And from him, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of the 'arabun. Malik narrated it, saying: It was reported to me from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb with this.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He said: "And from him (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: Bulugh al-Maram 7:26 Malik narrated it, saying: It was reported to me from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb with this". The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade: The prohibition is a demand to refrain from an act on the basis of authority, and when it comes from the Lawgiver, it implies prohibition, as we have passed through in the principles of jurisprudence. And the sale of the 'arabun, or it is called 'arabun with the ra' open or with sukun, al-'arabun and al-'arabun, is when a person buys something from someone and gives him part of the price, saying: If the sale is completed, this is part of the price; and if the sale is not completed, it is yours. Do you understand?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : An example of that is: I came to Zayd and said, sell me your house. He said, fine, we agreed that he will sell it to me for one hundred thousand riyals. Then he said, give me the 'arabun, give me the 'arabun. So he said, I will give you an 'arabun of ten thousand riyals. If the sale is completed, you complete the price. How much is completed?
The student: Ninety thousand.
The Shaykh : Ninety thousand, and if it is not completed, it is yours. And if it is not completed, it is yours. There is a disagreement among the scholars regarding this. Some of the scholars said that it is forbidden because it involves excessive uncertainty and ignorance. The sale may be completed, or may it?
The student: It is not completed.
The Shaykh : It is not completed, so there is ignorance and excessive uncertainty, and it becomes prohibited. They cited this report as evidence. But this report, as you see, is not authentic. Why? Because it says, "It was reported to me from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb." Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said, so who reported it to him? What is the path? It is unknown. And therefore, it is not authentic. For this reason, the second opinion in the issue is the validity of the sale of the 'arabun. This is the school of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); that was reported from him authentically, and it was also reported authentically from his son 'Umar. It is also the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that the sale of the 'arabun is permissible and there is no harm in it. They said that the ignorance in it is not the ignorance of gambling, because the ignorance of gambling is that the two parties are between profit and loss, between profit and loss. As for this, the seller is not in loss; rather, the seller is in profit, and the most that happens is that his goods are returned to him, that his goods are returned to him. And it is known that if the buyer had stipulated the option for himself for a day or two, that would be permissible. And the sale of the 'arabun is like stipulating the option, except that the buyer says, instead of returning the goods to him, and perhaps their value decreases when people know that it was bought and then returned, instead of that, I give him ten thousand riyals, meaning one-tenth of the price, or more or less according to what they agree upon. So there is compensation for what happens or what may happen of a decrease in the value of the goods, even by estimation. So there is benefit in it. And there is also benefit for the seller from another aspect, because if the buyer delivers the 'arabun and knows that if the sale is not completed, the 'arabun will be taken from him, he will complete the sale. And for this reason, the seller usually stipulates the 'arabun in order to hold on to the buyer... so that he does not leave the sale. So there is benefit for the seller. There is also benefit for the buyer, because the buyer may take the goods, then go and look and think and estimate, and know that it does not suit him, that it does not suit him. So if he had not stipulated the option, it is binding on him. And if he stipulated the option with the 'arabun, the option becomes binding. And this happens often, it happens often. You find a person buys something with great desire, then his view of it changes, or someone gives him the same thing he bought as a gift, so he is pleased with what he bought and desires to return it. So if he had bought it through the 'arabun, it is negated. So the stronger opinion in this issue, and upon it the people act today, is that the sale of the 'arabun is permissible, permissible, because it is a benefit for both parties and it is not from the category of gambling, because in gambling, one of the parties is either in profit or in loss. As for this, there is no loss. The seller is a gainer, because he says, if the sale is completed, that is fine; and if it is not completed, I have profited from the 'arabun.
So if someone asks, is the 'arabun fixed, meaning that it is a specific percentage of the price, or according to what they agree upon?
The student: According to what they agree upon.
