The ruling on saying, "Sell me ten for twelve"
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Question:
If a man wants to borrow from another, is it permissible for him to say, "Sell me ten for twelve"? And is it permissible for them to agree on a known amount when the goods are not in the possession of the merchant? And what is the meaning of the hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam:Sunan Ibn Majah 2187Hasan (Darussalam)?
Answer:
When the one who wants to borrow says to the lender, "Sell me ten for twelve," it means: "Sell me the goods worth ten cash for twelve on credit." There is nothing wrong with such a statement with this meaning; because the consideration is for the meanings, and selling for a deferred price higher than the cash price is permissible according to the majority, and the evidence indicating the permissibility of sale includes this.
Also indicating this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [al-Baqarah: 282], for it includes what is equal in price to the sale in cash, and what is more than that.
Also indicating this is what al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi narrated, and their narrators are trustworthy, from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both):Bulugh al-Maram 7:74. The Hafiz mentioned it in (Bulugh al-Maram), and it is explicit in this issue.
The scholar al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) authored a treatise on the permissibility of this, which he mentioned in his book (Nayl al-Awtar).
If the goods are not in the possession of the lender, or if they are in his possession but he is unable to deliver them, he does not have the right to finalize the sale contract with the buyer. Rather, they may agree on the price, and the sale is not completed between them until the goods are in the possession of the seller; due to the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:Sunan Abi Dawud 3499Hasan li ghairih (Al-Albani). Ahmad and Abu Dawud narrated it, and Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim graded it as authentic.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in (Tahdhib al-Sunan), in his explanation of the hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) :Sunan Ibn Majah 2187Hasan (Darussalam), and he said: "And the sale of what is not with him, he was prohibited from it because it is not guaranteed by him, nor established in his debt, nor in his hand. So the sold item must be established in the debt of the seller or in his hand, and the sale of what is not with him is neither of these, so the hadith remains in its generality."
This is some of his words in (Tahdhib al-Sunan). Also look at the clarification of the meaning of the hadith in (Zad al-Ma'ad) by Ibn al-Qayyim, and (I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in) by him as well.
If a man wants to borrow from another, is it permissible for him to say, "Sell me ten for twelve"? And is it permissible for them to agree on a known amount when the goods are not in the possession of the merchant? And what is the meaning of the hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam:
Do not sell what is not with you.
ولا تبع ما ليس عندكAnswer:
When the one who wants to borrow says to the lender, "Sell me ten for twelve," it means: "Sell me the goods worth ten cash for twelve on credit." There is nothing wrong with such a statement with this meaning; because the consideration is for the meanings, and selling for a deferred price higher than the cash price is permissible according to the majority, and the evidence indicating the permissibility of sale includes this.
Also indicating this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُAlso indicating this is what al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi narrated, and their narrators are trustworthy, from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both):
The Prophet (ﷺ) commanded him to equip an army. Then, when the camels were insufficient, he commanded him to keep back the young camels of Sadaqah. He said, "I was taking a camel to be replaced by two when the camels of Sadaqah came."
أن النبي ﷺ أمره أن يجهز جيشًا فنفدت الإبل، فأمره أن يأخذ على قلائص الصدقة، قال: فكنت آخذ البعير بالبعيرين إلى إبل الصدقةThe scholar al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) authored a treatise on the permissibility of this, which he mentioned in his book (Nayl al-Awtar).
If the goods are not in the possession of the lender, or if they are in his possession but he is unable to deliver them, he does not have the right to finalize the sale contract with the buyer. Rather, they may agree on the price, and the sale is not completed between them until the goods are in the possession of the seller; due to the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade to sell the goods where they are bought until the tradesmen take them to their houses.
نهى رسول الله ﷺ أن تباع السلع حيث تبتاع، حتى يحوزها التجار إلى رحالهمIbn al-Qayyim said in (Tahdhib al-Sunan), in his explanation of the hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) :
Do not sell what is not with you.
لا تبع ما ليس عندكThis is some of his words in (Tahdhib al-Sunan). Also look at the clarification of the meaning of the hadith in (Zad al-Ma'ad) by Ibn al-Qayyim, and (I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in) by him as well.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.