Narrated Amr bin Suhaib: On his father's authority, said that his grandfather told that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the type of transactions in which earnest money was paid. Malik said: This means, as we think--Allah better knows-that a man buys a slave or hires an animal, and he says: I give you a dinar on condition that if I give up the transaction or hire, what I gave you is yours.
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Benefit:
Amir San‘ani rahimahullah, in Subul al-Salam, the commentary of Bulugh al-Maram, writes regarding this sale:
“There is a difference of opinion among the jurists regarding the permissibility of this sale.
Imam Malik and Imam Shafi‘i rahimahumallah have declared it invalid due to the hadith prohibiting it, and also because
it contains an unlawful condition and deception.
And this is included in consuming someone’s wealth unlawfully.”
This opinion appears to be correct, because in the case of the sale being annulled, the seller receives an amount for which he does not provide the buyer with any goods or benefit.
And it is not permissible to take someone’s wealth without compensation. Furthermore, returning a sale is a virtuous act. (See, Hadith: 2199)
And the condition of earnest money (bay‘anah) is stipulated so that the buyer does not return the purchased item; this is an avoidance of virtue, which cannot be considered commendable.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 2193
Shaykh Safi ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri
Takhrij:
«أخرجه مالك في الموطأ:2 /609، وانظر سنن ابن ماجه، التجارات، حديث:2192 بتحقيقي، وللحديث شواهد.»©Explanation:
Amir San‘ani rahimahullah, regarding the sale of ‘urbun (earnest money), writes in the commentary of Bulugh al-Maram, *Subul al-Salam*: “There is a difference of opinion among the jurists regarding the permissibility of this sale.
Imam Malik and Imam Shafi‘i rahimahumallah have declared it invalid due to the hadith prohibiting it, and also because it contains an unlawful condition and deception, and it amounts to consuming someone’s wealth in an unlawful manner.
We consider this opinion to be correct, because in the event that the sale is annulled, the seller receives an amount for which he does not provide the buyer with any goods or benefit, and it is not permissible to take someone’s wealth without compensation. Furthermore, this condition of earnest money is stipulated so that the buyer does not return the purchased item; this is an evasion of virtue, which cannot be deemed commendable, whereas the virtues of returning a purchased item are established in the hadiths. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ‘Whoever cancels the sale for a Muslim, Allah will forgive his sins on the Day of Resurrection.’
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book of Sales, Chapter: On the Virtue of Iqala [cancellation of sale], Hadith: 3460) This narration has been declared authentic by Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah and the researchers of Musnad Ahmad.
See: (Irwa’ al-Ghalil, no. 1334; al-Sahihah, no. 2614; al-Mawsu‘ah al-Hadithiyyah, Musnad al-Imam Ahmad: 12/401, 402)
Source: Bulugh al-Maram: Commentary by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, Page: 668