Chapter on Salam Contracts
Introduction
Al-Azhari said, “Salam and salaf are synonymous—a point on which all linguists agree—though salaf carries an added meaning, for it may also denote a loan. The transaction is called salam because the capital is handed over in the sitting in which the contract is concluded; it is called salaf because the payment is advanced before the buyer receives the goods.”
Legally, salam is defined as a contract for a specified item, described and owed in the seller’s liability, to be delivered at a future date, in return for a price paid in full during the session of contract. In other words, it is a sale in which the price is brought forward while the object of sale is deferred.
The permissibility of salam is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, scholarly consensus, and sound analogical reasoning.
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The Qur’an: “O you who believe, when you contract a debt for a stated term, write it down” (Qur’an 2:282). Ibn ʿAbbās said, “I testify that the guaranteed salaf for a fixed term has been made lawful by Allah in His Book and that He has permitted it,” after which he recited this verse.
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The Sunnah: the evidence lies in the two ḥadiths that will follow in this chapter.
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Consensus: al-Shāfiʿī said, “The Muslim community, to the best of my knowledge, is unanimous in permitting salam.”
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Analogy: the seller’s interest is served by receiving the price up front so that he can tend his trees and crops, while the buyer benefits by purchasing the produce at a lower price in exchange for a lengthy deferment before taking possession and enjoying it.
Al-Wazīr said, “They are agreed that whatever conditions are required for an ordinary sale are likewise required for a salam contract.”