Selling Items Before Acquisition
QUESTION:
What is the ruling regarding the sale of goods online?
I do not own any stock nor do I have it in my possession, but the supplier does have it on hand. I advertise the product with the price and a delivery timeline. The product is purchased online and paid for, including delivery. Thereafter, I source the product from a supplier. Am I required to have the stock on hand?
ANSWER:
It is not permissible to sell items which a person does not have possession of.
عَنْ عَمْرِوِ بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَا يَحِلُّ سَلَفٌ وَبَيْعٌ وَلَا شَرْطَانِ فِي بَيْعٍ وَلَا رِبْحُ مَا لَمْ يُضْمَنْ وَلَا بَيْعُ مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَكَ
(سنن أبي داود #3504)
Amr bin Shuaib narrates from his father, who narrates from his grandfather Radiallahu Anhum, that Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam said: “It is not permissible to conclude a sale with the condition of giving a loan, and it is not permissible to attach two conditions to a sale, and it is not permissible take profit from goods that you are not liable for, and it is not permissible to sell goods that are not in your possession.”
There are two ways of overcoming the issue of advertising goods that are not in one’s possession. The first method is as follows; the seller requests the purchaser to leave the funds as Amaanat with him. This will give the seller satisfaction that the purchaser genuinely intends purchasing the goods. Once the seller receives the funds, he will place the funds into safekeeping, as it is Amaanat and cannot be used. The seller then orders the goods of merchandise with his own funds, and on receiving the goods, the sale between the seller and purchaser will be concluded. In this instance, since the funds were kept as Amaanat with the seller, the seller will be required to hand over the funds first to the purchaser (at the time of concluding the sale), and then the purchaser will use the funds to pay the seller. This is the first option.
The second option is to enact a transaction known as Bay-e-Salam. In this transaction, the seller (referred to as the Muslam Ilaihi) is required to provide a complete description of the product that he is selling to the buyer (such as the description of the item being sold, the brand name or make of the item, the grade or quality, etc.). The quantity of items, the time of delivery, the purchase price, and the place of delivery must all be stipulated and fixed, leaving no ambiguity whatsoever. Furthermore, the period of time from the date of the sale until the date of delivery should be a minimum of one month. Thereafter, the purchaser provides the capital upfront to the seller, which the seller uses to purchase the goods. This, too, is an option, with the proviso that all the requirements of Bay-e-Salam are fulfilled.
باب السلم (هو) لغة كالسلف وزنا ومعنى وشرعا (بيع آجل) وهو المسلم فيه (بعاجل) وهو رأس المال
(وشرطه) أي شروط صحته التي تذكر في العقد سبعة (بيان جنس) كبر أو تمر (و) بيان (نوع) كمسقي أو بعلي
(وصفة) كجيد أو رديء (وقدر) ككذا كيلا لا ينقبض ولا ينبسط (وأجل وأقله) في السلم (شهر) به يفتى وفي الحاوي لا بأس بالسلم في نوع واحد على أن يكون حلول بعضه في وقت وبعضه في وقت آخر
(الدر المختار و حاشية ابن عابدين 5/214)
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: 07 Jumaadal-Ulaa 1447 / 29 October 2025
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb