Bulugh al-Maram

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade buying what is in the wombs of domestic animals till they give birth; selling what is in their udders; buying a runaway slave; buying (something from) the spoils of war until they are divided; buying Sadaqat before they are received; and the unknown catch (find) of a diver. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Do not buy the fish that is in the water, for it involves uncertainty (risk)." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the selling of a fruit till it becomes ripe, or the selling of fur which is (still) on the back (of an animal) or milk which is (still) in the udder. .

Abu Dawud reported in al-Marasil as a saying of 'Ikrimah, and that is the strongest opinion.

He also reported it Mawquf (as a saying of a Companion, i.e.) Ibn 'Abbas with a strong chain of narrators, and al-Baihaqi held it to the most correct narration.

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the sale of what is in the womb of a she-camel, and the semen that is in the body of a male-camel. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Whoever accepts back what he sold to a Muslim, Allah will forgive his fault." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Both parties in a business transaction have a right to annul the transaction, so long as they have not separated and remain together; or one of them gives the other the choice (to conclude or annul the transaction); so, if one of them gives the other the choice (to conclude or annul the transaction) and then they make the transaction accordingly, the transaction then becomes binding; or if they separate after having made the transaction and none of them has annulled it, the transaction then becomes binding." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "The two parties (seller and buyer) in a business transaction have a choice (to annul it) until they separated (from one another), unless it is a transaction with the right to annul it attached to it; and it is not allowed for one to separated from the other for fear that he may cancel the deal." .

"till they separated from their place (of transaction)."

A man told Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that he was being deceived (cheated) in business transactions, and he replied, "When you make a purchase say, 'Deceiving (cheating) is not allowed (i.e. he has the choice to return the goods if he wills).'" .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) cursed the one who accepts usury, the one who gives it, the one who records it and the two witnesses to it, saying, "They are all the same." .

al-Bukhari reported something similar from the Hadith of Abu Juhaifah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Usury has seventy-three categories, the least one in sin is as that of a man who marries (has sexual relations with) his mother, and the very essence of usury is the (violation of the) honor of a Muslim man." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Do not sell gold for gold unless it is the same amount for the same amount, and do not make one amount greater than the other. Do not sell silver for silver unless it is the same amount for the same amount, and do not make one amount greater than the other. And do not sell that (cash money) which is not present (at the time of the transaction) for that (cash money) which is present." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Gold is to be paid for with gold, silver with silver, wheat with wheat, barley with barley, dates with dates, and salt with salt, same quantity for same quantity and equal for equal, hand to hand (i.e. payment being made on the spot). If these classes differ, sell as you wish as long as payment is made on the spot." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Gold is to be paid for with gold, both being of equal weight and of same quantities; silver is to be paid for with silver, both being of equal weight and of same quantities. If anyone gives more or asks for more of it, it is then usury." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) appointed a man over Khaibar and he brought him dates of a very fine quality. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) asked, "Are all the dates of Khaibar like this?" He replied, "I swear by Allah that they are certainly not, O Allah's Messenger. We take one Sa' of this kind for two, and even for three (of lesser quality). So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Do not do so. Sell the mixed dates for Dirhams, then buy the very fine dates with the Dirhams." And he said that the same applies when things are sold by weight. .

"and so is (that which is sold by) weight."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade selling a quantity of dates whose measure was unknown for a specified (known) quantity of dates. .

I used to hear Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say, "Food (may be sold) for food, of same quantities." Our food at that time consisted of barley. .

I bought a necklace for twelve Dinars at the battle of Khaibar and it contained gold and gems. I considered them separately and found that it was worth more than twelve Dinars. I told the Prophet (ﷺ) about that and he said, "It must not be sold till the contents are considered separately." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade selling animals for animals when payment was to be made at a later date. .

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." .

