Hadith 39483

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."