Question
Someone buys from me a specific quantity of merchandise for an agreed price. However, sometimes the total quantity of goods being purchased is not in my possession at the time of the sale. What I do is take the full price of the goods from the customer and ask him to come back at a later time to collect is order. Is this permissible, or does this come under the prohibition in Islam of selling what one does not possess? .
Answer: Hakeem ibn Hizam (RA) relates that he asked the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): If a man comes to me and asks me to sell him something that I do not have. Should I sell it to him and then go and acquire it for him from the marketplace? The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied: "Do not sell what you do not have." (Tirmidhi). Scholars differ regarding the meaning of this hadeeth.
The strongest opinion is the one preferred by Ibn Taymiyah (RAH) that the meaning of hat you do not have is: What you are unsure that you will be able to acquire. It may be that the product being sold is not readily available in the marketplace or may only be available at a price higher than the one that it is being sold for. In such circumstances, either the buyer or seller will be injured by the sale. [Refer to Ibn al-Qayyim, Ziid al- Madd]
On the basis of this opinion, if the product being sold in this way is neither in the possession of the vendor or in his reach at least effectively, then he may not sell it. Alternatively, what he should do is request his customer to give him some time to verify the availability and price of the product for him and if he wants to purchase it afterwards he can.
If the product is easily available to the seller from some other vendor or supplier at a known price, then from a legal standpoint it is effectively - though not literally in the sellers possession. In this case, such a sale does not come under the Prophets prohibition. And Allaah knows best.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited