permissible, because he has profited from this wheat before it has entered into his liability: he has neither taken ownership of it nor taken possession of it. Thus, he has profited from something for which he has not assumed liability. This is also based on the hadith of Ibn Umar: “There is no harm in taking it at its price on that day” (1), so that he does not profit from something for which he has not assumed liability.

However, if one hundred sāʿs are worth two hundred dirhams and he sells them back to him for one hundred and fifty, this is permissible. If selling at the price of that day is permissible, then selling for less is all the more so. Moreover, we explained the prohibition of an increase on the grounds that it entails profiting from something for which one has not assumed liability, whereas in this case he has not profited, but rather incurred a loss. What is meant by the phrase, “at its price on that day,” is that one must not charge more; if one reduces the price, then one has done well.

The second condition is that reciprocal possession must take place before the two parties separate, if he sells it for something subject to ribā al-nasīʾah. An example is selling wheat for barley: one hundred sāʿs of wheat for two hundred sāʿs of barley. This is permissible on condition that reciprocal possession takes place before the parties separate, because selling wheat for barley requires possession before separation. It is also based on the hadith of Ibn Umar: “There is no harm in taking it at its price on that day, so long as you do not separate while something remains outstanding between you,” because this involves selling dirhams for dinars, or dinars for dirhams, and the exchange of dirhams for dinars requires reciprocal possession before separation.

The third condition is that he must not make it the price for another salam contract. For if he makes it the price for another salam contract, the usual outcome is that he will profit from it, in which case he has profited from something for which he has not assumed liability. For example, when the salam goods—one hundred sāʿs of wheat—fall due, they say, “We will make them