Explanation of the Book of Sales-01
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The Shaykh : He said: "It is narrated from Rafi'ah ibn Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) Bulugh al-Maram 7:1 Al-Bazzar narrated it, and al-Hakim graded it as authentic".
Who was asked? It does not matter whether the questioner was a man or a woman, but the questioner was a Companion. It has passed us by that there is no doubt that part of the perfection of knowledge is knowing the ambiguous points, but it is not among the necessities of knowledge, because the intended point is the event, the issue, or the incident that occurred, so that we know the ruling.
And his saying: "He was asked: Which earnings are the purest?" Earnings are what a person acquires and profits from, whether through trade, lease, partnership, or otherwise; it is comprehensive. A person may earn through sale, lease, partnership, or by acquiring permissible things such as hunting and gathering grass, and the like. Is that clear? So which is the purest? He said:, the work of a man with his own hands. This is the purest of earnings. Why? Because the work of a man with his own hands is generally free from doubt, since he acquired it with his own hands, such as gathering grass. A person went out to the wilderness, gathered grass, and brought it back. He went out to the wilderness, gathered firewood, and brought it back. He went out to the wilderness and dug up fughar. And what is fughar? Here, he brought fughar. Yes?
The student: Truffles.
The Shaykh : He brought fughar, truffles. Yes, and he went out to the sea. Here?
The student: He hunts.
The Shaykh : So he caught fish. We do not know, do we say fish or did he cheat? So he caught fish. Is this work with his own hands or not? This is the best of what there is, because it is work that contains no doubt whatsoever. He took it from what Allah the Mighty and Majestic brought forth. Now, do the crafts fall under this?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Do the crafts fall under it?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, we may say that the crafts fall under it, even if there is something in one's mind regarding their inclusion in the hadith, because crafts, like buying and selling, may involve deception, forgetfulness, or error. So their inclusion would then contain some element of doubt. But it is possible to include them on the condition that this working craftsman is sincere, completely sincere in his craft. Otherwise, how many are there who craft things, and their craft ends up being among the worst crafts, and deception enters into it more than what enters into buying and selling. Yes, there is a group who built a wall for a person, and they said, "Who will go to the owner of the wall to bring the wage?" So some of them said to others, "Who will hold the wall so it does not fall until we take the wage?"
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes? Is the wall good in its construction or not?
The student: It is not good.
The Shaykh : It is not good, meaning he says, "I will hold it until they give us the wage," and then they leave. In any case, crafts in reality may fall under the hadith and may not. Now, does plowing and farming fall under the hadith?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : The work of a man with his own hands?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, because generally the farmer selects for himself, just as he selects good firewood to sell for more. He selects good plowing, good planting, and good watering, so it is work with his own hands. For this reason, the jurists, or some of them, said: "Farming is the best earning". Farming is the best earning. In farming, there is also another benefit, which is that the creatures of Allah benefit from this crop, or not? Insects benefit, ants, gnats, dogs, meaning...
The student: Birds.
The Shaykh : Birds. Everything that can benefit from this crop benefits from it, so there is also a benefit in it.
Now, the second one said: Allah is the Greatest! Every sale that is approved. What is the approved sale? The approved sale was explained by the Sunnah in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 1532a So the approved sale is what is based on truthfulness and clarity: truthfulness in the description, and clarity regarding the defect. For example, he does not say to you, "This is good," when it is bad. Yes, and the item is not defective, and then he conceals it, but rather he clarifies it. Sahih Muslim 1532a This is the approved sale, based on truthfulness and clarity. This is the approved sale.
We add a third thing: and it conforms to the Shari'ah, and it conforms to the Shari'ah. If it contradicts the Shari'ah, then even if it is based on truthfulness and clarity, it is not approved. If he sells to a person something whose sale is forbidden, and he is truthful in its description and its defect, we do not say this is an approved sale. So, what conforms to the Shari'ah and includes truthfulness and clarity is the approved sale. The opposite of that is what contradicts the Shari'ah, such as the sale of forbidden things, like entertainment venues and the like, or what is based on lying, such as saying, "This merchandise is among the best," when it is among the worst. Yes, or based on concealing a defect, where it is defective and he hides its defect. This is not an approved sale. The first one was called approved because it includes righteousness, because it includes righteousness. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, loves righteousness. In fact, He said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:2].
