Continuation of the explanation of the author's statement: "And that it be known by sight or description."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said "And that it be known by sight or description", meaning that the means of knowledge are either sight or description. However, this is incomplete. The means of knowledge are multiple: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and description. How many are these?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are not hidden from anyone. The senses are five, and the sixth is description. Yes. Sight is for what the purpose is to see, hearing is for what the purpose is to hear, and smell is for what the purpose is to smell, right? Taste is for what the purpose is to taste, and touch is for what the purpose is to feel, whether it is soft or rough or similar to that. And description will come later, if Allah wills. Good.
And his statement "And that it be known by sight", did he stipulate that the sight must be of the entire item? Based on this, if the sight of a part indicates the whole, that is sufficient. This is necessary, because for example, a pile of food, like dates or wheat, do we see every grain of it? Answer? No, but we see a part of it that indicates the rest.
So the author used the general term "by sight," which includes seeing the whole and seeing a part that indicates the whole. Clear? Good. He says "by sight." When does this sight occur? It occurs at the time of the contract. That means he must see it at the time of the contract, or see it at a time when the item sold does not change in an apparent way after the sight. Pay attention. For example, if he saw fresh dates two days ago and contracted to sell them today, is the previous sight from two days ago sufficient?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why? Because it changes. If he saw a watermelon two days ago and then contracted to sell it today? Similarly, it is not valid because it changes during this period.
So the place of sight is at the time of the contract or before it, at a time when the item sold does not change. Good.
The second point, he says "Or description", meaning that this description must be known by description. The evidence for sufficiency of description is the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who saidBulugh al-Maram 7:91 So is the knowledge of the item sold here by sight or by description?
The questioner : By description.
The Shaykh : Pay attention, brothers, do not rush to answer. By description or by sight?
The questioner : By description.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : ... one year and two years.
The Shaykh : Because one year and two years, and regarding fruits, how can one see fruits that have not yet been created? Good. So the knowledge is by description, but the described item must be something that can be regulated by the description. This is a condition, and it must be regulated by the description. This is the second condition. That means sale by description is narrower than sale by sight or what is similar to it. It must be what? Something that can be regulated by the description, and it must also be regulated by the description. As for what cannot be regulated by the description, like gems and pearls and similar things, it is not permissible to sell them by description because they differ greatly. A pearl bead might be worth, for example, a thousand riyals, and another might not be worth ten riyals, and they cannot be regulated. So it must be possible to regulate it by the description, and it must also be regulated by the description, such that the description is formulated thoroughly so that there is no difference at the time of delivery. Good. Can manufactured items be regulated? Can manufactured items be regulated?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is possible, it is possible, and among the most regulated are things like pitchers, cups, pens, and similar items. This can be regulated, and the regulation of manufactured items may be much greater than the regulation of wheat and dates, as is apparent. Good. But if someone says, people used to sell fruits in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is known that regulation by description in a very precise way is impossible, either difficult or unattainable. We say that slight ignorance is excused in it, and it does not harm. Good.
Sale by sample. Do you know what a sample is? I bring, for example, a sa' or a quarter of a sa' or a cup of wheat and say, I sell you this sa' for such and such. Yes? Is it valid? This is regulation by description through sight. I did not see the whole, but I saw a cup. He says, I have food like what is in this cup. There is disagreement among scholars on this. Some say it is not valid, and the correct view is that it is valid. The sale is valid because knowledge is attained by this, and people still deal with it today. It is practiced among people now. What is it called in our colloquial language? The sample. This is the sample of such and such. Yes. And it appears that this word is Turkish, Allah knows best.
He said "If he buys what he has not seen". So the important thing is that we stipulate two conditions for what is sold by description. The first is that it can be regulated by the description, and the second is that it is regulated by the description.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are not hidden from anyone. The senses are five, and the sixth is description. Yes. Sight is for what the purpose is to see, hearing is for what the purpose is to hear, and smell is for what the purpose is to smell, right? Taste is for what the purpose is to taste, and touch is for what the purpose is to feel, whether it is soft or rough or similar to that. And description will come later, if Allah wills. Good.
And his statement "And that it be known by sight", did he stipulate that the sight must be of the entire item? Based on this, if the sight of a part indicates the whole, that is sufficient. This is necessary, because for example, a pile of food, like dates or wheat, do we see every grain of it? Answer? No, but we see a part of it that indicates the rest.
So the author used the general term "by sight," which includes seeing the whole and seeing a part that indicates the whole. Clear? Good. He says "by sight." When does this sight occur? It occurs at the time of the contract. That means he must see it at the time of the contract, or see it at a time when the item sold does not change in an apparent way after the sight. Pay attention. For example, if he saw fresh dates two days ago and contracted to sell them today, is the previous sight from two days ago sufficient?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why? Because it changes. If he saw a watermelon two days ago and then contracted to sell it today? Similarly, it is not valid because it changes during this period.
So the place of sight is at the time of the contract or before it, at a time when the item sold does not change. Good.
The second point, he says "Or description", meaning that this description must be known by description. The evidence for sufficiency of description is the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said
When the Prophet (ﷺ) came to al-Madinah, they were paying one and two years in advance for fruits. So he (ﷺ) said: "Those who paid in advance for fruits must do so for a specified measurement and weight, and for a specified time."
قدِم النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى أله وسلم المدينة وهم يُسلفون في الثمار السنة والسنتين فقال من أسلف في شيء فليُسلف في كيل معلوم ووزن معلوم إلى أجل معلومThe questioner : By description.
The Shaykh : Pay attention, brothers, do not rush to answer. By description or by sight?
The questioner : By description.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : ... one year and two years.
The Shaykh : Because one year and two years, and regarding fruits, how can one see fruits that have not yet been created? Good. So the knowledge is by description, but the described item must be something that can be regulated by the description. This is a condition, and it must be regulated by the description. This is the second condition. That means sale by description is narrower than sale by sight or what is similar to it. It must be what? Something that can be regulated by the description, and it must also be regulated by the description. As for what cannot be regulated by the description, like gems and pearls and similar things, it is not permissible to sell them by description because they differ greatly. A pearl bead might be worth, for example, a thousand riyals, and another might not be worth ten riyals, and they cannot be regulated. So it must be possible to regulate it by the description, and it must also be regulated by the description, such that the description is formulated thoroughly so that there is no difference at the time of delivery. Good. Can manufactured items be regulated? Can manufactured items be regulated?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is possible, it is possible, and among the most regulated are things like pitchers, cups, pens, and similar items. This can be regulated, and the regulation of manufactured items may be much greater than the regulation of wheat and dates, as is apparent. Good. But if someone says, people used to sell fruits in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is known that regulation by description in a very precise way is impossible, either difficult or unattainable. We say that slight ignorance is excused in it, and it does not harm. Good.
Sale by sample. Do you know what a sample is? I bring, for example, a sa' or a quarter of a sa' or a cup of wheat and say, I sell you this sa' for such and such. Yes? Is it valid? This is regulation by description through sight. I did not see the whole, but I saw a cup. He says, I have food like what is in this cup. There is disagreement among scholars on this. Some say it is not valid, and the correct view is that it is valid. The sale is valid because knowledge is attained by this, and people still deal with it today. It is practiced among people now. What is it called in our colloquial language? The sample. This is the sample of such and such. Yes. And it appears that this word is Turkish, Allah knows best.
He said "If he buys what he has not seen". So the important thing is that we stipulate two conditions for what is sold by description. The first is that it can be regulated by the description, and the second is that it is regulated by the description.