their hand into a companion’s pocket and take from it whatever they wish.”

Another example is his statement (peace and blessings be upon him) to someone who asked him to give him a ball of hair: “Whatever belongs to me and to the descendants of Abd al-Muttalib, I have given to you.” Likewise, there is his giving to those whose hearts were to be reconciled, according to those who maintain that he gave them from the four-fifths share.

On this basis, Imam Ahmad held valid the transaction reported of “Hakīm ibn Hizām and Urwa ibn al-Jad, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed the man as his agent to purchase a sheep for one dinar, whereupon he bought two sheep and sold one of them for a dinar.”

Acting without specific prior permission—whether through an exchange, a voluntary transfer, or use of the property—is based on customary permission, either general or specific.

[Section: The Second Principle Concerning Contractual Transactions—Their Lawful and Unlawful Forms]

Section

The Second Principle Concerning Contractual Transactions: Their Lawful and Unlawful Forms

The fundamental principle here is that Allah has forbidden us in His Book to consume one another’s wealth unjustly. He condemned the rabbis and monks who consume people’s wealth unjustly, and He condemned the Jews for taking usury, although they had been forbidden to do so, and for consuming people’s wealth unjustly. This encompasses everything wrongfully consumed through exchanges and voluntary transfers, as well as anything taken without the rightful party’s consent or lawful entitlement.

The wrongful consumption of wealth through an exchange is of two kinds, both of which Allah mentioned in His Book: