The Ruling on a Forward Sale of an Item Whose Specifications Are Unknown
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Your father, the Shaykh, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him).
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. As for what follows:
I have a question regarding the following: A person sells in this manner: The seller says to the buyer, "I am selling you a Datsun car, model (96), white in color, and of the (Vanette) type," knowing that the car model has not yet arrived, its internal technical specifications are not known, and it has not even entered the country. With this, he lends, for example, fifty thousand riyals, which is less than its normal price; because by doing so, he benefits from this amount as liquid cash until the model arrives. Is this permissible? May Allah reward you, keep your steps steady, and peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the model referred to is not known and has not been released in the markets, then a forward sale (salam) of it is not permissible; because the condition for a forward sale is that the item sold must be known in its specifications and generally available when the due date arrives, and the car mentioned is not so, according to what you stated. May Allah guide them all.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Your father, the Shaykh, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him).
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. As for what follows:
I have a question regarding the following: A person sells in this manner: The seller says to the buyer, "I am selling you a Datsun car, model (96), white in color, and of the (Vanette) type," knowing that the car model has not yet arrived, its internal technical specifications are not known, and it has not even entered the country. With this, he lends, for example, fifty thousand riyals, which is less than its normal price; because by doing so, he benefits from this amount as liquid cash until the model arrives. Is this permissible? May Allah reward you, keep your steps steady, and peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Answer:
And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the model referred to is not known and has not been released in the markets, then a forward sale (salam) of it is not permissible; because the condition for a forward sale is that the item sold must be known in its specifications and generally available when the due date arrives, and the car mentioned is not so, according to what you stated. May Allah guide them all.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.