Prohibited Sales
🚫 Forbidden Sales — Beware the Market's Pitfalls!
📖 Opening Scene: At the Medina Market
Medina Market... The Prophet ﷺ passes between the sellers...
He stops by a food vendor... He puts his hand into the pile of grain...
His fingers get wet!
The Prophet ﷺ: "What is this, O seller of food?"
The seller: The rain touched it, O Messenger of Allah!
The Prophet ﷺ: "Why didn't you put it on top so people could see it?!"
Then he ﷺ said in a voice that all in the market heard:
The Prophet ﷺ: "Whoever cheats us is not one of us!"
This lesson reveals to you the sales that Islam has forbidden, their causes, and how to protect yourself and your business from these pitfalls.
📖 Why Are Some Sales Forbidden?
📜 Hadith on the Lawful and Unlawful
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful matters that many people don't know. Whoever avoids the doubtful matters protects his religion and his honor."
[Agreed upon]
🔍 Causes of Forbidden Sales
🚫 Causes of Forbidden Sales
Surplus without counter-value
Ignorance and uncalculated risk
Devouring others' wealth unjustly
Alcohol, pork, idols
⚠️ Section 1: Sales Forbidden Due to Uncertainty (Gharar)
What is Gharar?
📜 Definition of Gharar
Gharar: That whose outcome is unknown, whether it will exist or not.
— Definition of the jurists
🎯 The Pebble Sale
📖 Scene: Pre-Islamic Sales
In a pre-Islamic marketplace... a vendor displays various fabrics...
The seller: Throw this pebble! Whatever it lands on is yours for a dinar!
The buyer: But I don't know which fabric I'll get!
The seller: That's luck and adventure!
📜 Prohibition of Pebble Sale
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited the pebble sale.
[Narrated by Muslim]
Forms of the pebble sale:
| Form | Description |
|---|---|
| Throwing the pebble | Whatever it lands on is yours |
| Distance of throw | I sell you of my land what your pebble reaches |
Why is it forbidden? 🔴 Ignorance of the sold item = gharar!
🎯 The Touch Sale and the Toss Sale
📜 Prohibition of Touch and Toss Sales
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited the Mulamasa and Munabadha.
[Agreed upon]
📊 Forbidden Pre-Islamic Sales
Whatever you touch is yours
Whatever I throw to you is yours
Whatever the pebble lands on is yours
🎯 Habal al-Habala Sale
📖 Scene: Selling the Distant Future
The seller: I'll sell you what's in this she-camel's womb!
The buyer: Okay... and when will I receive it?
The seller: Better yet, I'll sell you what my camel will give birth to, then what her daughter will give birth to!
The buyer: 😮 That's years away!
📜 Prohibition of Habal al-Habala
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited the sale of Habal al-Habala.
[Agreed upon]
The two interpretations:
| Interpretation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Offspring of offspring | What the camel gives birth to, then what her daughter gives birth to |
| Distant term | Sale until the camel gives birth and her daughter gives birth |
The cause: Extreme uncertainty — the sold item doesn't exist and may never exist!
🎯 Madamin and Malaqih Sales
🐪 What Cannot Be Sold from Animals
What is in the loins of male animals (semen)
What is in the wombs of female animals (fetuses)
🎯 Selling Fruits Before They Ripen
📜 Prohibition of Selling Fruits
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited selling fruits until their ripeness appears.
[Agreed upon]
📖 Scene: When is Sale Permissible?
The farmer: I'll sell you the fruit of my palm tree.
The buyer: But it hasn't turned red yet!
The farmer: It will turn red soon, God willing!
The buyer: What if a blight strikes it before that?
Cause of prohibition:
| Reason | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Risk of damage | Fruits may be damaged before ripening |
| Uncertainty | Unknown whether the fruit will be good or not |
When is sale permissible? ✅ After the appearance of ripeness (reddening or yellowing)
⚔️ Section 2: Sales Forbidden Due to Injustice
🔴 Najsh Sale (Fraudulent Bidding)
📖 Scene: Auction Conspiracy
Public auction... a man wants to sell his car...
The seller (secretly to his friend): Bid on the car to raise the price, you'll get a share!
At the auction...
The friend: Thirty thousand!
