Taking possession is not achieved by words alone; rather, the goods must be physically transferred
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Question:
From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, to the honorable brother: Mr. A. N., may Allah grant him success, amen.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
Your noble letter, dated without [date], and the questions it contained, have reached me, may Allah guide you to the right path. The questions were known, and here are their texts and answers. We ask Allah to grant us, you, and all our brothers success in hitting the truth in speech and action; He is the best to be asked.
A wealthy man deals with some needy people. He takes from one of them, for example, a commodity worth one thousand riyals for one thousand and two hundred until the next cycle. He then goes to the market and buys the required commodity from the shopkeeper, takes possession of it, and pays its value to the shopkeeper. After that, the customer for the commodity comes and looks at the commodity, and the wealthy man says to him: If you want this commodity for such a price, take it; if you do not want it, you are free. So he takes possession of the commodity and writes it down.
Answer:
This transaction is not permissible; because the seller sold what is not in his possession, if his taking possession of the goods is only by words and not by transferring them from the seller's ownership—as is usually the case—and it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said to Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) :Sunan Ibn Majah 2187Hasan (Darussalam), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The hadith.
And because the item sold is not in the seller's possession, so if he transfers it to his ownership or to the market, it is permissible for him to sell it. There are many hadiths in this meaning. Then, the buyer does not have the right to sell what he bought until he transfers it to his ownership or to the market; because of the aforementioned hadiths; and because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling goods where they are bought until the merchants take them to their homes.
We have written an answer on this matter, and we are sending you two copies of it for your review.
From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, to the honorable brother: Mr. A. N., may Allah grant him success, amen.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
Your noble letter, dated without [date], and the questions it contained, have reached me, may Allah guide you to the right path. The questions were known, and here are their texts and answers. We ask Allah to grant us, you, and all our brothers success in hitting the truth in speech and action; He is the best to be asked.
A wealthy man deals with some needy people. He takes from one of them, for example, a commodity worth one thousand riyals for one thousand and two hundred until the next cycle. He then goes to the market and buys the required commodity from the shopkeeper, takes possession of it, and pays its value to the shopkeeper. After that, the customer for the commodity comes and looks at the commodity, and the wealthy man says to him: If you want this commodity for such a price, take it; if you do not want it, you are free. So he takes possession of the commodity and writes it down.
Answer:
This transaction is not permissible; because the seller sold what is not in his possession, if his taking possession of the goods is only by words and not by transferring them from the seller's ownership—as is usually the case—and it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said to Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) :
Do not sell what is not with you.
لا تبع ما ليس عندكIt is not permissible to combine a loan and a sale, nor to sell what you do not have
لا يحل سلف وبيع، ولا بيع ما ليس عندكAnd because the item sold is not in the seller's possession, so if he transfers it to his ownership or to the market, it is permissible for him to sell it. There are many hadiths in this meaning. Then, the buyer does not have the right to sell what he bought until he transfers it to his ownership or to the market; because of the aforementioned hadiths; and because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling goods where they are bought until the merchants take them to their homes.
We have written an answer on this matter, and we are sending you two copies of it for your review.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.