for the two situations are identical by analogy, with no distinction between them. Therefore, once the buyer has handed over the capital sum of the salam and the contract has been concluded in the manner already described, the commodity remains a liability in the seller’s debt until the due date arrives.
Malik does not permit a spot salam, nor does he allow the term of a salam to be set at one or two days. Rather, it is only permissible when the commodity is one whose market price is liable to rise and fall; this is the well-known position of the school. Some of Malik’s companions did allow such a short term, and it is also reported from Malik that the term may be three days or more without reference to market fluctuation, yet the first opinion is the distilled ruling of his madhhab.
Whoever contracts salam for wheat must state its cleanliness, its color, and the description of its grain, and the same degree of precision is required for every commodity purchased by salam, so that no ambiguity remains. A salam may not be concluded for the wheat of a particular village unless that village is considered secure, has abundant harvests, and its produce customarily neither varies nor falls short of the stipulated quantity. Likewise, it is impermissible to contract salam for the fruit of specified palm-trees or other identified trees, or for the crop of a designated plot of land, when it is not the harvest season; according to Malik it becomes permissible once harvest time has actually begun.
Nor may a salam be concluded for a specific crop unless its harvest is imminent and taking delivery can commence through reaping or other uninterrupted work; if the actual harvesting is delayed only a few days, Malik sees no objection provided the conditions remain as described. There is also no harm in a salam for the fresh dates of a particular orchard once the dates have begun to ripen, and the same applies to fresh figs from a specified garden once they too have shown signs of ripening.
No salam may be arranged for items sold by count until they are strictly defined by description. There is, however, no objection to a salam for meat, bread, or any type of fruit, whether fresh or dried, and Malik permits the buyer to defer payment of the price once he has begun to take delivery of the goods. What is not permissible is for both the price and the commodity to be deferred at the same time, and even if one were to contract salam for