Explanation of the Book of Sales-12
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The Shaykh : He said: "And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): Mishkat al-Masabih 2860":
A heap (surbah); the root of this word is sad, ba, ra, which indicates containment. From it comes patience (sabr), and from it: "he was killed by patience" (i.e., by enduring hardship), and there are many examples of this.
So this root, sad, ba, ra, indicates containment, and contained food means gathered food. So the meaning of a heap (surbah) is: a collection of food. He passed by this pile of food and put his hand into it. Who is the actor who put his hand in? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He put his hand in this heap: meaning it was wet. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) putting his hand in this heap could be for the purpose of inquiring and seeking information, or it could be that he smelled the scent of moisture or something else. The important thing is that we know the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not put his hand in except for a reason. Yes.
He said:Mishkat al-Masabih 2860: "What" here is interrogative, and the intent of the interrogation is disapproval. He is disapproving of him, as if he is saying: Why are you doing this thing? So he said: Mishkat al-Masabih 2860: "The sky" means: the rain. Rain is called "the sky" in the Arabic language. The poet said:
"When the sky descends upon the land of a people": meaning the rain. So the meaning of "the sky" is the rain. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The interrogation here is for what? For guidance. Meaning, he guided him to place it on top of the food. And he justified that by saying: , so that they would know that there is a defect in it.
Then he said: "Sahih Muslim 102 Narrated by Muslim":
The meaning of this hadith is clear, but it has many benefits, among which are:
The permissibility of selling food in a heap, meaning a pile, without knowing its quantity by measure or weight, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of that. If it had been forbidden, he would not have approved of it. Does this include other visible items? Meaning, that I sell you this flock of sheep without knowing its count, and that I buy from you the goods for this bundle of dirhams without counting them?
The student: No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes? Some scholars went to the permissibility, and said: Even if one does not know by counting or by weight, meaning one does not know by estimation, one knows by observation. But in reality, but there is a consideration in this, because the one who knows by observation, either the uncertainty (gharar) in it is slight, like a heap of food, a flock of sheep, or a sack of wheat, so the matter in this is close.
Or the uncertainty in it is great, and the risk is serious: like a bundle of dirhams, a bundle of dirhams. And if we assume it is of the five-hundred denomination, what is the difference if it is short by one or two notes? The difference is large, and perhaps it is short by ten notes. So the correct view in this issue is that selling by estimate is permissible except in what carries risk, like currency. If you came to me with a bag of gold and said: I bought this house from you with this bag! Some scholars see that this is permissible, they see that it is permissible, even though you do not know how much gold is in this bag. And there is no doubt that this is not permissible, why? Because of the risk and the great ignorance. Unlike a flock of sheep or a sack of wheat and the like, so the matter in it is easy and the risk in it is little, and estimation in it is possible, either in reality or approximately.
As for something like dirhams, it is not permissible.
Now, if I said: I bought this house from you for the weight of this ingot in gold, is it permissible or not?
The student: It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : An ingot means a piece of iron with which things are weighed. It is not permissible, because it is unknown, it is not known. But if it is known, there is no harm. If we know that it is a kilo or a mithqal or the like of that, there is no harm. But if we do not know, then this is great ignorance.
that God's Messenger once came upon a heap of grain
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مرَّ على صُبرة من طعامA heap (surbah); the root of this word is sad, ba, ra, which indicates containment. From it comes patience (sabr), and from it: "he was killed by patience" (i.e., by enduring hardship), and there are many examples of this.
So this root, sad, ba, ra, indicates containment, and contained food means gathered food. So the meaning of a heap (surbah) is: a collection of food. He passed by this pile of food and put his hand into it. Who is the actor who put his hand in? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He put his hand in this heap
And his fingers came out wet
فنالت أصابعه بللاHe said:
so he asked the owner of the grain how that came about
فقال : ما هذا يا صاحب الطعام ؟rain had fallen on it
أصابته السماء يا رسول الله"When the sky descends upon the land of a people": meaning the rain. So the meaning of "the sky" is the rain. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Why did you not place it on top of the food so that people could see it?
أفلا جعلته فوق الطعام كي يراه الناس ؟So that people could see it
ليراه الناسThen he said: "
He who deceives is not of me (is not my follower).
مَن غش فليس منيThe meaning of this hadith is clear, but it has many benefits, among which are:
The permissibility of selling food in a heap, meaning a pile, without knowing its quantity by measure or weight, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of that. If it had been forbidden, he would not have approved of it. Does this include other visible items? Meaning, that I sell you this flock of sheep without knowing its count, and that I buy from you the goods for this bundle of dirhams without counting them?
The student: No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes? Some scholars went to the permissibility, and said: Even if one does not know by counting or by weight, meaning one does not know by estimation, one knows by observation. But in reality, but there is a consideration in this, because the one who knows by observation, either the uncertainty (gharar) in it is slight, like a heap of food, a flock of sheep, or a sack of wheat, so the matter in this is close.
Or the uncertainty in it is great, and the risk is serious: like a bundle of dirhams, a bundle of dirhams. And if we assume it is of the five-hundred denomination, what is the difference if it is short by one or two notes? The difference is large, and perhaps it is short by ten notes. So the correct view in this issue is that selling by estimate is permissible except in what carries risk, like currency. If you came to me with a bag of gold and said: I bought this house from you with this bag! Some scholars see that this is permissible, they see that it is permissible, even though you do not know how much gold is in this bag. And there is no doubt that this is not permissible, why? Because of the risk and the great ignorance. Unlike a flock of sheep or a sack of wheat and the like, so the matter in it is easy and the risk in it is little, and estimation in it is possible, either in reality or approximately.
As for something like dirhams, it is not permissible.
Now, if I said: I bought this house from you for the weight of this ingot in gold, is it permissible or not?
The student: It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : An ingot means a piece of iron with which things are weighed. It is not permissible, because it is unknown, it is not known. But if it is known, there is no harm. If we know that it is a kilo or a mithqal or the like of that, there is no harm. But if we do not know, then this is great ignorance.