Selling land before taking possession of it and registering it in the brother's name
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, I bought a piece of land from a man who had bought it from another person, and the transaction between them has not yet been completed. The purchase price has changed. If I want to transfer it to myself, do I take the price I paid him? Even though he will transfer it to the first owner, or the price is different, what is the solution? And is it permissible for me to transfer it to myself?
The Shaykh:
That is the question.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, they bought a defective piece of land from a man who had bought it from another person. The transaction between them has not yet been completed, and the purchase price has increased. If I want to transfer it to myself, do I write down the price I paid him, even though he will transfer it to the first owner, or the price is different, what is the solution? And is it permissible for me to register the sale in my name or in my brother's name, so that we can proceed with the real estate bank?
The Shaykh:
In this matter, if there was an offer and acceptance between you—an offer from the seller and acceptance from you—the contract is complete. Then, if you took possession of the land after the contract, meaning you took possession by going to it, knowing its boundaries and its extent, and you took full possession of it, then it is permissible for you to sell it. However, if you sell it while you have not taken possession of it and have not seen it, relying only on the description or only on the contract, then this sale is not permissible. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling things before taking possession of them. As for the price, you write the price for which you bought it. You say, "I bought such-and-such land from so-and-so for a price of such-and-such." You are not concerned with the price for which he bought it; you are not concerned with the price for which he bought it. You only write the price for which you bought it in your contract. As for the scheme of making half the land in your brother's name and half in your name in order to take from the bank: if the intention behind this is merely a scheme, then it is not permissible. But if the intention is that you want to give him half of the land, give him ownership of it, then this is a good thing. May Allah reward you with good. This is maintaining family ties. If you want to give him half of the land so that he owns it, develops it, and takes from the bank, then this is a good thing and helping your brother. But if the land remains in your ownership and you only put half of it in his name as a scheme, while it is in your ownership, then this is not permissible. This is deceiving the authorities. Many people do this and do not care. Schemes are not permissible. There must be truthfulness and trustworthiness in the rights of those in authority and in the rights of others. It is not permissible to scheme or lie. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, I bought a piece of land from a man who had bought it from another person, and the transaction between them has not yet been completed. The purchase price has changed. If I want to transfer it to myself, do I take the price I paid him? Even though he will transfer it to the first owner, or the price is different, what is the solution? And is it permissible for me to transfer it to myself?
The Shaykh:
That is the question.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, they bought a defective piece of land from a man who had bought it from another person. The transaction between them has not yet been completed, and the purchase price has increased. If I want to transfer it to myself, do I write down the price I paid him, even though he will transfer it to the first owner, or the price is different, what is the solution? And is it permissible for me to register the sale in my name or in my brother's name, so that we can proceed with the real estate bank?
The Shaykh:
In this matter, if there was an offer and acceptance between you—an offer from the seller and acceptance from you—the contract is complete. Then, if you took possession of the land after the contract, meaning you took possession by going to it, knowing its boundaries and its extent, and you took full possession of it, then it is permissible for you to sell it. However, if you sell it while you have not taken possession of it and have not seen it, relying only on the description or only on the contract, then this sale is not permissible. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling things before taking possession of them. As for the price, you write the price for which you bought it. You say, "I bought such-and-such land from so-and-so for a price of such-and-such." You are not concerned with the price for which he bought it; you are not concerned with the price for which he bought it. You only write the price for which you bought it in your contract. As for the scheme of making half the land in your brother's name and half in your name in order to take from the bank: if the intention behind this is merely a scheme, then it is not permissible. But if the intention is that you want to give him half of the land, give him ownership of it, then this is a good thing. May Allah reward you with good. This is maintaining family ties. If you want to give him half of the land so that he owns it, develops it, and takes from the bank, then this is a good thing and helping your brother. But if the land remains in your ownership and you only put half of it in his name as a scheme, while it is in your ownership, then this is not permissible. This is deceiving the authorities. Many people do this and do not care. Schemes are not permissible. There must be truthfulness and trustworthiness in the rights of those in authority and in the rights of others. It is not permissible to scheme or lie. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب سترة المصلي — islamhouse.com (58:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.