The people who take the place of the owner in a sale.
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The Shaykh : So, one of the conditions of a sale, my brothers, is that it be from whom? From the owner or from one who takes his place. Now, who takes the place of the owner? The agent (wakil), the executor (wasī), the overseer (nāẓir), and the guardian (walī). Four: the agent, second: the executor, third: the overseer, fourth: the guardian.
The agent: he is the one who transacts on behalf of a living person with his permission. He transacts for a living person with his permission. For example, if I say: "So-and-so, take my car and sell it," this is an agent, because he transacts on my behalf while I am alive with my permission. So, what is he? An agent. Did the Sunnah come with the permissibility of the agent's transactions? Yes. Who will bring me the hadith? Yes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed a man, and he was Urwah ibn al-Ja'd, to buy a sacrificial animal for him. To buy a sacrificial animal for him for one dinar. So he bought two for the dinar, then sold one for a dinar, and returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with what? With a sheep and a dinar. Look at the transaction! This transaction is good! He bought two sheep with the dinar because the Messenger (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said: He bought two sheep, found them cheap, so he bought them, then sold one for a dinar and brought the sheep and the dinar. Do you know what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him? He said: Sunan ad-Daraqutni 13:26 A great reward. So, the narrator said about him: By the blessing of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) supplication for him. So, agency is permissible, permissible. Now, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) over the alms of Ramadan (zakat al-fitr), because people collect the alms of Ramadan at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and give it in charity. One night—listen, the story is strange!—one night, a person in the guise of a man came and took some of the food. He took some of the food, so Abu Hurayrah seized him and said: لأرفعنك إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال : إنه ذو عيال وإنه فقير، فقير وله أولاد، فرحمه أبو هريرة وأطلقه، في الصباح غدا أبو هريرة - يعني : ذهب - إلى الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم في الغدوة في الصباح فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم : ما فعل أسيرك البارحة ؟ - ما الذي أعلم الرسول ؟ الله عز وجل -، قال : يا رسول الله! إنه قال : إنه ذو حاجة وذو عيال فأطلقته، فقال : إنه كذبك وسيعود. -كذبك يعني : كذب عليك، وسيعود -، يقول : فعلمت أنه سيعود لقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه سيعود، فجعلت أرصده فجاء وأخذ من الطعام فأمسكه أبو هريرة وقال : لأرفعنك إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم، فادعى الحاجة والفقر والعيال فأطلقه، ثم غدا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم وأخبره، فقال : إنه كذبك وسيعود. كذبك وسيعود، فجعل يترصد له في الليلة إيش ؟ الثالثة ولا الثانية ؟ الثالثة، فجاء وأمسكه وقال : لا بد أن أرفعك إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، إذا تكرر الشيء ثلاث مرات خلاص، فقال له : ألا أدلك على آية في كتاب الله إذا قرأتها لم يزل عليك من الله حافظ ولا يقربك شيطان حتى تصبح، قال : نعم، قال : اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ آية الكرسي I will surely take you to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "Indeed, he has a family and he is poor." Poor and he has children. So Abu Hurayrah had mercy on him and released him. In the morning, Abu Hurayrah went—meaning: he went—to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him: "What did you do with your prisoner last night?"—What informed the Messenger? Allah the Exalted—He said: "O Messenger of Allah! He said that he has a need and a family, so I released him." He said: "He lied to you and he will return."—Lied to you means: he lied to you, and he will return—He said: "So I knew that he would return because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he would return. So I kept watching for him. He came and took some of the food, so Abu Hurayrah seized him and said: 'I will surely take you to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).' He claimed need, poverty, and a family, so he released him. Then he went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and informed him. So he said: 'He lied to you and he will return.' He lied to you and he will return. So he kept watching for him on the night, which one? The third or the second? The third. He came and he seized him and said: 'I must take you to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' When something is repeated three times, that is enough. So he said to him: 'Shall I direct you to a verse in the Book of Allah, if you recite it, a protector from Allah will not cease to be over you, and no devil will approach you until you become morning?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting.' The Verse of the Throne.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah bless you. Read? Then, the next day, he (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him. So he said: He told you the truth: meaning he informed you with truth, and he is a liar: meaning the devil. Then he said to him: . The point from this: The Messenger appointed over what? Over the preservation of the alms of Ramadan, and he approved Abu Hurayrah's (may Allah be pleased with him) transaction and its execution. This indicates that the stronger opinion is: if a person transacts in the wealth of another and the other approves it, the transaction is valid. Yes, this is the agent.
Second: the executor. The executor is the representative of a person after his death. The executor is the representative of a person after his death. By saying: "I bequeath a fifth of my wealth to be spent on the poor, and the executor is so-and-so." The executor is so-and-so. This is the one who represents the owner after, after he dies. And on this occasion, I would like to warn my brothers who write wills not to write "the agent after the death of so-and-so." This is a mistake, because agency is dissolved when the principal dies. Rather, instead of saying "the agent is so-and-so," say: "the executor is so-and-so." The executor is so-and-so.
