Chapter: Sales that Allah Has Prohibited
First ḥadīth
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī – may Allah be pleased with him – reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade munābadhah, which is when a man throws his garment to another as a sale before the latter has turned it over or examined it; and he forbade mulāmasah, which is when a man merely touches a garment without looking at it.
Overall meaning
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited sales involving gharar (uncertainty), because they expose one of the two contracting parties to harm by allowing him to be cheated in his sale or purchase. This occurs when the item sold is unknown to the seller, the buyer, or both. Included in this is the sale of munābadhah, in which the seller, for example, flings a garment to the purchaser and they conclude the deal before he has inspected or turned it over. Likewise is the sale of mulāmasah, where the contract is concluded merely by touching the garment before looking at it or turning it over. Both contracts entail ignorance and uncertainty regarding the subject-matter of the sale. One of the parties is at risk—either he profits or he loses—so they fall under the heading of maysir (games of chance), which is forbidden.
Lessons derived from the ḥadīth
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Prohibition of the sale of mulāmasah. Several explanations have been offered; the correct one is what appears in this ḥadīth and similar texts, all of which return to ignorance of the merchandise and the uncertainty involved. Among them is al-Shāfiʿī’s explanation: a folded garment, or one offered in darkness, is brought; the would-be buyer touches it, and the owner says, “I have sold it to you for such-and-such,” on the condition that your touch stands in place of your inspection.
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Prohibition of the sale of munābadhah. It too has been variously explained; the sound explanation is what is mentioned in this ḥadīth and its likes, all of which go back to ignorance of the item sold. Under this heading also falls the “pebble sale,” where a person says, “Whichever garment the pebble lands on is yours for such-and-such.”
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If touching or throwing itself is deemed to constitute the sale, or if the sale is suspended on touching or throwing while the merchandise is already known in these cases, the correct view is that the contract is valid, for no sharʿī objection arises—similar to a sale concluded by mere exchange of goods (muʿāṭāh).
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These two forms of sale, in their original sense, are invalid because prohibition signifies corruption of the contract.
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The prohibition concerns merchandise that differs in its characteristics or in its value.