shunning undertaken for a religious reason, it is permissible to extend it indefinitely, until the impediment to reconciliation is removed. The proof is the story of the three companions who were left behind.1 It is likewise permissible to shun those guilty of grave innovations, the promoters of whims and destructive ideologies, and the adherents of deviant sects.
Fifth: “Do not undercut one another’s sales.” The jurists explain this to mean that when a man has already sold an item, another comes and offers the same commodity to that buyer at a lower price so that the buyer will purchase it from him instead, thereby voiding the first sale. This ruling applies while the khiyār al-majlīs (session option) or khiyār al-sharṭ (stipulated option) is still in effect. According to the sounder view, it also applies after the sale has been finalized and no option remains, lest either party contrive to annul the contract and harbor enmity and resentment toward the other.
His words, “Do not undercut one another’s sales,” are reinforced by numerous prohibitions. Al-Bukhārī (2140) and Muslim (413) transmit from Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said, “A believer must not sell against the sale of his believing brother,” and Muslim adds, “nor bid against the bid of his brother.” Al-Bukhārī (2139) and Muslim (2032) narrate from Ibn ʿUmar that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No man is to sell against the sale of his brother.” This indicates that the prohibition concerns Muslims to the exclusion of non-Muslims, a view held by Aḥmad and al-Awzāʿī.
Many jurists, however, maintain that the prohibition is general, applying to both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Of the two opinions, the sounder is that the prohibition signifies outright unlawfulness.
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“And be servants of Allah, brothers.” The Prophet ﷺ mentioned this as the rationale for what precedes, for this concise phrase hints that if they rid themselves of envy, artificial price-inflation, hatred, estrangement, and undercutting one another’s sales, they will become loving, harmonious brothers.
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The ḥadīth also commands acquiring those practices that foster love, affection, and solidarity—such as returning the greeting of peace, saying “May Allah have mercy on you” to the one who sneezes, accepting invitations, visiting the sick, and other mutual rights that Islam has legislated among Muslims—so that affection and harmony may take firm root.
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1 The reference is to the three companions who stayed behind from the campaign to Tabūk and were boycotted until their repentance was accepted (Qurʾān 9:118).