in exchange for wool or milk—on this there are two reports. Most of Ahmad’s legal principles, however, support permissibility, in agreement with Mālik’s view. He holds that if a person purchases a slave who has property, intending principally to acquire the slave, the transaction is valid even if the property is unspecified or is of the same kind as the purchase price. He likewise holds that if a person purchases land or trees together with fruit or crops that have not yet ripened, the transaction is permissible when the land or trees are the principal object.

This case of sale is analogous to the leasing issue under discussion: leasing the land corresponds to purchasing it, while purchasing the date palms—with fruit not yet safe from blight included in the sale as an accessory to the principal property—corresponds to dates and grapes being included as accessories in the lease.

The evidence invoked by both groups in favor of prohibition is the established report that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of fruit for future years and the sale of fruit before its ripeness became evident. Both Sahih collections relate from Ibn ʿUmar: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of fruit until its ripeness became evident, forbidding both the seller and the purchaser.” They also relate that Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade fruit to be sold until it began to color.” He was asked, “What does ‘began to color’ mean?” He replied, “It turns red or yellow, and some of it becomes fit to eat.” In one version narrated by Muslim, this explanation is attributed to Saʿīd ibn al-Muthannā, the narrator from Jābir.

Both Sahih collections also relate that Jābir said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of standing crops for grain, the sale of dates on the palms for measured dried dates, advance sales of fruit for successive years, and sharecropping for a portion of the yield.” In another of their versions, the words “the sale of crops for future years” occur in place of “advance sales of fruit for successive years.” They also relate from Zayd ibn Abī Unaysa, from ʿAtāʾ—