two for one of the same sort offood."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Saidibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, forbade the sale with uncertainty in it.Malik said, "An example of one type of uncertain transaction and riskis that a man intends the price of a stray animal or escaped slave tobe fifty dinars. A man says, 'I will take him from you for twentydinars.' If the buyer finds him, thirty dinars goes from the seller,and if he does not find him, the seller takes twenty dinars from thebuyer."Malik said, "There is another fault in that. If thatstray is found, it is not known whether it will have increased ordecreased in value or what defects may have befallen it. Thistransaction is greatly uncertain and risky."Malik said,"According to our way of doing things, one kind of uncertaintransaction and risk is selling what is in the wombs of females -women and animals - because it is not known whether or not it willcome out, and if it does come out, it is not known whether it will bebeautiful or ugly, normal or disabled, male or female. All that isdisparate. If it has that, its price is such-and-such, and if it hasthis, its price is such-and-such."Malik said, "Females mustnot be sold with what is in their wombs excluded. That is that, forinstance, a man says to another, 'The price of my sheep which has muchmilk is three dinars. She is yours for two dinars while I will haveher future offspring.' This is disapproved because it is an uncertaintransaction and a risk."Malik said, "It is not halal to sellolives for olive oil or sesame for sesame oil, or butter for gheebecause muzabana comes into that, because the person who buys the rawproduct for something specified which comes from it, does not knowwhether more or less will come out of that, so it is an uncertaintransaction and a risk."Malik said, "A similar case is theselling of ben-nuts for ben-nut oil. This is an uncertain transactionbecause what comes from the ben-nut is ben-oil. There is no harm inselling ben-nuts for perfumed ben because perfumed ben has beenperfumed, mixed and changed from the state of raw ben-nut oil."Malik, speaking about a man who sold goods to a man on theprovision that there was to be no loss for the buyer, (i.e. if thebuyer could not re-sell the goods they could go back to the seller),said, "This transaction is not permitted and it is part of risk. Theexplanation of why it is so, is that it is as if the seller hired thebuyer for the profit if the goods make a profit. If he sells the stockat a loss, he has nothing, and his efforts are not compensated. Thisis not good. In such a transaction, the buyer should have a wageaccording to the work that he has contributed. Whatever there is ofloss or profit in those goods is for and against the seller. This isonly when the goods are gone and sold. If they do not go, thetransaction between them is null and void."Malik said, "Asfor a man who buys goods from a man and he concludes the sale and thenthe buyer regrets and asks to have the price reduced and the sellerrefuses and says, 'Sell it and I will compensate you for any loss.'There is no harm in this because there is no risk. It is something heproposes to him, and their transaction was not based on that. That iswhat is done among us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habbanand from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade mulamasaand munabadha.Malik said, "Mulamasa is when a man can feel agarment but is not allowed to unfold it or examine what is in it, orhe buys by night and does not know what is in it. Munabadha is that aman throws his garment to another, and the other throws his garmentwithout either of them making any inspection. Each of them says, 'thisis for this. 'This is what is forbidden of mulamasa and munabadha."Malik said that selling bundles with a list of their contentswas different from the sale of the cloak concealed in a bag or thecloth folded up and such things. What made it different was that itwas a common practice and it was what people were familiar with, andwhat people had done in the past, and it was still among the permittedtransactions and trading of people in which they saw no harm becausein the sale of bundles with a list of contents without undoing them,an uncertain transaction was not intended and it did not resemblemulamasa.

