is impermissible, whether stated in general terms or conveyed by general implication. Rather, there are prohibitions against selling certain nonexistent things, just as there are prohibitions against selling certain existing things. Neither existence nor nonexistence is the reason for the prohibition. What is authentically reported, rather, is:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited sales involving uncertainty.”

Such uncertainty concerns something one cannot deliver, whether it exists or not, such as a runaway slave, a straying camel, and similar things that one may be unable to deliver. Anything that may or may not be obtained involves uncertainty and may not be sold, even if it exists. A sale requires delivery of the item sold, yet the seller is unable to deliver it. The buyer is merely taking a risk and gambling: if he manages to obtain it, he has won his gamble against the seller; if he cannot obtain it, the seller has won his gamble against him.

Likewise, the sale of a nonexistent thing involving uncertainty was prohibited because of its uncertainty, not because it does not exist. An example is selling whatever offspring a particular animal will bear, or whatever produce a particular orchard will yield. It may or may not produce anything; and if it does, neither the quantity nor the characteristics of what it produces are known. This is wagering, a form of the gambling that Allah has forbidden.

The same applies if someone leases out animals that he cannot deliver, or real estate that he cannot hand over: it may or may not become available. This is a lease involving uncertainty.