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say, "If you sell anything on credit to anyone, on the condition that you will buy it back for a lower price (al-'Einah), take hold of the tails of cattle, become pleased with agriculture and give up Jihad - Allah will make disgrace prevail over you and will not remove it from you till you return to your religion." .

Ahmad reported something similar from the narration of 'Ata. Its narrators are reliable and Ibn al-Qattan graded it Sahih (authentic).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever intercedes for his brother and that one gives him a gift for that (intercession) which he accepts, he has engaged in one of the most terrible types of Riba (undeserving increase in something)." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribes. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade al-Muzabanah, which means that a man sells the fruit of his garden, if it consists of palm-trees (fresh dates), for dried dates by measure; or if it consists of grapes (on the vines), for raisins by measure; or if it is unpicked crops, he sells it for a measured amount of picked crops. He forbade all that. . Narrated Sa'd bin Abu Waqqas (RA): I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) being asked about buying fresh dates for dry ones. He replied, "Will fresh dates diminish when they become dry?" They answered, "Yes." So he forbade that. .

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade selling a debt to be paid at a future date for another i.e., a debt for a debt. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) gave permission regarding al-'Araya for its sale on the basis of a calculation (of what the dates would be when dry) by measure. .

"He gave permission regarding al-'Araya (for its sale) in which the household buys its fruit on the basis of a calculation (of what the dates would be when dry), yet they could eat them fresh (from the tree).

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) gave permission regarding the sale of al-'Araya, on the basis of calculation of their amount, for dry dates, on the condition that they be less than five Awsuq, or amounting to five Awsuq. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the sale of fruits till they appear to ripe, forbidding it both to the seller and to the buyer. .

"When he was asked about (the words): 'appear to be ripe'?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Till they were safe from damage or disease."

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the sale of fruits till they become colorful. He was asked what that meant, he replied, "Till they become reddish and yellowish." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the sale of grapes till they become black (i.e. ripe) and the sale of grain till it becomes hard (i.e. ripe). .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "If you sell some fruit to your brother and it was struck by blight, it would not be lawful for you to take anything from him. How can you take your brother's money unjustly?" .

"The Prophet (ﷺ) commanded that unforeseen loss be remitted in respect of what is affected by blight."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "If anyone buys a palm tree after it has been pollinated, the fruits belong to the seller who has sold them unless the buyer makes a condition." .

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." .

"Those who pay in advance for anything."

"We were getting a portion of the spoils of war along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and some Nabateans (Arabs who mixed with non-Arabs and corrupted their language and lineage) from those of Syria used to come to us and we would pay in advance to them for wheat, barley and raisins - A narration has: 'and olive oil' - for a specified fixed time." It was asked, "Did they have standing crop?" They replied, "We were not asking them about that." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever accepts other people's wealth intending to pay it back, Allah will pay it back for him. And whoever accepts it intending to waste it, Allah, the Most High, will waste (destroy) him." .

I said, "O Messenger of Allah, so-and-so has brought you clothes from Syria. What if you sent someone to him, and you get from him two garments on credit till it is easy for you to repay?" So he sent someone to him, but he refused. .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "An animal may be ridden, due to what is spent on it, when it is in pledge; and the milk of a camel may be drunk, due to what is spent on it, when it is in pledge. And the responsibility of spending on it is upon the one who rides (it) and drinks (its milk)." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "A pledge does not become lost to its owner when he does not redeem it in time. Any increase in its value goes to him and any lost must be borne by him." .

The Prophet (ﷺ) borrowed a young camel from a man. So, when some Sadaqa camels came to him he ordered Abu Rafi (RA) to re-pay the man his young camel. He told him (ﷺ), "I can only find an excellent camel in its seventh year." He said, "Give it to him, for the best of people is he who discharges his debt in the best manner." .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Every loan, which leads to a benefit, is usury." .

The aforesaid Hadith has a weak supporting narration, on the authority of Fadalah bin 'Ubaid (RA) reported by al-Baihaqi.