677 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever purchases foodstuffs must not sell them on until he has measured them out.” Related by Muslim (1).

— Vocabulary of the ḥadith —
• “must not sell it” (fa-lā yabʿahu): This is Muslim’s wording and it appears several times in his collection. In al-Bukhari’s recension, all the routes I have examined read “fa-lā yabīʿahu.” Muslim’s text puts the verb in the jussive, treating lā as prohibitive, whereas al-Bukhari’s version takes lā as negatory and the verb in the indicative. Both render the same sense, though the negatory form is stylistically stronger.
• “until he has measured it” (ḥattā yaktilahu): meaning, until he has taken possession of it by measuring. Arabic distinguishes between “kail” (measuring for another) and “iktīl” (measuring for oneself). The Quran says: “Woe to those who give short measure—those who, when they take measure from people, demand it in full; but when they measure or weigh for them, they give less” (al-Muṭaffifīn 83:1-3). Here, “iktīl” refers to the buyer’s receiving the food by measure. Al-Bukhari also transmits: “Whoever buys foodstuffs must not sell them until he has taken full possession of them,” and in another narration: “When you purchase, then measure,” i.e., when you buy.

— Points derived from the ḥadith —

1. The hadith prohibits a purchaser from reselling food he has bought until he has measured it and fully taken delivery from the seller.
2. Because food is ordinarily sold by measure, the jurists have applied this ruling to every sale that requires exact delivery—whether by measure, weight, count, or area. None of these may be resold until the buyer has first received them in full from the seller by the appropriate means.