Book of Salam (Forward Sale)

Salam is a sale of goods described by specification and owed as a debt. In addition to the general requirements of sale, it is subject to the following conditions:

1. The price must be delivered in the very session in which the contract is concluded. If the price is initially left unspecified and then identified and paid before the parties disperse, the salam is valid. If the buyer assigns payment through a hawala and the assignee receives it during that same session, the salam is not valid. If the seller first takes possession of the price and then leaves it with the buyer as a trust deposit, the contract remains sound. The price may consist of a benefit, in which case delivery is effected by taking possession of the asset that yields that benefit. Should the salam be rescinded while the price is still intact, the buyer reclaims that very property; another view allows the seller to return an equivalent provided the price was specified during the session rather than in the wording of the contract. Merely seeing the price is sufficient in place of knowing its exact measure, according to the more evident opinion.

2. The subject matter of the salam must be a debt. Hence, if one says, “I make salam with you for this garment in exchange for this slave,” the contract is not a salam, and—on the stronger view—it does not even count as a sale. Conversely, if he says, “I purchase from you a garment of such-and-such description for these dirhams,” and the other replies, “I have sold it to you,” the transaction is treated as a sale; another opinion regards it as a salam.

3. The authoritative position holds that when the salam is concluded in a place unsuitable for delivery—or suitable but entailing transport costs—the place of delivery must be specified; otherwise, specification is unnecessary. The contract may be either immediate or deferred. If no term is stipulated, it is treated as immediate, though another view renders the contract void. The term must be precisely known: naming the Arab, Persian, or Roman months is acceptable, and if left unqualified it is construed as lunar months. When the month begins in mid-cycle, the remainder is reckoned by full lunar months, and the first month is completed as thirty days. The sounder opinion permits fixing the term by reference to “the Eid” or to “Jumada,” in which case it is understood to mean the first forthcoming occurrence.