Muwatta' Malik 31-77

Translation

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar from Said ibn al-Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale with uncertainty in it. Malik said, "An example of one type of uncertain transaction and risk is that a man intends the price of a stray animal or escaped slave to be fifty dinars. A man says, 'I will take him from you for twenty dinars.' If the buyer finds him, thirty dinars goes from the seller, and if he does not find him, the seller takes twenty dinars from the buyer." Malik said, "There is another fault in that. If that stray is found, it is not known whether it will have increased or decreased in value or what defects may have befallen it. This transaction is greatly uncertain and risky." Malik said, "According to our way of doing things, one kind of uncertain transaction and risk is selling what is in the wombs of females - women and animals - because it is not known whether or not it will come out, and if it does come out, it is not known whether it will be beautiful or ugly, normal or disabled, male or female. All that is disparate. If it has that, its price is such-and-such, and if it has this, its price is such-and-such." Malik said, "Females must not be sold with what is in their wombs excluded. That is that, for instance, a man says to another, 'The price of my sheep which has much milk is three dinars. She is yours for two dinars while I will have her future offspring.' This is disapproved because it is an uncertain transaction and a risk." Malik said, "It is not halal to sell olives for olive oil or sesame for sesame oil, or butter for ghee because muzabana comes into that, because the person who buys the raw product for something specified which comes from it, does not know whether more or less will come out of that, so it is an uncertain transaction and a risk." Malik said, "A similar case is the selling of ben-nuts for ben-nut oil. This is an uncertain transaction because what comes from the ben-nut is ben-oil. There is no harm in selling ben-nuts for perfumed ben because perfumed ben has been perfumed, mixed and changed from the state of raw ben-nut oil." Malik, speaking about a man who sold goods to a man on the provision that there was to be no loss for the buyer, (i.e. if the buyer could not re-sell the goods they could go back to the seller), said, "This transaction is not permitted and it is part of risk. The explanation of why it is so, is that it is as if the seller hired the buyer for the profit if the goods make a profit. If he sells the stock at a loss, he has nothing, and his efforts are not compensated. This is not good. In such a transaction, the buyer should have a wage according to the work that he has contributed. Whatever there is of loss or profit in those goods is for and against the seller. This is only when the goods are gone and sold. If they do not go, the transaction between them is null and void." Malik said, "As for a man who buys goods from a man and he concludes the sale and then the buyer regrets and asks to have the price reduced and the seller refuses and says, 'Sell it and I will compensate you for any loss.' There is no harm in this because there is no risk. It is something he proposes to him, and their transaction was not based on that. That is what is done among us."