The Shaykh : The second, meaning according to what they agree upon. He may give him an 'arabun of ten riyals and the price is one hundred thousand, or he may give him fifty thousand and the price is one hundred thousand. The important thing is that this matter returns to them. But it is known that if he gives him an 'arabun of fifty thousand out of one hundred thousand, the norm is that he will leave the item sold, or not? He will not leave it, because it is a great loss. So the norm is that he will not leave it. And the seller, if he fears, will ask for a large 'arabun so that he holds on to the buyer.
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the type of transaction in which a security deposit was paid.
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن بيع العربانThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : An example of that is: I came to Zayd and said, sell me your house. He said, fine, we agreed that he will sell it to me for one hundred thousand riyals. Then he said, give me the 'arabun, give me the 'arabun. So he said, I will give you an 'arabun of ten thousand riyals. If the sale is completed, you complete the price. How much is completed?
The student: Ninety thousand.
The Shaykh : Ninety thousand, and if it is not completed, it is yours. And if it is not completed, it is yours. There is a disagreement among the scholars regarding this. Some of the scholars said that it is forbidden because it involves excessive uncertainty and ignorance. The sale may be completed, or may it?
The student: It is not completed.
The Shaykh : It is not completed, so there is ignorance and excessive uncertainty, and it becomes prohibited. They cited this report as evidence. But this report, as you see, is not authentic. Why? Because it says, "It was reported to me from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb." Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said, so who reported it to him? What is the path? It is unknown. And therefore, it is not authentic. For this reason, the second opinion in the issue is the validity of the sale of the 'arabun. This is the school of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); that was reported from him authentically, and it was also reported authentically from his son 'Umar. It is also the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that the sale of the 'arabun is permissible and there is no harm in it. They said that the ignorance in it is not the ignorance of gambling, because the ignorance of gambling is that the two parties are between profit and loss, between profit and loss. As for this, the seller is not in loss; rather, the seller is in profit, and the most that happens is that his goods are returned to him, that his goods are returned to him. And it is known that if the buyer had stipulated the option for himself for a day or two, that would be permissible. And the sale of the 'arabun is like stipulating the option, except that the buyer says, instead of returning the goods to him, and perhaps their value decreases when people know that it was bought and then returned, instead of that, I give him ten thousand riyals, meaning one-tenth of the price, or more or less according to what they agree upon. So there is compensation for what happens or what may happen of a decrease in the value of the goods, even by estimation. So there is benefit in it. And there is also benefit for the seller from another aspect, because if the buyer delivers the 'arabun and knows that if the sale is not completed, the 'arabun will be taken from him, he will complete the sale. And for this reason, the seller usually stipulates the 'arabun in order to hold on to the buyer... so that he does not leave the sale. So there is benefit for the seller. There is also benefit for the buyer, because the buyer may take the goods, then go and look and think and estimate, and know that it does not suit him, that it does not suit him. So if he had not stipulated the option, it is binding on him. And if he stipulated the option with the 'arabun, the option becomes binding. And this happens often, it happens often. You find a person buys something with great desire, then his view of it changes, or someone gives him the same thing he bought as a gift, so he is pleased with what he bought and desires to return it. So if he had bought it through the 'arabun, it is negated. So the stronger opinion in this issue, and upon it the people act today, is that the sale of the 'arabun is permissible, permissible, because it is a benefit for both parties and it is not from the category of gambling, because in gambling, one of the parties is either in profit or in loss. As for this, there is no loss. The seller is a gainer, because he says, if the sale is completed, that is fine; and if it is not completed, I have profited from the 'arabun.
So if someone asks, is the 'arabun fixed, meaning that it is a specific percentage of the price, or according to what they agree upon?
The student: According to what they agree upon.
The Shaykh : The second, meaning according to what they agree upon. He may give him an 'arabun of ten riyals and the price is one hundred thousand, or he may give him fifty thousand and the price is one hundred thousand. The important thing is that this matter returns to them. But it is known that if he gives him an 'arabun of fifty thousand out of one hundred thousand, the norm is that he will leave the item sold, or not? He will not leave it, because it is a great loss. So the norm is that he will not leave it. And the seller, if he fears, will ask for a large 'arabun so that he holds on to the buyer.