a sale by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ because it shares certain features of a sale, even though it is not truly one: whoever purchases an ariyyah for its estimated equivalent acquires ownership of it and may dispose of it just as if he had bought it with dinars or dirhams. This, too, is permissible only with both parties’ agreement, consent and free choice, as in a sale. By contrast, the estimation of zakat is at the ruler’s discretion, and the orchard owner has no choice in the matter. Thus, the Law does not describe it as a sale.
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Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—permits the sale of an ariyyah for its estimated equivalent, payable at harvest, on both grounds. Ibn al-Mājishūn, however, considers only harm and recognizes no other basis for permitting it. The stronger basis for its permissibility is the removal of harm. Indeed, according to Mālik and all his disciples, an ariyyah may be purchased for its estimated equivalent only by its donor or by someone who has acquired the orchard’s fruit through purchase, gift or another means of acquiring ownership.
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Further evidence for Mālik’s position that the recipient may not sell his ariyyah to whomever he wishes for its estimated equivalent, payable at harvest—alongside the previously mentioned rationale of removing harm—is the report:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted an ariyyah to be sold for its estimated equivalent, so that its owners might eat it as fresh dates.”
By “its owners,” he means the owners of the orchard who donated the fruit—and Allah knows best. Those who acquire the fruit through any means of acquiring ownership are included with them by analogy. Some reports state:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted the recipient of an ariyyah to sell it back to its donor for its estimated equivalent in fruit, payable at harvest.”
This explicitly addresses the point at issue.
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A number of scholars, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, held that the recipient of an ariyyah may sell it to whomever he wishes for its estimated equivalent. They relied on the apparent meaning of the report that he ﷺ permitted the recipient of an ariyyah to sell it for its estimated equivalent, without qualification or restriction. This is also the apparent meaning of the statement of