for a specified term, write it down.” [al-Baqarah 2:282] Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, cited this verse as evidence for its permissibility (1), because His words, “When you contract a debt,” encompass cases in which the debt is either the price or the commodity. If the debt is the commodity, then this is salam.

As for the Sunnah, it is related in the two Sahih collections from Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever enters into a salam contract for something, let him do so for a known measure, a known weight, and a specified term,” or: “Whoever advances payment for something, let him do so for a known measure, a known weight, and a specified term.” (2)

As for scholarly consensus, consensus has been established on this matter.

The permissibility of salam accords with sound analogy and the established legal principles, contrary to those who say that salam is contrary to those principles because it is a sale of something nonexistent. In reality, however, it is not a sale of something nonexistent, for it is the sale of something described as an obligation owed. I have not sold you something nonexistent that I do not own, such that it would involve ignorance and excessive uncertainty. Rather, it is something described as an obligation owed.

Moreover, the principle is that everything established by the Sacred Law is not contrary to analogy. Rather, every analogy that conflicts with what the Sacred Law has established is invalid. Yet the way in which something falls under analogy may be obscure to some people, so they imagine it to be contrary to analogy. The correct view, therefore, is that salam conforms to analogy, because it benefits both the seller and the buyer. The buyer benefits by obtaining more, while the seller benefits by receiving the price sooner.