Now, third: the overseer. He is the agent over the endowment (waqf). The agent over the endowment. Meaning, a person endowed a building and said: "This is an endowment, its revenue for the poor, and the agent over it is so-and-so." Or should I say "the overseer over it is so-and-so"? I say: "the overseer over it is so-and-so." The overseer over it is so-and-so. And I do not say: "the agent." This is also something in which many writers who write endowments make a mistake, saying: "the agent over this endowment." This is a mistake. Rather: "the overseer over this endowment," because the overseer has more independence than the agent.
Remaining is the fourth: the guardian. The guardian: this is one entrusted by the Shari'ah. Entrusted by the Shari'ah. And he is the guardian over the spendthrift, the guardian over the minors, over the insane, and the like. What is this called? It is called a guardian. So, the guardian over the wealth of a young orphan who has not reached puberty, or the insane, or the spendthrift, has the authority to transact, sell, and buy, because he is the representative of whom? Of the owner. So, those for whom it is valid to sell on behalf of the owner are four: the agent, the executor, the overseer, and the guardian. The important thing is that the sale must be from the owner or from one who takes his place. Now, if a man steals something, steals something and sells it, is the sale valid? Answer, everyone? It is not valid. The sale is not valid, because the thief is not an owner nor one who takes the place of the owner.
If a person usurps a piece of land, knowing that this land belongs to his neighbor, so he takes possession of it and then sells it, is the sale valid? It is not valid, because he is not the owner. Now, if a person finds something valuable, like jewelry, and finds it in the market, and conceals it and sells it, is his sale valid or not valid? It is not valid, because he is not from the owner nor from one who takes the place of the owner.
The agent: he is the one who transacts on behalf of a living person with his permission. He transacts for a living person with his permission. For example, if I say: "So-and-so, take my car and sell it," this is an agent, because he transacts on my behalf while I am alive with my permission. So, what is he? An agent. Did the Sunnah come with the permissibility of the agent's transactions? Yes. Who will bring me the hadith? Yes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed a man, and he was Urwah ibn al-Ja'd, to buy a sacrificial animal for him. To buy a sacrificial animal for him for one dinar. So he bought two for the dinar, then sold one for a dinar, and returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with what? With a sheep and a dinar. Look at the transaction! This transaction is good! He bought two sheep with the dinar because the Messenger (may Allah's prayer and peace be upon him) said:
Buy a sacrificial animal
اشتر أضحيةO Allah, bless him in his buying and selling
اللهم بارك له في بيعه وشرائهHe used not to buy dirt but he would profit in it
كان لا يشترى تراباً إلا ربح فيهThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah bless you. Read? Then, the next day, he (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him. So he said:
He has told you the truth, and he is a liar
صدقك وهو كذوبO Abu Hurayrah, do you know whom you have been conversing with for the past three nights? He said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: It is a devil.
يا أبا هريرة أتدري من تناجي منذ ثلاث ليال، قال : الله ورسوله أعلم، قال : ذلك شيطانSecond: the executor. The executor is the representative of a person after his death. The executor is the representative of a person after his death. By saying: "I bequeath a fifth of my wealth to be spent on the poor, and the executor is so-and-so." The executor is so-and-so. This is the one who represents the owner after, after he dies. And on this occasion, I would like to warn my brothers who write wills not to write "the agent after the death of so-and-so." This is a mistake, because agency is dissolved when the principal dies. Rather, instead of saying "the agent is so-and-so," say: "the executor is so-and-so." The executor is so-and-so.
Now, third: the overseer. He is the agent over the endowment (waqf). The agent over the endowment. Meaning, a person endowed a building and said: "This is an endowment, its revenue for the poor, and the agent over it is so-and-so." Or should I say "the overseer over it is so-and-so"? I say: "the overseer over it is so-and-so." The overseer over it is so-and-so. And I do not say: "the agent." This is also something in which many writers who write endowments make a mistake, saying: "the agent over this endowment." This is a mistake. Rather: "the overseer over this endowment," because the overseer has more independence than the agent.
Remaining is the fourth: the guardian. The guardian: this is one entrusted by the Shari'ah. Entrusted by the Shari'ah. And he is the guardian over the spendthrift, the guardian over the minors, over the insane, and the like. What is this called? It is called a guardian. So, the guardian over the wealth of a young orphan who has not reached puberty, or the insane, or the spendthrift, has the authority to transact, sell, and buy, because he is the representative of whom? Of the owner. So, those for whom it is valid to sell on behalf of the owner are four: the agent, the executor, the overseer, and the guardian. The important thing is that the sale must be from the owner or from one who takes his place. Now, if a man steals something, steals something and sells it, is the sale valid? Answer, everyone? It is not valid. The sale is not valid, because the thief is not an owner nor one who takes the place of the owner.
If a person usurps a piece of land, knowing that this land belongs to his neighbor, so he takes possession of it and then sells it, is the sale valid? It is not valid, because he is not the owner. Now, if a person finds something valuable, like jewelry, and finds it in the market, and conceals it and sells it, is his sale valid or not valid? It is not valid, because he is not from the owner nor from one who takes the place of the owner.