Condition for Selling Grain and the Ruling on Exceptions in Sale
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Prohibition of Selling Grain Before Proper Measurement
① Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
نهى رسول الله عن بيع الطعام حتى يجرى فيه الصاعان ، صاع البائع وصاع المشترى
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of grain until two measures have been applied to it: one by the seller and one by the buyer.”
References: Hasan — Sahih Ibn Mājah 1812, Kitāb al-Tijārat…, Ibn Mājah 2228, Daraqutni 3/8, Bayhaqi 5/316
② In a narration from Hazrat ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا ابتعت فاكتل وإذا بعت فكل
“When you buy, measure it; and when you sell, measure it.”
References: Sahih — Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 5/179, Bukhari (muʿallaqan) 5/75, Ahmad 1/62, Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/76
Majority Opinion:
If a person purchases something by measure, he may not sell it to another without measuring it again at the time of resale, even if it was already weighed or measured earlier.
- Imam al-Shawkani (رحمه الله): This is the correct opinion.
Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār 3/533
Ruling on Exceptions in Sale (استثناء)
Hadith: Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهي عن الثنيا إلا أن تعلم
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade making exceptions in a sale unless they are specified.”
References: Muslim 1536, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ…, Abu Dawood 3375, Tirmidhi 1313, Ibn Mājah 2266, Nasa’i 7/296, Ahmad 3/313
Explanation:
Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) states: Exception in sale means selling something but excluding part of it.
- If the excluded part is known (e.g., one specific tree, a particular room in a house, or a certain plot in land), then the sale is valid by consensus.
- If the excluded part is unknown (e.g., saying “I sell this pile but some part is excluded” without specifying which), the sale is invalid due to uncertainty and potential deception.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/354
Imam Nawawi (رحمه الله) also holds the same view.
Reference: Sharḥ Muslim 10/195
Example of a Valid Exception:
When Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) sold his camel to the Prophet ﷺ for one uqiyyah, he stipulated:
واشترطت حملانه إلى أهلي
“I stipulated that I ride it until I reach my family.”
References: Bukhari 2406, Kitāb fī al-Istiqlāḍ…, Muslim 715, Abu Dawood 3505, Nasa’i 4637, Ahmad 3/299
