ion or products which have potential
halal usage but likely will be used for
haram purposes, the money earned
would not be deemed outright haram.
Proof: Ibn ‘Umar k reports that his
father, ‘Umar g, saw a silk garment
being sold in the market. He said to
the Messenger of Allah a, “O Messenger
of Allah! Buy this garment
to wear on the day of Jumu‘a and
whenever delegations come to meet
you.” The Messenger of Allah a said
to him, “Only he who has no success
in the Afterlife would wear this (silk)
garment.”
Later on, many similar garments were
gifted to the Messenger of Allah a
and he gave on of them to my father.
My father exclaimed, “O Messenger
of Allah a! How can I wear such a garment
after the comments you made
in the past?” The Messenger of Allah
a replied, “I did not give it to you as
a gift for you to wear it. Rather, I gave
it to you so you may sell it or gift it to
someone else.” ‘Umar g then gifted it
to his non-Muslim brother who lived
in Makka (Bukhari).
Practical applications: The aforementioned
principle would be applicable
to supermarkets or convenience
stores which sell products in which
there is a difference of opinion
regarding their permissibility. The
principle would also be applicable to
stocks.
Principle #3: The subject matter being
sold must be deliverable to the buyer.
Scenario: Ahmad owes Abdullah
$20,000. He has tried for years to
collect his debt but has not been able
to and he is now tired. Instead of
spending time and effort in trying
to secure his debt from Ahmad, he
decides to sell the debt to a debt collection
agency for half the price. This
way he can ensure he will receive at
least $10,000.
Ruling: Impermissible
Explanation: As mentioned in the
previous issue of al-Madinah, Islam
does not permit uncertainty in
transactions. Selling an item which is
not deliverable (such as debt) creates
uncertainty within a transaction since
there is a chance the buyer may not
ever receive anything in return. What
is meant by the item being “deliverable”
does not necessarily mean
physical delivery. Rather, it means
that the seller must have control and
possession over the item so that he/
she has the ability to make it available
to the buyer upon demand.
Proof: Abu Hurayra g narrates that
the Messenger of Allah a prohibited
sales with uncertainty (Tirmizi).
Practical applications: Along with selling
debt, the aforementioned principle
would be applicable to a person
who wishes to sell the rights to his/her
stolen vehicle. The seller currently
has ownership over the vehicle and
also had previous possession over it.
However, since they no longer have
possession over it and would be unable
to deliver it to the buyer, it would
be impermissible to sell it until they
retrieve it.
Question from previous edition:
Fatima has an online bracelet business.
She does not want to deal with
inventory, so she signs up for Fulfillment
by Amazon. In doing so, Fatima
has her bracelet supplier individually
pack the bracelets and ship them
directly to the Amazon warehouse.
From there Amazon will deal with
the shipping any time a customer
places an order. In this entire process,
Fatima never physically receives or
even sees any of the bracelets. Is such
a business model permissible?
Answer: The aforementioned business
model would be sharia compliant.
Amazon is a legal representative
(wakeel) of Fatima. Therefore, they
may take possession of the items on
her behalf. As such, the business model
would not violate the principle of
not selling before possession.
Test Your Understanding: Ali has a
pet shop in which he sells various animals.
He sells snakes, fish, hamsters,
cats, and German Shepherd dogs. Is
the money earned from Ali’s business
halal?
Answer: Learn the answer in the next
issue of al-Madinah magazine.
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