Benefits of the Hadith: (Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a heap of food and put his hand in it . . . ).

The Shaykh : And among the benefits of this hadith:
The permissibility of inquiring about the item being sold, especially when there is an indication. The evidence is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) putting his hand in the food. It is not said: “This is a bad opinion of the seller,” because we say: This is also a precaution for whom? For the buyer, especially if an indication is found, as is apparent from this hadith.
And among the benefits of the hadith: the obligation of forbidding evil, or the obligation of forbidding what is wrong, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked this man. But does one forbid it publicly or privately?
If the one committing the evil is displaying it, then he is rebuked publicly. If he is concealing it, then he is rebuked privately. This is the principle. However, the public interest may require forbidding it privately even in what is known. The principle is that whoever displays the evil is rebuked openly, and whoever conceals it is rebuked privately. This is the principle, but necessity may call for the opposite of this principle for a reason.
And among the benefits of this hadith: that one whose name is unknown is addressed by his profession, due to his saying: . So if you do not know this man, address him by his profession. For example, if you come upon a builder whose name you do not know, what do you say? “O builder.” Yes. If you come upon a cobbler who makes flutes whose name you do not know, yes, ah, you say: “O cobbler.” There is no objection, because this is his profession, and he will not be upset by his profession. If a man’s horn of dirhams falls, what do you say to him? “O owner of the horn,” and so on. Yes. And just as the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) addressed people in such a way in several places, addressing them by the profession that characterizes the man.
Now, and among the benefits of the hadith: the use of the word “sky” for rain, due to his saying: . And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not rebuke him for it. If it had not been permissible, he would have rebuked him, because it is a lie, for the sky did not strike him; rather, what struck him was the rain that came down from the sky.
And among the benefits of the hadith: the obligation of revealing the defect, either by speech or by action. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith guided to revealing it by action. He said: . It is permissible by speech: by saying, for example, about this heap of food: “The bottom of it has been struck by water.” But which is clearer? Revealing it by action is clearer, because the buyer may not grasp your description, because if you say: “The bottom of it has been struck by rain,” he cannot visualize how it was struck. But if it is on top, he sees it with the certainty of the eye, so revealing the defect by action is more eloquent in explanation than revealing it by speech.
Now, do we say: In this hadith, it is obligatory to place the worst part on top, and that this form is required? Or do we say: The intention is explanation in whatever form?
The apparent view is the second, and that the person who has defective food has two ways:
The first way: to place the defect on top. This may be harmful to him, because if he places the defect on top, the viewer may think the defect is much, and the sound part is hidden from him. The second way: to separate the defective part alone, and the sound part alone, such that the defective part has its price and the sound part has its price.
And there is no doubt that the second is fair to the seller and the buyer.
So if someone says: Why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not guide to that? The answer is: Because of its clarity. And perhaps the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) knew that this man did not have two containers to put the bad one alone and the good one alone.
And among the benefits of the hadith: the prohibition of deception, due to his saying: .
Rather, among its benefits: that deception is one of the major sins. The aspect of this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed its doer, and disavowal of its doer necessitates that it be a major sin, because this is one of the signs of a major sin: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disavows the doer of this action.
And among the benefits of the hadith: that deception in everything is one of the major sins, due to the generality of his saying: .
And among its benefits also: that deception is a major sin whether the transaction is with a Muslim or with a disbeliever, due to his saying: , and he stated: , in a narration: . Which do we take? We take the more general, , which includes deception in the transaction with any person, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has disavowed it.
If someone says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not clarify the ruling on the deceived one in case this food was bought. The answer is: No sale occurred for this food, because its owner was still displaying it. And it is not possible for the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) to speak about a matter that has not occurred in such a situation. Then, if this man knows that this thing is forbidden, he will change it; he will place the bad part on top, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to that.
Then, if the thing is not in front of the person, he is not obligated to ask about it. And therefore, when Ma'iz came to the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) and informed him that he committed zina, it is known that he did not commit zina except with a woman, and the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) did not ask about the woman. And when the man came to him who said: “I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan,” he did not ask about the woman and her ruling. And when Hind came to him complaining about Abu Sufyan, he did not ask about him and did not demand him, because such matters relate to the present actor, and as for the absent one, his ruling is known when he is found or when this absent one presents his proof. At that time, we look into it. Yes.
The student: Shaykh, is it taken from this hadith the permissibility of selling the sample?

The Shaykh : The permissibility of selling?
The student: Selling the sample.

The Shaykh : How?
The student: This heap, meaning he does not see it; he sees its top, and what is under it is like it. So if he sees it, is it valid?

The Shaykh : No, not like that. We can say: There is evidence for the permissibility of selling the thing where if part of it is seen, it indicates the rest.
The student: Selling the sample?

The Shaykh : Yes? No, the sample may be raised a little. Then, we have, yes.