Is the forward sale (salam) and the advance payment (sarf) applicable to everything, or only to foodstuffs?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Another question, O Shaykh. Is the forward sale (salam) and the advance payment (sarf) applicable to everything, or only to foodstuffs? Yes?!
The Shaykh : Let me ask a little.
The questioner : Please, hehe.
The Shaykh : In foodstuffs, explicitly; and in things other than foodstuffs, by analogy and reasoning.
The questioner : Okay, O Shaykh, here is an example. A person says to another, "I will come to you and bring you books, for instance, a copy of Fath al-Bari, such-and-such edition, from such-and-such publishing house, at such-and-such price." He gives him the price before the goods are delivered. Is this transaction permissible?
The Shaykh : No, this is not permissible, because the descriptions are unknown.
The questioner : But he described the number of volumes, the edition, for example, from al-Salafi publishing house, and so on.
The Shaykh : This description is not sufficient. May Allah guide us and you.
The questioner: Amen.
The Shaykh : Because how will this edition be? It is not like a car, for example, of such-and-such model and such-and-such make, where you get it with all the agreed-upon specifications. As for a book, for example, it might come out with poor proofreading.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It might come out with poor research.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It might, it might, and so on. Therefore, this cannot be compared to a forward sale (salam).
The questioner : So the criterion is the goods that are described in precise detail?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is the same.
The questioner: All right.
The Shaykh : Let me ask a little.
The questioner : Please, hehe.
The Shaykh : In foodstuffs, explicitly; and in things other than foodstuffs, by analogy and reasoning.
The questioner : Okay, O Shaykh, here is an example. A person says to another, "I will come to you and bring you books, for instance, a copy of Fath al-Bari, such-and-such edition, from such-and-such publishing house, at such-and-such price." He gives him the price before the goods are delivered. Is this transaction permissible?
The Shaykh : No, this is not permissible, because the descriptions are unknown.
The questioner : But he described the number of volumes, the edition, for example, from al-Salafi publishing house, and so on.
The Shaykh : This description is not sufficient. May Allah guide us and you.
The questioner: Amen.
The Shaykh : Because how will this edition be? It is not like a car, for example, of such-and-such model and such-and-such make, where you get it with all the agreed-upon specifications. As for a book, for example, it might come out with poor proofreading.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It might come out with poor research.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It might, it might, and so on. Therefore, this cannot be compared to a forward sale (salam).
The questioner : So the criterion is the goods that are described in precise detail?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is the same.
The questioner: All right.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.