A real buyer: Thirty-five!
The friend: Forty!
The buyer thinks the car is worth it... buys at forty-five!
📜 Prohibition of Najsh
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited Najsh.
[Agreed upon]
Ruling on Najsh:
| Party | Ruling |
|---|---|
| The fake bidder | Sinful — he devours people's wealth unjustly |
| The complicit seller | Sinful accomplice |
| The contract | Valid with sin according to the majority |
🔴 Intercepting Caravans
📖 Scene: Exploiting the Ignorant
A trading caravan arrives from the desert...
A man from Medina goes out to intercept them before they enter the market...
The man: At what price are you selling the dates?
The bedouin: At ten dirhams per sa'.
The man: (knowing the price is thirty!) I'll buy everything you have!
He buys at ten and sells at thirty!
📜 Prohibition of Intercepting Caravans
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited intercepting caravans for sale.
[Agreed upon]
The wisdom:
- 🔴 Protecting sellers from being cheated
- ✅ They have the right to cancel if they learn the market price
🔴 The Townsman Selling for the Bedouin
📜 Prohibition
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The townsman should not sell for the bedouin."
[Agreed upon]
📖 Scene: The Greedy Middleman
A bedouin arrives at the market with his sheep to sell...
The townsman: Don't sell today! Leave them with me, I'll sell them for you at a higher price!
The bedouin: But I want to sell and go back!
The townsman: Patience! Winter is coming and prices will rise!
The cause:
| Harm | Explanation |
|---|---|
| On market people | They're deprived of goods |
| On prices | They rise due to hoarding |
🔴 Hoarding (Ihtikar)
📜 Severe Warning Against the Hoarder
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Only a sinner hoards."
[Narrated by Muslim]
📖 Scene: Greed During Crisis
An epidemic strikes the country... people need masks and sanitizers...
The merchant: I'll buy all the stock and hide it!
One week later...
The merchant: Now I sell at ten times the price!
People have no alternative...
Definition of hoarding:
📊 When is Hoarding Forbidden?
Buying food/necessities
In times of scarcity
To raise prices on people
= Forbidden hoarding
What the ruler can do:
- ✅ Force price controls on hoarders
- ✅ Sell the stock forcibly at fair price
🔴 The 'Ina Sale
📖 Scene: Disguised Usury
The needy person: I need a thousand riyals in cash.
The seller: Take this device for twelve hundred on credit.
The needy person takes it...
The seller: Now I'll buy it back from you for nine hundred cash!
Result: he gave him 900 and will recover 1200!
📜 Warning Against 'Ina
The Prophet ﷺ said: "When you practice 'Ina... Allah will inflict humiliation upon you that He will not remove until you return to your religion."
[Narrated by Abu Dawud from Ibn 'Umar]
⚠️ Note: This hadith is disputed regarding its authenticity; some hadith scholars weakened it due to a weakness in its chain, while al-Albani authenticated it along with others. The prohibition of 'Ina is established through other evidence.
Why is it forbidden?
💰 The Reality of 'Ina Sale
Appearance
Sale then buyback
1000 cash
Reality
= Disguised usury
Loan with interest!
1200 on credit
🍖 Section 3: Sales Forbidden Due to the Object
📜 The Comprehensive Hadith
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has forbidden the sale of alcohol, carrion, pork, and idols."
[Agreed upon]
🚫 Objects Forbidden to Sell
He forbade drinking and selling
Forbidden for eating so its sale
Text and consensus
Whatever is worshipped besides Allah
He forbade its price
⚠️ Exception for Dogs
| Type of Dog | Ruling |
|---|---|
| Hunting dog | Disagreement — some permitted |
| Guard dog | Disagreement — some permitted |
| Other | Forbidden by consensus |
🤝 Section 4: Sales Forbidden for Others' Rights
Selling Over Your Brother's Sale
📜 Prohibition
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Let not one of you sell over his brother's sale."
[Agreed upon]
📖 Scene: Forbidden Intervention
Zayd and Amr agreed on buying a car for fifty thousand...
They're still in the option period...
Khalid comes:
Khalid: O Amr! I'll sell you a better car for the same price!
