701 – Ibn ʿAbbās (d. 68 AH) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of fruit before it becomes fit to eat, the sale of wool while it is still on the animal’s back, and the sale of milk still in the udder.” This was recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsat and by al-Dāraquṭnī. Abū Dāwūd also included it among the mursal reports through ʿIkrimah, and that is the stronger version. It was likewise transmitted as a mawqūf report from Ibn ʿAbbās with a strong chain, and al-Bayhaqī held that version to be preferable. ⦗1⦘

Grade of the hadith:
The report is a sound mursal narration; it is also transmitted with a sound chain as mawqūf to Ibn ʿAbbās, yet it carries the ruling of being marfūʿ, for the subject‐matter admits of no personal opinion.

The author states: It was narrated by al-Ṭabarānī and al-Dāraquṭnī; Abū Dāwūd recorded it mursal through ʿIkrimah, and that is the stronger view. It was also reported mawqūf from Ibn ʿAbbās with a strong chain, and al-Bayhaqī judged that preferable. In al-Talkhīṣ he adds: al-Bazzār relates it with a sound chain from Ṭāwūs on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās in the wording, “He forbade the sale of fruit until it becomes fit to eat.” Al-Haythamī remarks: its transmitters are trustworthy.

Key vocabulary:
– thamarah (fruit): the word most often refers specifically to the dates of the palm tree.
– tuṭʿim (becomes fit to eat): with a ḍammah on the initial tāʾ and a kasrah on the ʿayn; it means that the fruit’s ripeness has appeared. They say, “the basrah aṭʿamat,” i.e., it has developed flavor—the sensation perceived by the sense of taste.
– ḍarʿ (udder): with an open ḍād; plural ḍurūʿ. It denotes the milk‐bearing udder of cloven‐hoofed animals, just as “breast” is used for a woman.