Yahya related to me, that Malik said, "The generally agreed onway of doing things among us about a man buying cloth in one city, andthen taking it to another city to sell as a murabaha, is that he isnot reckoned to have the wage of an agent, or any allowance forironing, folding, straightening, expenses, or the rent of a house. Asfor the cost of transporting the drapery, it is included in the basicprice, and no share of the profit is allocated to it unless the agenttells all of that to the investor. If they agree to share the profitsaccordingly after knowledge of it, there is no harm in that."Malik said, "As for bleaching, tailoring, dyeing, and such things,they are treated in the same way as drapery. The profit is reckoned inthem as it is reckoned in drapery goods. So if he sells the draperygoods without clarifying the things we named as not getting profit,and if the drapery has already gone, the transport is to be reckoned,but no profit is given. If the drapery goods have not gone thetransaction between them is null and void unless they make a newmutual agreement on what is to be permitted between them ."Malik spoke about an agent who bought goods for gold or silver, andthe exchange rate on the day of purchase was ten dirhams to the dinar.He took them to a city to sell murabaha, or sold them where hepurchased them according to the exchange rate of the day on which hesold them. If he bought them for dirhams and he sold them for dinars,or he bought them for dinars and he sold them for dirhams, and thegoods had not gone then he had a choice. If he wished, he accepted tosell the goods and if he wished, he left them. If the goods had beensold, he had the price for which the salesman bought them, and thesalesman was reckoned to have the profit on what they were bought for,over what the investor gained as profit.Malik said, "If aman sells goods worth one hundred dinars for one hundred and ten, andhe hears after that they are worth ninety dinars, and the goods havegone, the seller has a choice. If he likes, he has the price of thegoods on the day they were taken from him unless the price is morethan the price for which he was obliged to sell them in the firstplace, and he does not have more than that - and it is one hundred andten dinars. If he likes, it is counted as profit against ninety unlessthe price his goods reached was less than the value. He is given thechoice between what his goods fetch and the capital plus the profit,which is ninety-nine dinars."Malik said, "If someone sellsgoods in murabaha and he says, 'It was valued at one hundred dinars tome.' Then he hears later on, that it was worth one hundred and twentydinars, the customer is given the choice. If he wishes, he gives thesalesman the value of the goods on the day he took them, and if hewishes, he gives the price for which he bought them according to thereckoning of what profit he gives him, as far as it goes, unless thatis less than the price for which he bought them, for he should notgive the owner of the goods a loss from the price for which he boughtthem because he was satisfied with that. The owner of the goods cameto seek extra, so the buyer has no argument against the salesman inthat to make a reduction from the first price for which he bought itaccording to the list of contents."

Malik spoke about what was done among them in the case of a groupof people who bought goods, drapery or slaves, and a man heard aboutit and said to one of the group, "I have heard the description andsituation of the drapery goods you bought from so-and-so. Shall I giveyou such-and-such profit to take over your portion?" This personagreed, and the man gave him the profit and became a partner in hisplace. When he looked at the purchase, he saw that it was ugly andfound it too expensive.Malik said, "It is obliged on him andthere is no choice in it for him if he bought it according to a listof contents and the description was well-known."Malik spokeabout a man who had drapery goods sent to him, and salesmen came tohim and he read to them his list of contents and said, "In each bag issuch-and-such a wrap from Basra and such-and-such a light wrap fromSabir. Their size is such-and-such," and he named to them types ofdrapery goods by their sort, and he said, "Buy them from me accordingto this description." They bought the bags according to what hedescribed to them, and then they bought them and found them tooexpensive and regretted it. Malik said, "The sale is binding on them,if the goods agree with the list of contents on which he sold them."Malik said, "This is the way of doing things which peoplestill use today. They permit the sale among them when the goods agreewith the list of contents and are not different from it. "