When is it forbidden?
| Situation | Ruling |
|---|---|
| Before agreement | ✅ Permissible — competition is legitimate |
| After agreement and before binding | ❌ Forbidden — transgression on brother's right |
Bidding Over Your Brother's Bid
📜 Prohibition
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Let not a man bid over his brother's bid."
[Agreed upon]
Bidding (sawm): Negotiation and bargaining.
When is it forbidden? After inclination and mutual agreement — meaning after preliminary agreement.
Selling After the Friday Prayer Call
📜 Verse of Prohibition
﴿O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave all trading﴾
[Al-Jumu'a: 9]
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| For whom is it forbidden? | Those for whom Friday prayer is obligatory (free resident male) |
| Is the contract valid? | Disagreement — the majority: valid with sin |
📊 Effects of Forbidden Sales on the Contract
⚖️ Effects of Prohibition on the Contract
like usury
like Najsh
like Friday time
📖 Stories from the Righteous Predecessors: Imam Ahmad's Piety
📖 Story: Scrupulousness in Money
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, was poor...
He was offered money from the state...
The messenger: This is a grant from the treasury, take it O Imam!
Imam Ahmad: I fear there may be suspicion in it.
The messenger: But it's lawful! And people take it!
Imam Ahmad: "Leaving a daniq (small coin) of haram is better than a thousand pilgrimages!"
And he was asked, may Allah have mercy on him, about suspicious money, he said:
"A third of people's wealth is unlawful!"
He meant: to warn against negligence in transactions.
The lesson: 💎 Scrupulousness in transactions is a sign of faith.
🎯 Contemporary Cases — Test Your Understanding!
Case 1: Fraud in Online Marketing
An online seller displays beautiful photos of the product...
But the real product is much lower quality!
Question: What is the ruling?
Answer:
- ❌ Forbidden fraud — "Whoever cheats us is not one of us"
- ✅ The buyer has the right to return and refund
- ⚠️ Honest negative review: permissible, even required to warn people
Case 2: Inflating Prices at Online Auctions
Someone arranges with his friend to bid on eBay to raise the price on real buyers!
Question: What is the ruling?
Answer:
- ❌ This is exactly the forbidden Najsh!
- Even if it's electronic, the ruling is the same
- 🔴 Devourer of wealth unjustly
Case 3: Hoarding Masks During the Epidemic
A merchant buys all masks and sanitizers during the epidemic...
Then sells them at several times the price!
Question: What is the ruling?
Answer:
- ❌ Forbidden hoarding — "Only a sinner hoards"
- 🔴 Among the worst injustices in times of need
- ✅ The ruler can fix prices and confiscate the stock
Case 4: Opening the Shop During Friday Prayer
A shop owner opens his shop and sells during the Friday sermon.
Question: What is the ruling?
Answer:
- ❌ Forbidden for those for whom Friday prayer is obligatory
- ⚠️ The contract: valid with sin according to the majority
- ✅ The duty: close the shop and go pray
Case 5: Buying a Stolen Phone
Someone finds a new phone sold at half price...
He suspects it's stolen but the seller denies!
Question: What is the ruling?
Answer:
- ❌ It's not permissible to buy with strong suspicion
- 🔴 The buyer becomes an accomplice in the sin if he buys
- ✅ Golden rule: "What people ask many questions about, leave it"
💎 Lesson Summary
| Cause of Prohibition | Examples | Ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Uncertainty | Pebble, touch, Habal al-Habala | Void |
| Injustice | Najsh, intercepting caravans, hoarding | Forbidden (valid with sin) |
| Unlawful object | Alcohol, pork, idols | Void |
| Others' rights | Selling over sale, Friday time | Forbidden |
🤔 Pause and Reflect
Question to ponder:
You're a seller... and the whole market cheats: they mix good with bad.
If you don't do like them... you'll lose customers.
What do you do?
📜 Always Remember
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Both parties have the option as long as they haven't separated. If they are honest and transparent, their sale will be blessed. If they conceal and lie, the blessing of their sale will be erased."
[Agreed upon]
- 🔴 Fraud is forbidden even if everyone does it
- ✅ "Whoever leaves something for Allah, Allah will replace it with something better"
- 💡 Honesty is blessing, fraud erases blessing
O Lord, increase me in knowledge! 📖