Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Azaadville

Is it permissible to sell an item before taking possession thereof?

Published as Selling An Item Before Taking Possession Thereof

· 5 Rabiʻ I 1448 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

Is it permissible to sell an item before taking possession thereof?

Answer

In Shariah conducting a transaction before possessing the item (بيع قبل القبض) renders the transaction Faasid (corrupt/invalid) and not Jaiz (permissible) because Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam forbade us from selling any item that is not in our possession.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

1. ومن اشترى شيئًا مما ينقل ويحول: لم يجز له بيعه حتى يقبضه لأنه نهى عن بيع ما لم يقبض، ولأن فيه غرر انفساخ العقد على اعتبار الهلاك.

(هداية ج ۳ ص ۱۱۰ بشرى)

قَالَ حَكِيمُ بْنُ حِزَامٍ ابْتَعْتُ طَعَامًا مِنْ طَعَامِ الصَّدَقَةِ فَرَبِحْتُ فِيهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَقْبِضَهُ فَأَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَقَالَ ” لَا تَبِعْهُ حَتَّى تَقْبِضَهُ “

(سنن النسائي باب بَيْعِ الطَّعَامِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْتَوْفَى)

Approved by
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
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Source: Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Azaadville — https://www.iftadua.co.za/selling-an-item-before-taking-possession-thereof/36718/
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/azaadville-36718

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