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, "Both parties in a business transaction have the right ofwithdrawal as long as they have not separated, except in thetransaction called khiyar."Malik said, "There is nospecified limit nor any matter which is applied in this case accordingto us."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Masudused to relate that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "When two parties dispute about a businesstransaction, the seller's word is taken, or they make an agreementamong themselves.Malik spoke about someone who sold goods toa man, and said at the contracting of the sale, 'I will sell to youprovided I consult so-and-so. If he is satisfied, the sale ispermitted. If he dislikes it, there is no sale between us.' They madethe transaction on that basis. Then the buyer regretted before theseller consulted the person.Malik said, "That sale isbinding on them according to what they described. The buyer has noright of withdrawal, and it is binding on him, if the person whom theseller stipulated to him, permits it."Malik said, "The wayof doing things among us about a man who buys goods from another andthey differ about the price, and the seller says, 'I sold them to youfor ten dinars,' and the buyer says, 'I bought them from you for fivedinars,' is that it is said to the seller, 'If you like, give them tothe buyer for what he said. If you like, swear by Allah that you onlysold your goods for what you said.' If he swears it is said to thebuyer, 'Either you take the goods for what the seller said, or youswear by Allah that you bought them only for what you said.' If heswears, he is free to return the goods. That is when each of themtestifies against the other."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from Busr ibnSaid from Ubayd, Abu Salih, the mawla of as-Saffah that he said, "Isold drapery to the people of Dar Nakhla on credit. Then I wanted togo to Kufa, so they proposed that I reduce the price for them and theywould pay me immediately . I asked Zayd ibn Thabit about that, and hesaid, 'I order you not to accept increase or to give to anybody.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Uthman ibn Hafs ibn Khaldafrom Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah that Abdullah ibn Umar wasasked about a man who took a loan from another man for a set term. Thecreditor reduced the debt, and the man paid it immediately Abdullahibn Umar disliked that, and forbade it.

Malik related to me that Zayd ibn Aslam said, "Usury in theJahiliyya was that a man would give a loan to a man for a set term.When the term was due, he would say, 'Will you pay it off or increaseme?' If the man paid, he took it. If not, he increased him in his debtand lengthened the term for him ."Malik said, "Thedisapproved of way of doing things about which there is no disputeamong us, is that a man should give a loan to a man for a term, andthen the demander reduce it and the one from whom it is demanded payit in advance. To us that is like someone who delays repaying his debtafter it is due to his creditor and his creditor increases his debt."Malik said, "This is nothing else but usury. No doubt about it."Malik spoke about a man who loaned one hundred dinars to a man fortwo terms. When it was due, the person who owed the debt said to him,"Sell me some goods, whose price is one hundred dinars in cash for onehundred and fifty on credit." Malik said, "This transaction is notgood, and the people of knowledge still forbid it."Maliksaid, "This is disapproved of because the creditor himself gives thedebtor the price of what the man sells him, and he defers repayment ofthe hundred of the first transaction for the debtor for the term whichis mentioned to him in the second transaction, and the debtorincreases him with fifty dinars for his deferring him. That isdisapproved of and it is not good. It also resembles the hadith ofZayd ibn Aslam about the transactions of the people of the Jahiliyya.When their debts were due, they said to the person with the debt,'Either you pay in full or you increase it.' If they paid, they tookit, and if not they increased debtors in their debts, and extended theterm for them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al Araj fromAbu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "Delay in payment by a rich man is injustice, butwhen one of you is referred for payment to a wealthy man, let him bereferred."

86 Malik related to me from Musa ibn Maysara that he heard a manask Said ibn al-Musayyab, "I am a man who sells for a debt." Saidsaid, "Do not sell except for what you take to your camel."Malik spoke about a person who bought goods from a man provided thathe provide him with those goods by a specific date, either in time fora market in which he hoped for their saleability, or to fulfil a needat the time he stipulated. Then the seller failed him about the date,and the buyer wanted to return those goods to the seller. Malik said,"The buyer cannot do that, and the sale is binding on him. If theseller does bring the goods before the completion of the term, thebuyer cannot be forced to take them."Malik spoke about aperson who bought food and measured it. Then some one came to him tobuy it and he told him that he had measured it for himself and takenit in full. The new buyer wanted to trust him and accept his measure.Malik said, "Whatever is sold in this way for cash has no harm in itbut whatever is sold in this way on delayed terms is disapproved ofuntil the new buyer measures it out for himself. The sale with delayedterms is disapproved of because it leads to usury and it is fearedthat it will be circulated in this way without weight or measure. Ifthe terms are delayed it is disapproved of and there is nodisagreement about that with us."Malik said, "One should notbuy a debt owed by a man whether present or absent, without theconfirmation of the one who owes the debt, nor should one buy a debtowed to a man by a dead person even if one knows what the deceased manhas left. That is because to buy that is an uncertain transaction andone does not know whether the transaction will be completed or notcompleted."He said, "The explanation of what is disapprovedof in buying a debt owed by someone absent or dead, is that it is notknown what unknown debtor may be connected to the dead person. If thedead person is liable for another debt, the price which the buyer gaveon strength of the debt may become worthless."Malik said,"There is another fault in that as well. He is buying something whichis not guaranteed for him, and so if the deal is not completed, whathe paid becomes worthless. This is an uncertain transaction and it isnot good."Malik said, "One distinguishes between a man whois only selling what he actually has and a man who is being paid inadvance for something which is not yet in his possession. The manadvancing the money brings his gold which he intends to buy with. Theseller says, 'This is 10 dinars. What do you want me to buy for youwith it?' It is as if he sold 10 dinars cash for 15 dinars to be paidlater. Because of this, it is disapproved of. It is something leadingto usury and fraud."

Malik said there was no harm if a man who sold some drapery andexcluded some garments by their markings, stipulated that he chose themarked ones from that. If he did not stipulate that he would choosefrom them when he made the exclusion, I think that he is partner inthe number of drapery goods which were purchased from him. That isbecause two garments can be alike in marking and be greatly differentin price.Malik said, "The way of doing things among us isthat there is no harm in partnership, transferring responsibility toan agent, and revocation when dealing with food and other things,whether or not possession was taken, when the transaction is withcash, and there is no profit, loss, or deferment of price in it. Ifprofit or loss or deferment of price from one of the two enters any ofthese transactions, it becomes sale which is made halal by what makessale halal, and made haram by what makes sale haram, and it is notpartnership, transferring responsibility to an agent, or revocation."Malik spoke about some one who bought drapery goods orslaves, and the sale was concluded, then a man asked him to be hispartner and he agreed and the new partner paid the whole price to theseller and then something happened to the goods which removed themfrom their possession. Malik said, "The new partner takes the pricefrom the original partner and the original partner demands from theseller the whole price unless the original partner stipulated on thenew partner during the sale and before the transaction with the sellerwas completed that the seller was responsible to him. If thetransaction has ended and the seller has gone, the pre-condition ofthe original partner is void, and he has the responsibility."Malik spoke about a man who asked another man to buy certain goods toshare between them, and he wanted the other man to pay for him and hewould sell the goods for the other man. Malik said, "That is not good.When he says, 'Pay for me and I will sell it for you,' it becomes aloan which he makes to him in order that he sell it for him and ifthose goods are destroyed, or pass, the man who paid the price willdemand from his partner what he put in for him. This is part of theadvance which brings in profit."Malik said, "If a man buysgoods, and they are settled for him, and then a man says to him,'Share half of these goods with me, and I will sell them all for you,'that is halal, there is no harm in it. The explanation of that is thatthis is a new sale and he sells him half of the goods provided that hesells the whole lot."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Bakr ibnAbd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham that the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whenever a man sellswares and then the buyer becomes bankrupt and the seller has not takenany of the price and he finds some of his property intact with thebuyer, he is more entitled to it than anyone else. If the buyer dies,then the seller is the same as other creditors with respect to it."

