758 – ʿUrwah al-Bāriqī (may Allah be pleased with him) related: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent him with a dinar and told him to buy a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) for him ….” Al-Bukhari records this report in the midst of a longer narration, and we have already cited it earlier (1).

Points derived from the hadith
1 – The narration previously appeared in the Book of Sales under number 698, where we mentioned such benefits as were readily apparent.
2 – It proves the permissibility of appointing an agent (wakālah) to make a purchase.
3 – It establishes both the legitimacy of the uḍḥiyah and the permissibility of delegating its purchase to another.
4 – It shows that a transaction conducted by a faḍūlī—someone who disposes of another’s property without prior authorization—is valid once the owner subsequently approves it. ʿUrwah al-Bāriqī bought two sheep for the dinar, sold one of them for a dinar, and brought the Prophet ﷺ a sheep and a dinar; the Prophet then endorsed his action. Those who reject the validity of a faḍūlī transaction after ratification interpret the hadith differently, saying that ʿUrwah had been granted an unrestricted agency, which by definition includes buying and selling, so his action was within the original mandate. The stronger view, however, is the first, for ʿUrwah’s mandate was confined to purchasing a single sheep that was needed, and his later sale exceeded that mandate, yet the Prophet ﷺ approved it after the fact.
5 – The report indicates that Islamic law does not impose a fixed limit on profit margins in sales. Even so, a Muslim ought to be lenient when buying, content with the provision Allah grants when selling, and compassionate and merciful toward fellow Muslims.
6 – It also demonstrates that an animal does not become designated as one’s uḍḥiyah merely by being purchased. ʿUrwah sold one of the two sheep, and animals are bought for many purposes besides sacrifice; therefore the purchase alone does not single out the animal as a sacrificial offering.