Notes

• قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَمِنَ الْغَرَرِ وَالْمُخَاطَرَةِ أَنْ يَعْمِدَ الرَّجُلُ قَدْ ضَلَّتْ دَابَّتُهُ أَوْ أَبَقَ غُلاَمُهُ وَثَمَنُ الشَّىْءِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ خَمْسُونَ دِينَارًا فَيَقُولُ رَجُلٌ أَنَا آخُذُهُ مِنْكَ بِعِشْرِينَ دِينَارًا فَإِنْ وَجَدَهُ الْمُبْتَاعُ ذَهَبَ مِنَ الْبَائِعِ ثَلاَثُونَ دِينَارًا وَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ ذَهَبَ الْبَائِعُ مِنَ الْمُبْتَاعِ بِعِشْرِينَ دِينَارًا قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَفِي ذَلِكَ عَيْبٌ آخَرُ إِنَّ تِلْكَ الضَّالَّةَ إِنْ وُجِدَتْ لَمْ يُدْرَ أَزَادَتْ أَمْ نَقَصَتْ أَمْ مَا حَدَثَ بِهَا مِنَ الْعُيُوبِ فَهَذَا أَعْظَمُ الْمُخَاطَرَةِ قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَالأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا أَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخَاطَرَةِ وَالْغَرَرِ اشْتِرَاءَ مَا فِي بُطُونِ الإِنَاثِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالدَّوَابِّ لأَنَّهُ لاَ يُدْرَى أَيَخْرُجُ أَمْ لاَ يَخْرُجُ فَإِنْ خَرَجَ لَمْ يُدْرَ أَيَكُونُ حَسَنًا أَمْ قَبِيحًا أَمْ تَامًّا أَمْ نَاقِصًا أَمْ ذَكَرًا أَمْ أُنْثَى وَذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ يَتَفَاضَلُ إِنْ كَانَ عَلَى كَذَا فَقِيمَتُهُ كَذَا وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَى كَذَا فَقِيمَتُهُ كَذَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي بَيْعُ الإِنَاثِ وَاسْتِثْنَاءُ مَا فِي بُطُونِهَا وَذَلِكَ أَنْ يَقُولَ الرَّجُلُ لِلرَّجُلِ ثَمَنُ شَاتِي الْغَزِيرَةِ ثَلاَثَةُ دَنَانِيرَ فَهِيَ لَكَ بِدِينَارَيْنِ وَلِي مَا فِي بَطْنِهَا فَهَذَا مَكْرُوهٌ لأَنَّهُ غَرَرٌ وَمُخَاطَرَةٌ قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَلاَ يَحِلُّ بَيْعُ الزَّيْتُونِ بِالزَّيْتِ وَلاَ الْجُلْجُلاَنِ بِدُهْنِ الْجُلْجُلاَنِ وَلاَ الزُّبْدِ بِالسَّمْنِ لأَنَّ الْمُزَابَنَةَ تَدْخُلُهُ وَلأَنَّ الَّذِي يَشْتَرِي الْحَبَّ وَمَا أَشْبَهَهُ بِشَىْءٍ مُسَمًّى مِمَّا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ لاَ يَدْرِي أَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ أَقَلُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَوْ أَكْثَرُ فَهَذَا غَرَرٌ وَمُخَاطَرَةٌ قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا اشْتِرَاءُ حَبِّ الْبَانِ بِالسَّلِيخَةِ فَذَلِكَ غَرَرٌ لأَنَّ الَّذِي يَخْرُجُ مِنْ حَبِّ الْبَانِ هُوَ السَّلِيخَةُ وَلاَ بَأْسَ بِحَبِّ الْبَانِ بِالْبَانِ الْمُطَيَّبِ لأَنَّ الْبَانَ الْمُطَيَّبَ قَدْ طُيِّبَ وَنُشَّ وَتَحَوَّلَ عَنْ حَالِ السَّلِيخَةِ قَالَ مَالِكٌ فِي رَجُلٍ بَاعَ سِلْعَةً مِنْ رَجُلٍ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لاَ نُقْصَانَ عَلَى الْمُبْتَاعِ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ بَيْعٌ غَيْرُ جَائِزٍ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُخَاطَرَةِ وَتَفْسِيرُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ كَأَنَّهُ اسْتَأْجَرَهُ بِرِبْحٍ إِنْ كَانَ فِي تِلْكَ السِّلْعَةِ وَإِنْ بَاعَ بِرَأْسِ الْمَالِ أَوْ بِنُقْصَانٍ فَلاَ شَىْءَ لَهُ وَذَهَبَ عَنَاؤُهُ بَاطِلاً فَهَذَا لاَ يَصْلُحُ وَلِلْمُبْتَاعِ فِي هَذَا أُجْرَةٌ بِمِقْدَارِ مَا عَالَجَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَمَا كَانَ فِي تِلْكَ السِّلْعَةِ مِنْ نُقْصَانٍ أَوْ رِبْحٍ فَهُوَ لِلْبَائِعِ وَعَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّمَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ إِذَا فَاتَتِ السِّلْعَةُ وَبِيعَتْ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفُتْ فُسِخَ الْبَيْعُ بَيْنَهُمَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ فَأَمَّا أَنْ يَبِيعَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ رَجُلٍ سِلْعَةً يَبُتُّ بَيْعَهَا ثُمَّ يَنْدَمُ الْمُشْتَرِي فَيَقُولُ لِلْبَائِعِ ضَعْ عَنِّي فَيَأْبَى الْبَائِعُ وَيَقُولُ بِعْ فَلاَ نُقْصَانَ عَلَيْكَ فَهَذَا لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ لأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنَ الْمُخَاطَرَةِ وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ شَىْءٌ وَضَعَهُ لَهُ وَلَيْسَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ عَقَدَا بَيْعَهُمَا وَذَلِكَ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا

Grades by grader

What scholars said about it

In their own words, as Hadith Unlocked records them. They are shown, not summarised into a grade.

• M. ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī

  مرسلا

  machine translationAs a mursal report. Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1275
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  مرسل

  machine translationMursal (a report in which a Successor omits the Companion and attributes it directly to the Prophet ﷺ) Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1275
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  هذا الحديث في الموطأ بهذا الإسناد مرسل

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1275

Other narrations of this report

Sunan Ibn Majah 2194Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 20884Musannaf 'Abd al-Razzaq 14579al-Sunan al-Kubra (al-Bayhaqi) 10720Musnad al-Bazzar 8885

Narrators

1. 1
   Saʿīd b. al-Musayyib

   One of the reliable (athbāt), eminent jurist scholarsd. 87 AH, or 93 AH, or 94 AH, or 95 AH, or 100 AH, Ibn Maʿīn and Ibn al-Madīnī said: 105 AH
   سَعِيد بْن الْمُسَيِّبأحد العلماء الأثبات الفقهاء الكبار
   عن
2. 2
   Salamah b. Dīnār al-Aʿraj

   trustworthy (thiqah), devout (ʿābid)d. Ibn Khalfūn said: 132 AH, ʿAmr b. ʿAlī said, and Abū ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī: 133 AH, khalīfah b. Khayyāṭ said: 135 AH. Al-Haytham b. ʿAdī said: 140 AH. Ibn Qāniʿ said: 143 AH, Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn said: 144 AH
   أَبِي حَازِمِ بْنِ دِينَارٍثقة عابد
   عن
3. 3
   Mālik b. Anas

   The jurist (al-faqīh), the Imam of the Abode of Migration (Imām Dār al-Hijrah), the head of the proficient masters, and the foremost among the meticulous.d. 178 AH, or 179 AH
   مَالِكٌالفقيه ، إمام دار الهجرة ، رأس المتقنين ، وكبير المتثبتين

Who each narrator was and how reliable, from hdith.com

Latin names and English verdicts with a dotted underline are machine translations, not reviewed.