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said from Abu Bakr ibnMuhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm from Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz from Abu Bakr ibnAbd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham from Abu Hurayra that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Ifanyone goes bankrupt, and a man finds his own property intact withhim, he is more entitled to it than anyone else."Malik spokeabout a man who sold a man wares, and the buyer went bankrupt. Hesaid, "The seller takes whatever of his goods he finds. If the buyerhas sold some of them and distributed them, the seller of the wares ismore entitled to them than the creditors. What the buyer hasdistributed does not prevent the seller from taking whatever of it hefinds. It is the seller's right if he has received any of the pricefrom the buyer and he wants to return it to take what he finds of hiswares, and in what he does not find, he is like the creditors."Malik spoke about some one who bought spun wool or a plot of land,and then did some work on it, like building a house on the plot ofland or weaving the spun wool into cloth. Then he went bankrupt afterhe had bought it, and the original owner of the plot said, "I willtake the plot and whatever structure is on it." Malik said, "Thatstructure is not his. However, the plot and what is in it that thebuyer has improved is appraised. Then one sees what the price of theplot is and how much of that value is the price of the structure. Theyare partners in that. The owner of the plot has as much as hisportion, and the creditors have the amount of the portion of thestructure."Malik said, "The explanation of that is that thevalue of it all is fifteen hundred dirhams. The value of the plot isfive hundred dirhams, and the value of the building is one thousanddirhams. The owner of the plot has a third, and the creditors havetwo-thirds."Malik said, "It is like that with spinning andother things of the same nature in these circumstances and the buyerhas a debt which he cannot pay. This is the behaviour in such cases."Malik said, "As for goods which have been sold and which thebuyer does not improve, but those goods sell well and have gone up inprice, so their owner wants them and the creditors also want to seizethem, then the creditors choose between giving the owner of the goodsthe price for which he sold them and not giving him any loss andsurrendering his goods to him."If the price of the goods hasgone down, the one who sold them has a choice. If he likes, he cantake his goods and he has no claim to any of his debtor's property,and that is his right. If he likes, he can be one of the creditors andtake a portion of his due and not take his goods. That is up to him."Malik said about someone who bought a slave-girl or animaland she gave birth in his possession and the buyer went bankrupt, "Theslave-girl or the animal and the offspring belong to the seller unlessthe creditors desire it. In that case they give him his complete dueand they take it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibnYasar that Abu Rafi, the mawla of the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, borrowed a young camel and thenthe camels of sadaqa came to him." Abu Rafi said, "He ordered me torepay the man his young camel. I said, 'I can only find a good camelin its seventh year in the camels.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, 'Give it to him. The best ofpeople are those who discharge their debts in the best manner.' "

Malik related to me from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki that Mujahidsaid, "Abdullah ibn Umar borrowed some dirhams from a man, then hedischarged his debt with dirhams better than them. The man said, 'AbuAbdar-Rahman. These are better than the dirhams which I lent you.'Abdullah ibn Umar said, 'I know that. But I am happy with myself aboutthat.' "Malik said, "There is no harm in a person who hasborrowed gold, silver, food, or animals, taking to the person who lentit, something better than what he lent, when that is not a stipulationbetween them nor a custom. If that is by a stipulation or promise orcustom, then it is disapproved, and there is no good in it."He said, "That is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, discharged his debt with a good camel in itsseventh year in place of a young camel which he borrowed, and Abdullahibn Umar borrowed some dirhams, and repaid them with better ones. Ifthat is from the goodness of the borrower, and it is not by astipulation, promise, or custom, it is halal and there is no harm init."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnal-Khattab said that he disapproved of one man lending another food onthe provision that he gave it back to him in another city. He said,"Where is the transport?"

