❖ Definition of Bay‘ al-Salam
It refers to a transaction in which payment is made in advance during the contract session, on the condition that the counterparty will deliver a known item at a specified time agreed upon by both parties.
The word “سَلَم“ (Salam) is synonymous in meaning and wording with “سلف“ (Salaf). “Salaf” is the term used by the people of Iraq, while “Muslim” is used by the people of Hijaz. Bay‘ al-Salam is a type of sale in which the price is paid in advance, and the goods are delivered later at a specified time.
This transaction involves:
- رأس المال (Ra’s al-Mal): The advance payment
- مسلم فيه (Muslam Fih): The item sold for future delivery
- رب السلم (Rabb al-Salam): The buyer who pays the price in advance
- مسلم إليه (Muslam Ilayh): The seller who promises delivery
📚 References: Anīs al-Fuqahā’: 219–220, Miṣbāḥ al-Munīr: 1/473, Al-Nihāyah: 2/396, Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/182, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/610
❖ Legitimacy of Bay‘ al-Salam
There is consensus among scholars regarding the permissibility of Bay‘ al-Salam. Although it involves the sale of a non-existent item (which is generally impermissible), it has been allowed due to economic necessities and public ease.
📚 References: Al-Mughnī: 4/275, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 2/199, Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 2/102, Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 5/323, Al-Mabsūṭ: 12/124
❖ Conditions of Bay‘ al-Salam
According to Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib (رحمه الله), while there is disagreement on some conditions, it is agreed that all conditions applicable to a regular sale (Bay‘) must be met.
📚 Reference: Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/309
Conditions Related to رأس المال (Advance Payment):
① Its type must be known
② Its quantity must be known
③ It must be paid during the contract session
Conditions Related to مسلم فيه (Item Sold):
① It must be under liability/guarantee
② Its attributes must be clearly defined to remove ambiguity and avoid disputes
③ Its delivery time must be specified
📚 Reference: Fiqh al-Sunnah: 3/250
❖ Is Specifying a Time (Ajl) a Condition?
- Majority View: Setting a specific time is a condition. Bay‘ al-Salam is not valid if payment and delivery occur simultaneously.
- Shāfiʿī School: If delayed delivery (despite its risk) is valid, then immediate delivery should be even more valid. The mention of “time” in Hadith is not to restrict but to emphasize clarity when a delay is involved.
- Preferred View (Rājiḥ): The opinion of Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) is more accurate.
- Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله): Supported the Shāfiʿī view, stating that one cannot declare something obligatory without evidence.
- Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله): Held the same view.
📚 References: Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/610, Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/82
❖ Does the Seller Need to Possess the Item at the Time of Sale?
No, it is not a condition. This is evident from the Hadith of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abzā and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā (رضي الله عنهما):
“Did they (the sellers) already own crops at the time of the contract?” They replied: “We never asked them that.”
📚 Reference: Bukhārī: 2255
Scholarly Views:
- Majority (Mālik, Shāfiʿī, etc.): Even if the item does not exist at the time of sale, the contract is valid provided it can be delivered at the agreed time.
- Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله): The item must be available continuously from the start until the end of the contract period.
📚 References: Al-Umm: 3/124, Al-Ḥāwī: 5/391, Al-Mabsūṭ: 12/125, Al-Hidāyah: 3/72, Al-Mughnī: 6/406
Preferred View: The opinion of the majority is stronger, as supported by the aforementioned Hadith.
❖ Is Bay‘ al-Salam Permissible in All Goods?
Yes, Bay‘ al-Salam is valid for all measurable or weighable commodities, not just fruits and grains.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever makes a Salam contract, let him do so for a known weight and known time.”
📚 Reference: Bukhārī: 2240
❖ Summary of Conditions
Only three conditions are essential for Bay‘ al-Salam:
① The item must be clearly defined in type
② Its measurement or weight must be known
③ The delivery time must be specified
Any other conditions are derived from analogical reasoning (Qiyās) to avoid disputes and uncertainty.
📚 References: Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/261, Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah: 2/113
❖ Supporting Ahādīth
➊ Narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, people used to make advance payments for fruits up to one or two years in advance. He said:
“Whoever makes a Salam contract for fruits, let it be for a known measure and weight and for a known period.”
And in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
“Whoever pays in advance in anything…”
📚 References: Bukhārī: 2240–2241, Muslim: 1604, Abū Dāwūd: 3463, Tirmidhī: 1311, Nasā’ī: 4616, Ibn Mājah: 2280, Dārimī: 2/260, Bayhaqī: 6/18, Aḥmad: 1/217, Dārquṭnī: 3/4, Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 8/173
➋ Narrated by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abzā and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā (رضي الله عنهما):
They used to do Bay‘ al-Salam with Nabateans for wheat, barley, raisins (and in one narration, olives), and never asked if they cultivated these themselves.
📚 References: Bukhārī: 2242–2243, Abū Dāwūd: 3463, Ibn Mājah: 2282, Aḥmad: 1/217, Ḥākim: 2/45, Bayhaqī: 6/20
❖ Key Rulings in Bay‘ al-Salam
① One must take only what was agreed upon in the contract or return of the principal.
② No conditions beyond what was agreed upon should be imposed.
③ No disposal of the item before possession is allowed.
📚 References: Dārquṭnī: 3/45, Al-Muwaṭṭa (as commented in Al-Musawwā): 2/50
❖ Disposal Before Possession
A weak narration from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه) states:
“Do not dispose of a Salam item before taking possession.”
Though weak, many authentic narrations support the concept that selling something before full possession is not allowed.
📚 References: Ibn Mājah: 2283, Abū Dāwūd: 3468, Dārquṭnī: 3/45, Bayhaqī: 6/30, Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 1375
Imām al-Shawkānī explained that this means one cannot sell the item received via Bay‘ al-Salam before taking full possession, as per:
“If you buy food, do not sell it until you receive it.”
📚 Reference: Muslim: 1529
❖ Difference of Opinion Regarding “فلا يصرفه“
Due to differing interpretations of the pronoun:
- Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah: Interpret the pronoun as referring to the advance payment, thus it should not be used until the seller receives what is due.
- Shāfiʿī and Zufar: It refers to the item being bought, not the payment. Advance payment can be used like a debt.
Preferred View: The opinion of Imām al-Shāfiʿī is correct.
📚 Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/613
❖ Hawālah (Transfer of Debt) in Muslim Fih
- Ḥanafī School: Permits it
- Majority (Jumhūr): Does not permit it
📚 References: Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 5/3634, Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr: 3/195, Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 2/103, Al-Mughnī: 4/302
❖ Bay‘ al-Salam in Clothing
Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī scholars all agree that Bay‘ al-Salam is valid in clothing as well.
📚 References: Al-Qawānīn al-Fiqhiyyah: p. 269, Mughni al-Muḥtāj: 2/107
Ibn al-Mundhir reported consensus on this matter.
📚 Reference: Al-Mughnī: 4/276
