and fall, which is approximately fifteen days. This is his position in al-Mudawwana. Later, he permitted a term of two or three days. These differing positions are recorded in Ibn al-Qāsim’s transmission in the Comprehensive Book of Sales. Ibn Habīb also related this disagreement in the reports from him. Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab likewise held differing positions: in al-Mudawwana, his view agrees with Mālik’s earlier position, while in al-Wādiha it agrees with his later position. He also allowed an advance-payment contract requiring immediate delivery to stand if it had already been concluded, according to the inference that teachers we knew used to draw from his words—though this is open to question. The position in al-Mudawwana is sounder, because permitting advance-payment contracts requiring delivery immediately, or within two days or a similar period, falls under selling what one does not possess. It is related that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Hakīm ibn Hizām:
“Hakīm, sell only what you have in your possession.”
A man asked Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, “What about my selling on credit?” He replied, “Sell only what you have brought into your own premises.”
Section
Selling what one does not possess falls into three categories. The first is unanimously permissible: selling goods one does not possess for immediate payment, with delivery deferred for a period during which market prices rise and fall. This is the advance-payment contract permitted by the Quran and Sunnah.
The second is unanimously disapproved: selling goods one does not possess for a deferred price, whether delivery is due immediately or later. Explaining this category in detail would take considerable space; I shall discuss it in the Book of Deferred-Payment Sales, Allah willing.
The third is disputed, being permitted by some and disapproved by others: selling goods one does not possess for immediate payment and immediate delivery. The reason for disapproving it is that it resembles purchasing someone else’s particular goods from the seller on condition that he obtain them from their owner. That particular arrangement is, however, more objectionable, because the owner might refuse to sell his goods, whereas someone who accepts an advance payment for goods that are not individually designated and are due immediately can generally purchase them without difficulty.
Ashhab stated that another reason for disapproving this arrangement is that, when someone is given dinars for goods to be delivered within two days or a similar period, it is as though he were told, “Take these dinars and buy such-and-such goods with them. Any surplus is yours, and any shortfall is for you to make up.” The transaction thus involves risk and uncertainty. Although this is more objectionable when the goods are individually designated than when they are not, there is disagreement concerning it as well. The first book on advance-payment contracts in al-Mudawwana states that it is impermissible, whereas in Yahyā’s transmission in the Comprehensive Book of