people’s wealth in falsehood. This covers every sort of property that is consumed unjustly. The Prophet ﷺ forbade sales tainted with gharar, and gharar is anything whose outcome is unknown. Among its forms are:
– The sale of ḥabal al-ḥabalah (selling the unborn offspring of an unborn animal).
– The sale of malaqīḥ (selling a fetus still in the womb).
– The sale of muḍāmīn (selling what a male animal may father in the future).
– The sale of fruit before its soundness has become apparent.
– The sales called mulāmasa and munābadhah, and other comparable types and situations.
Gharar appears in three categories:
– Selling what does not yet exist, such as ḥabal al-ḥabalah.
– Selling something one is unable to deliver, such as a runaway camel.
– Selling something wholly unknown—whether its very identity, its species, or its quantity has not been specified.
Al-Nawawī said: “Be aware that the sale of mulāmasa, the sale of munābadhah, the sale of ḥabal al-ḥabalah, the sale determined by casting a pebble, and the like—transactions for which specific texts have been recorded—are all encompassed by the general prohibition of gharar-sales. They were nevertheless singled out and expressly forbidden because they were well-known dealings of the pre-Islamic period.”
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī said: “The impermissibility of maysir (gambling) is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims, and it is of two kinds:
- Contests of chance and wagers. All of these are unlawful; the Lawgiver has allowed only that which assists obedience to Him and striving in His path, by granting a prize for horse, camel, or archery races.
- Maysir in transactions. The Prophet ﷺ forbade sales involving gharar, and this covers every form of sale and leasing. Anything whose acquisition is uncertain, or whose condition and desired attributes are unknown, falls under gharar, because one of the two contracting parties stands either to gain,