725 – On the authority of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted a concession for selling the ʿarāyā on the basis of their estimated amount in dried dates, provided the quantity involved is less than five wasqs—or, according to another narration, up to five wasqs.” Agreed upon. ⦗1⦘

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– “or is less than five wasqs”: there is uncertainty here; the doubt stems from one of the narrators, Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn. Imām al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad therefore took the precaution of setting the upper limit for an ʿarīyah sale at less than five wasqs.
– wasqs: plural of wasq. A wasq (with an open wāw and a silent sīn) is a measure equal to sixty prophetic sāʿs; five wasqs equal three hundred sāʿs, roughly nine hundred kilograms. Some pronounce it with a kasrah on the wāw and make its plural awsāq, like ḥaml/ aḥmāl, but the pronunciation with fatḥah is more eloquent.
– “by their estimation” (bi-kharsi-hā): the preposition bāʾ indicates exchange; the dried dates are the price, and the fresh dates still on the palms are the counter-price.
– “of dates” (min al-tamr): governed by “by their estimation”; the preposition min specifies the genus.

Points derived from the two ḥadiths
1 – The reason for the ʿarīyah concession is that certain people needed fresh dates but had no cash with which to purchase them while possessing dried dates. They complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he allowed them to acquire ʿarāyā on the basis of estimated equivalence with the dried dates they already had, enabling them to eat fresh dates. The conditions for the validity of this transaction will be set out as understood by the scholars from the related narrations.