And Malik related to me that he had heard that a man came toAbdullah ibn Umar and said, "Abu Abd ar-Rahman, I gave a man a loanand stipulated that he give me better than what I lent him." Abdullahibn Umar said, "That is usury." Abdullah said, "Loans are of threetypes:
A free loan which you lend by which you desire the pleasure ofAllah, and so you have the pleasure of Allah. A free loan which youlend by which you desire the pleasure of your companion, so you havethe pleasure of your companion, and a free loan which you lend bywhich you take what is impure by what is pure, and that is usury." Hesaid, "What do you order me to do, Abu Abd ar-Rahman?" He said, "Ithink that you should tear up the agreement. If he gives you the likeof what you lent him, accept it. If he gives you less than what youlent him, take it and you will be rewarded. If he gives you betterthan what you lent him, of his own good will, that is his gratitude toyou and you have the wage of the period you gave him the loan."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that he heard Abdullahibn Umar say, "If someone lends something, let the only condition bethat it is repaid."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Masudused to say, "If someone makes a loan, they should not stipulatebetter than it. Even if it is a handful of grass, it is usury."Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among usis that there is no harm in borrowing any animals with a setdescription and itemisation, and one must return the like of them.This is not done in the case of female slaves. It is feared about thatthat it will lead to making halal what is not halal, so it is notgood. The explanation of what is disapproved of in that, is that a manborrow a slave-girl and have intercourse with her as seems proper tohim. Then he returns her to her owner. That is not good and it is nothalal. The people of knowledge still forbid it and do not give anindulgence to any one in it."

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, "Do not let any of you bid against each other."

Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from AbuHurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "Do not go out to meet the caravans for trade, do not bidagainst each other, outbidding in order to raise the price, and atownsman must not buy on behalf of a man of the desert, and do not tieup the udders of camels and sheep so that they appear to have a lot ofmilk, for a person who buys them after that has two recourses open tohim after he milks them. If he is pleased with them, he keeps them andif he is displeased with them, he can return them along with a sa ofdates."Malik said, "The explanation of the words of theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, accordingto what we think - and Allah knows best - 'do not bid against eachother,' is that it is forbidden for a man to offer a price over theprice of his brother when the seller has inclined to the bargainer andmade conditions about the weight of the gold and he has declaredhimself not liable for faults and such things by which it isrecognised that the seller wants to make a transaction with thebargainer. This is what he forbade, and Allah knows best."Malik said, "There is no harm, however, in more than one personbidding against each other over goods put up for sale."Hesaid, "Were people to leave off haggling when the first person startedhaggling, an unreal price might be taken and the disapproved wouldenter into the sale of the goods. This is still the way of doingthings among us."

Malik said, from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade najsh.Malik said, "Najsh is to offer a man more than the worth of hisgoods when you do not mean to buy them and someone else follows you inbidding."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar fromAbdullah ibn Umar that a man mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, that he was always being cheatedin business transactions. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "When you enter a transaction, say, 'Notrickery.' So whenever that man entered a transaction, he would say,'No trickery.' "

Malik related to me that Yahya ibn Said heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "When you come to a land where they give full measureand full weight, stay there. When you come to a land where theyshorten the measure and weight, then do not stay there very long."

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said that he heard Muhammadibn al-Munkadir say, "Allah loves his slave who is generous when hesells, and generous when he buys, generous when he repays, andgenerous when he is repaid."Malik said about a man whobought camels or sheep or dry goods or slaves or any goods withoutmeasuring precisely, "There is no buying without measuring preciselyin anything which can be counted . "Malik said about a manwho gave a man goods to sell for him and set their price saying, "Ifyou sell them for this price as I have ordered you to do, you willhave a dinar (or something which he has specified, which they are bothsatisfied with), if you do not sell them, you will have nothing,""There is no harm in that when he names a price to sell them at andnames a known fee. If he sells the goods, he takes the fee, and if hedoes not sell them, he has nothing."Malik said, "This islike saying to another man, 'If you capture my runaway slave or bringmy stray camel, you will have such-and-such.' This is from thecategory of reward, and not from the category of giving a wage. Had itbeen from the category of giving a wage, it would not be good."Malik said, "As for a man who is given goods and told that if hesells them he will have a named percentage for every dinar, that isnot good because whenever he is a dinar less than the price of thegoods, he decreases the due which was named for him. This is anuncertain transaction. He does not know how much he will be given."

Malik related to me that he asked Ibn Shihab about a man whohired an animal, and then re-hired it out for more than what he hiredit for. He said, "There is no harm in that."