“O Messenger of Allah, I engage in various transactions; what of them is lawful for me, and what is unlawful?” He replied: “When you purchase something, do not sell it until you have taken possession of it.” (1)

The word “something” is indefinite in the context of a condition, and therefore conveys generality. This is supported by Ibn Abbas’s understanding when, after mentioning that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade the sale of food before it was taken into possession, he said: “I consider everything to be the same in this regard.” (2) This analogy made by Ibn Abbas is explicitly established by the text itself. Perhaps Ibn Abbas had not heard this hadith from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Likewise, there is the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, “forbade goods from being sold where they were purchased until merchants had taken them to their dwellings.” (3) The correct view, then, is that nothing may be sold before it is taken into possession.

It was also said that if it is sold in bulk, there is no objection to disposing of it before taking possession; this is the established position of the school.

The author then moved on to discuss liability for an item sold before it is taken into possession: does it rest with the seller or with the buyer?

His statement, “If it is destroyed before it is taken into possession, then it is the seller’s liability”: the pronoun refers to measured goods and similar items that are sold either in bulk or solely by measurement. This is the fourth ruling.

According to the established position of the school, if the sale is by measurement—that is, measured goods are sold by volume, weighed goods by weight, countable goods by number, and goods measured by length by length—then if it is destroyed