(61) باب السَّلَمِ فِي الطَّعَامِ
It was narrated that 'Abdullah Ibn Abi Awfa about paying in advance. He said:
'We used to pay in advance during the time of the Messenger of Allah and Abu Bakr and 'Umar, for wheat, barley and dates, paying people whom we did not know if they had those things or not.'''Ibn Abza said meaning, similarly.
Reference: Sunan an-Nasa'i 4614
In-book reference: Book 44, Hadith 166
English translation: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 4618