Hadith 32598

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."