Additional material: Explanation of the Book of Sales from Bulugh al-Maram.
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The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Book of Sales.
The author said: "The Book", because this is independent of what came before it and is of a different kind, because the first was entirely about acts of worship, which are dealings with the Creator (Mighty and Majestic), and this is about sales, which are dealings with creation.
The scholars began with sales after acts of worship because they are more relevant to people, otherwise, for example, marriage has a connection to dealings and a connection to worship, but sales are more relevant to people because a person needs them for his food, drink, clothing, dwelling, vehicle, marriage, and so on, so they are more broadly relevant, and for this reason the scholars placed them after acts of worship.
And the author said: "The Book of Sales", pluralizing it with regard to its types, otherwise it is the plural of sale, and sale is a verbal noun, and a verbal noun is not pluralized unless the type is intended, so if the type is intended, it is permissible to pluralize it with regard to its types.
The original ruling for sales is permissibility, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:275], so every form of sale that is claimed to be forbidden, the claimant must provide proof, meaning:
evidence, because the original ruling is permissibility.
And Allah legislated sale and made it permissible for His servants because dire necessity sometimes calls for it, pressing need sometimes calls for it, and enjoyment sometimes calls for it, so sometimes dire necessity calls for it, as if a person has dirhams and he is thirsty, and another person has water, so here dire necessity calls for the sale contract, because this thirsty person does not reach the water except by way of sale if its owner does not give it to him, and not everyone is able to give, so sometimes the dire necessity is for the buyer, and sometimes the dire necessity is for the seller, for example: if a person has food but he is thirsty, he needs to sell the food to buy water, so here the dire necessity is from the seller.
As for the pressing need that calls for it, it is what a person needs in matters of his religion and his worldly life that is not dire necessity, such as his need for another garment in addition to his first garment in the days of winter, and the like of that.
As for enjoyment, it is as if a person has everything he is in dire need of and everything he needs, but he loves to enjoy and be at ease with what Allah has made permissible for him, and he has no way to do so except sale, so here we say that neither dire necessity nor pressing need called for it, but it is from the category of enjoying the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in a permissible manner.
For this reason, it was wisdom to make sale permissible for the servants so that their dire necessities are removed by it, their needs are met by it, and their enjoyment is completed by it. Is that clear? Meaning, not every person who is in dire need of food or drink finds someone to give it to him, and not every person who needs home furnishings, for example, finds someone to give them to him, and not every person who wants to enjoy what Allah the Exalted has given him of good finds someone to give him what he enjoys with, for this reason it was wisdom that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made it permissible for His servants.
The author said: "The Book", because this is independent of what came before it and is of a different kind, because the first was entirely about acts of worship, which are dealings with the Creator (Mighty and Majestic), and this is about sales, which are dealings with creation.
The scholars began with sales after acts of worship because they are more relevant to people, otherwise, for example, marriage has a connection to dealings and a connection to worship, but sales are more relevant to people because a person needs them for his food, drink, clothing, dwelling, vehicle, marriage, and so on, so they are more broadly relevant, and for this reason the scholars placed them after acts of worship.
And the author said: "The Book of Sales", pluralizing it with regard to its types, otherwise it is the plural of sale, and sale is a verbal noun, and a verbal noun is not pluralized unless the type is intended, so if the type is intended, it is permissible to pluralize it with regard to its types.
The original ruling for sales is permissibility, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
But Allah has permitted trade
وأحلَّ الله البيعevidence, because the original ruling is permissibility.
And Allah legislated sale and made it permissible for His servants because dire necessity sometimes calls for it, pressing need sometimes calls for it, and enjoyment sometimes calls for it, so sometimes dire necessity calls for it, as if a person has dirhams and he is thirsty, and another person has water, so here dire necessity calls for the sale contract, because this thirsty person does not reach the water except by way of sale if its owner does not give it to him, and not everyone is able to give, so sometimes the dire necessity is for the buyer, and sometimes the dire necessity is for the seller, for example: if a person has food but he is thirsty, he needs to sell the food to buy water, so here the dire necessity is from the seller.
As for the pressing need that calls for it, it is what a person needs in matters of his religion and his worldly life that is not dire necessity, such as his need for another garment in addition to his first garment in the days of winter, and the like of that.
As for enjoyment, it is as if a person has everything he is in dire need of and everything he needs, but he loves to enjoy and be at ease with what Allah has made permissible for him, and he has no way to do so except sale, so here we say that neither dire necessity nor pressing need called for it, but it is from the category of enjoying the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in a permissible manner.
For this reason, it was wisdom to make sale permissible for the servants so that their dire necessities are removed by it, their needs are met by it, and their enjoyment is completed by it. Is that clear? Meaning, not every person who is in dire need of food or drink finds someone to give it to him, and not every person who needs home furnishings, for example, finds someone to give them to him, and not every person who wants to enjoy what Allah the Exalted has given him of good finds someone to give him what he enjoys with, for this reason it was wisdom that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made it permissible for His servants.