Muwatta' Malik 31-98

Translation

Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do not go out to meet the caravans for trade, do not bid against each other, outbidding in order to raise the price, and a townsman must not buy on behalf of a man of the desert, and do not tie up the udders of camels and sheep so that they appear to have a lot of milk, for a person who buys them after that has two recourses open to him after he milks them. If he is pleased with them, he keeps them and if he is displeased with them, he can return them along with a sa of dates." Malik said, "The explanation of the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ according to what we think - and Allah knows best - 'do not bid against each other,' is that it is forbidden for a man to offer a price over the price of his brother when the seller has inclined to the bargainer and made conditions about the weight of the gold and he has declared himself not liable for faults and such things by which it is recognised that the seller wants to make a transaction with the bargainer. This is what he forbade, and Allah knows best." Malik said, "There is no harm, however, in more than one person bidding against each other over goods put up for sale." He said, "Were people to leave off haggling when the first person started haggling, an unreal price might be taken and the disapproved would enter into the sale of the goods. This is still the way of doing things among us."

Notes

• قالَ مالِكٌ: «وتَفْسِيرُ قَوْلِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ - فِيما نُرى واللَّهُ أعْلَمُ -» لا يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ «أنَّهُ إنَّما نَهى أنْ يَسُومَ الرَّجُلُ عَلى سَوْمِ أخِيهِ، إذا رَكَنَ البائِعُ إلى السّائِمِ وجَعَلَ يَشْتَرِطُ وزْنَ الذَّهَبِ، ويَتَبَرَّأُ مِنَ العُيُوبِ، وما أشْبَهَ هَذا مِمّا يُعْرَفُ بِهِ أنَّ البائِعَ قَدْ أرادَ مُبايَعَةَ السّائِمِ فَهَذا الَّذِي نَهى عَنْهُ، واللَّهُ أعْلَمُ» قالَ مالِكٌ: «ولا بَأْسَ بِالسَّوْمِ بِالسِّلْعَةِ تُوقَفُ لِلْبَيْعِ، فَيَسُومُ بِها غَيْرُ واحِدٍ قالَ: ولَوْ تَرَكَ النّاسُ السَّوْمَ عِنْدَ أوَّلِ مَن يَسُومُ بِها أُخِذَتْ بِشِبْهِ الباطِلِ مِنَ الثَّمَنِ، ودَخَلَ عَلى الباعَةِ فِي سِلَعِهِمُ المَكْرُوهُ، ولَمْ يَزَلِ الأمْرُ عِنْدَنا عَلى هَذا»

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.

• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  هذه رواية الله أعلم بصحتها عن مالك وما رواها عنه إلا ثقة ولكنه عند اختلاف من رواية الحديث عند أهل العلم بالحديث صحيح ثابت

  machine translationGod knows best the soundness of this narration from Mālik, and only a trustworthy (thiqah) person narrated it from him. But with the differences among the narrators of the hadith, according to the people of knowledge of hadith, it is sound (ṣaḥīḥ) and established. Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1292
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  حديث ثابت صحيح لا يدفعه أحد من أهل العلم بالحديث ومعناه صحيح في أصول السنة

  machine translationAn established, authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) hadith, which none of the scholars of hadith rejects, and its meaning is sound according to the fundamentals of the Sunnah. Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1292
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr

  حديث صحيح

  machine translationAn authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) hadith. Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1292
• عبد الله بن مسلمة القعنبي

