Reconciling the Prohibition of Selling Fruit Before It Rips with the Permissibility of Salam

Question:
The questioner asks: How do we reconcile the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibition of selling dates until their ripeness becomes apparent with the permissibility of salam for the people of Madinah?

Answer:
This is a sale, whereas salam is an independent contract, an independent contract and not a sale. It is a contract for adjusting the price and adjusting the time. In salam, there is nothing specific; there is no specific fruit, but rather a sa’ of dates, or a mudd, or barley, or wheat, not specified, but described only by its attributes. As for selling fruit, it is a specific fruit. It is not permissible to sell a specific fruit before the thirty days have passed, because it may be damaged or it may be affected by moisture; this is the specific fruit. As for the unspecified one, this is what the one who is obligated to deliver it brings; the one who is obligated to bring it brings it.