• simsār (broker): the first sīn is sounded with a kasrah, the mīm is quiescent, the second sīn carries a fatḥah, and the word ends with a rāʾ. Originally it meant “one who oversees and safeguards an affair,” and was later used for the person who conducts buying and selling on behalf of others. In practice it denotes the intermediary between seller and buyer—the dalāl (commission agent). This remains true, according to the soundest view, whether he handles the sale for the vendor or purchases for the buyer.

Al-Bukhārī said: Ibn Sīrīn reported from Anas, “He must neither sell anything on his behalf nor buy anything for him.”