  ذكر القعنبي من سماع أشهب عن مالك أنه سئل عن قول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من ابتاع مصراة فهو بخير النظرين بعد أن يحلبها إن شاء أمسكها وإن شاء ردها وصاعا من تمر وقال سمعت ذلك وليس بالثابت ولا الموطإ عليه وإن لم يكن ذلك أنه له اللبن بما أعلف وضمن قيل له نراك تضعف الحديث قال كل شيء يوضع موضعه وليس بالموطأ ولا الثابت وقد سمعته

  machine translationAl-Qaʿnabī mentioned, from Ashhab's hearing from Mālik, that he was asked about the saying of the Messenger of God ﷺ: "Whoever buys a muṣarrāh [an animal whose milk was held back] has the better of the two options after he milks it: if he wishes he keeps it, and if he wishes he returns it along with a ṣāʿ of dates." He said: "I heard that, but it is not established, and the Muwaṭṭaʾ is not based on it. If that were not so, the milk would belong to him in return for the fodder he provided, and he would bear responsibility." It was said to him: "We see that you consider the hadith weak." He said: "Everything is put in its proper place. It is not in the Muwaṭṭaʾ and it is not established, though I did hear it." Report a problem

  in موطأ مالك, p. 1292

Same hadith, other wordings

• Bulughul Maram 817وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: { لَهُ, عَلَّقَهَا } اَلْبُخَارِيُّ: { رَدَّ مَعَهَا صَاعاً مِنْ طَعَامٍ, لَا سَمْرَاءَ }
• Jami at-Tirmidzi 1252مَنِ اشْتَرَى مُصَرَّاةً فَهُوَ بِالْخِيَارِ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ فَإِنْ رَدَّهَا رَدَّ مَعَهَا صَاعًا مِنْ طَعَامٍ لاَ سَمْرَاءَ
• Misykatul Mashabih 2847وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: " لَا تَلَقُّوُا الرُّكْبَانَ لِبَيْعٍ وَلَا يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ وَلَا تَنَاجَشُوا وَلَا يَبِعْ حَاضِرٌ لِبَادٍ وَلَا تُصَرُّوا الْإِب
• Sunan Abu Dawud 3443لاَ تَلَقَّوُا الرُّكْبَانَ لِلْبَيْعِ وَلاَ يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ وَلاَ تُصَرُّوا الإِبِلَ وَالْغَنَمَ فَمَنِ ابْتَاعَهَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ بِخَيْرِ النَّظَرَيْنِ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَحْلِبَهَا فَإِنْ رَضِيَهَا أَمْسَكَهَا وَإِ
• Shahih Muslim 1515cلاَ يُتَلَقَّى الرُّكْبَانُ لِبَيْعٍ وَلاَ يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ وَلاَ تَنَاجَشُوا وَلاَ يَبِعْ حَاضِرٌ لِبَادٍ وَلاَ تُصَرُّوا الإِبِلَ وَالْغَنَمَ فَمَنِ ابْتَاعَهَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ بِخَيْرِ النَّظَرَيْنِ بَعْدَ أَنْ
• Shahih Muslim 1524cمَنِ اشْتَرَى شَاةً مُصَرَّاةً فَهُوَ بِالْخِيَارِ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ فَإِنْ رَدَّهَا رَدَّ مَعَهَا صَاعًا مِنْ طَعَامٍ لاَ سَمْرَاءَ

Other narrations of this report

Sahih Muslim 2563cMusnad Ahmad 9927al-Mu'jam al-Saghir 1014Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 22463al-Sunan al-Kubra (al-Bayhaqi) 11765

Narrators

1. 1
   Abū Hurayrah al-Dawsī

   The illustrious Companion, the memorizer among the Companions (ḥāfiẓ al-ṣaḥābah)d. 57 AH, or: 58 AH, or: 59 AH
   أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ الدَّوْسِيُّالصحابي الجليل ، حافظ الصحابة
   عن
2. 2
   ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. Hurmuz al-Aʿraj

   trustworthy (thiqah), reliable (thabt), a scholar (ʿālim)d. 110 AH, or 117 AH, 119 AH
   الْأَعْرَجِثقة ثبت عالم
   عن
3. 3
   Abū al-Zinād

   trustworthy (thiqah), jurist (faqīh)d. 129 AH, or 130 AH, or 131 AH, also said: 132 AH
   أَبِي الزِّنَادِثقة ، فقيه
   عن
4. 4
   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.