the position of Mālik and the well-known position reported from Ahmad, this is permissible, as is established from Ibn ʿAbbās. However, it may not be sold at a profit, but only at its value, so that the advance-paying buyer does not profit from something for which he has not borne the risk. It is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

“forbade making a profit on something for which one has not borne the risk.”

The evidence for this is that accepting something else in settlement of the price before receiving it is permissible, according to the established Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ibn ʿUmar said:

“We used to sell camels at al-Naqīʿ”—al-Naqīʿ, with an n, is the market of Medina, whereas al-Baqīʿ, with a b, is its cemetery. He continued: “We used to sell for gold and receive payment in silver, and sell for silver and receive payment in gold. I asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about this, and he said: ‘There is no harm, provided it is at the exchange rate on that day and you part with nothing left outstanding between you.’”

Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, permitted them to accept something else in settlement of the debt constituting the price, even though the buyer remained liable for that price and liability had not passed to the seller. Likewise, the goods owed under a salam contract may be sold, even though they remain at the seller’s risk and the risk has not passed to the buyer. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, permitted such settlement only at the exchange rate on that day, so that one would not profit from something for which one had not borne the risk.

Ahmad likewise explicitly stated that, when accepting a substitute in repayment of a loan or another debt, it must be valued at the rate on that day, so that this does not constitute profit on something for which one has not borne the risk. Imam Ahmad also related this from Ibn ʿAbbās when answering a question about salam, quoting him as saying: “If you pay in advance