—in accordance with its proper measure. This same ruling extends to every edible or potable item—staples and relishes alike, whether they are normally stored or not, and whether they constitute the mainstay of a person’s livelihood or something less essential—provided it is something eaten or drunk, be it fruit, sustenance, or condiment. No woman may be married for it, no laborer hired for it, and no mount or house rented for it until it has been taken into one’s possession. If a man marries a woman for measured food, she may not resell that food before taking delivery. The same applies to anyone employed for measured food or to one who receives measured food as compensation for bodily injury: he may not sell it before taking possession, for anything obtained in return for a consideration is, in effect, a sale. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited “selling food before taking delivery.”

It makes no difference whether the food arises from a salam contract—paid for in advance on the basis of a guaranteed description—or from an immediate sale of a specific, non-deferred item: if it is subject to measurement by volume, weight, or count, none of it may be sold until it has been received by that very measure—volume, weight, or count—whenever the article is edible or drinkable, whether the person involved is a merchant or not. Water alone is exempt from this restriction.

The same rule applies to seasoning spices (tawābil), shawīz, kahrah, the edible seed of white radish, flaxseed, sesame, and every similar item that is consumed and sold by count. Medicinal substances, however—such as halīlaj (chebulic myrobalan), mastic, cinnamon, spikenard, pepper, mustard, ginger—and seeds that are not eaten on their own, like carrot seed, chard seed, onion seed, leek seed, rocket seed, cucumber seed, and whatever