The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked, 'What type of earning is best?' He replied, "A man's work with his hand and every transaction which is free from cheating or deception."
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم سئل: أي الكسب أطيب؟ قال: عمل الرجل بيده، وكل بيع مبرورWho was asked? It does not matter whether the questioner was a man or a woman, but the questioner was a Companion. It has passed us by that there is no doubt that part of the perfection of knowledge is knowing the ambiguous points, but it is not among the necessities of knowledge, because the intended point is the event, the issue, or the incident that occurred, so that we know the ruling.
And his saying: "He was asked: Which earnings are the purest?" Earnings are what a person acquires and profits from, whether through trade, lease, partnership, or otherwise; it is comprehensive. A person may earn through sale, lease, partnership, or by acquiring permissible things such as hunting and gathering grass, and the like. Is that clear? So which is the purest? He said:
The work of a man with his own hands
عمل الرّجل بيدهThe student: Truffles.
The Shaykh : He brought fughar, truffles. Yes, and he went out to the sea. Here?
The student: He hunts.
The Shaykh : So he caught fish. We do not know, do we say fish or did he cheat? So he caught fish. Is this work with his own hands or not? This is the best of what there is, because it is work that contains no doubt whatsoever. He took it from what Allah the Mighty and Majestic brought forth. Now, do the crafts fall under this?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Do the crafts fall under it?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, we may say that the crafts fall under it, even if there is something in one's mind regarding their inclusion in the hadith, because crafts, like buying and selling, may involve deception, forgetfulness, or error. So their inclusion would then contain some element of doubt. But it is possible to include them on the condition that this working craftsman is sincere, completely sincere in his craft. Otherwise, how many are there who craft things, and their craft ends up being among the worst crafts, and deception enters into it more than what enters into buying and selling. Yes, there is a group who built a wall for a person, and they said, "Who will go to the owner of the wall to bring the wage?" So some of them said to others, "Who will hold the wall so it does not fall until we take the wage?"
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes? Is the wall good in its construction or not?
The student: It is not good.
The Shaykh : It is not good, meaning he says, "I will hold it until they give us the wage," and then they leave. In any case, crafts in reality may fall under the hadith and may not. Now, does plowing and farming fall under the hadith?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : The work of a man with his own hands?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, because generally the farmer selects for himself, just as he selects good firewood to sell for more. He selects good plowing, good planting, and good watering, so it is work with his own hands. For this reason, the jurists, or some of them, said: "Farming is the best earning". Farming is the best earning. In farming, there is also another benefit, which is that the creatures of Allah benefit from this crop, or not? Insects benefit, ants, gnats, dogs, meaning...
The student: Birds.
The Shaykh : Birds. Everything that can benefit from this crop benefits from it, so there is also a benefit in it.
Now, the second one said:
And every sale that is approved
وكلّ بيع مبرورand if they speak the truth and make everything clear they will be blessed in their transaction
إن صدقا وبيّنا بورك لهما في بيعهماand if they speak the truth and make everything clear they will be blessed in their transaction
إن صدقا وبيّنا بورك لهما في بيعهماWe add a third thing: and it conforms to the Shari'ah, and it conforms to the Shari'ah. If it contradicts the Shari'ah, then even if it is based on truthfulness and clarity, it is not approved. If he sells to a person something whose sale is forbidden, and he is truthful in its description and its defect, we do not say this is an approved sale. So, what conforms to the Shari'ah and includes truthfulness and clarity is the approved sale. The opposite of that is what contradicts the Shari'ah, such as the sale of forbidden things, like entertainment venues and the like, or what is based on lying, such as saying, "This merchandise is among the best," when it is among the worst. Yes, or based on concealing a defect, where it is defective and he hides its defect. This is not an approved sale. The first one was called approved because it includes righteousness, because it includes righteousness. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, loves righteousness. In fact, He said: