Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
Buyu‘:
This is the plural of bay‘, and according to the Arabic language, the words bay‘ and shira’ are used for both buying and selling, and depending on the context and situation, a specific meaning is determined.

Benefits and Issues:
According to the Shar‘i (legal) definition, since bay‘ is the name for the mutual exchange of wealth with consent,
that is, to give wealth in exchange for wealth with mutual agreement,
this is called bay‘ (sale).
Therefore, every sale in which there is riba (usury/interest),
gharar (uncertainty), ghabn (deception/fraud), and loss,
ignorance,
that is, if the price,
the commodity, or the period is unknown,
or there is a risk of dispute, mutual disagreement, and quarrel,
such a sale is impermissible.
In bay‘ mulamasah and munabadhah, there is a risk of gharar and ghabn.
There are four opinions regarding the definition of mulamasah:

(1)
The seller or buyer says,
“I sell or buy this cloth, its price is such-and-such; when the buyer touches it,
the sale will be finalized.”
Imam Abu Hanifah has given this definition.

(2)
According to Imam Shafi‘i,
a person brings a wrapped cloth or brings it in darkness, and says to the buyer, “I sell you this cloth on the condition that your touching it will be considered as seeing it, and after touching (seeing) it, you will not be able to return it.”

(3)
The seller and buyer each buy the other’s cloth without examining it carefully,
and say, “When I touch your cloth and you touch mine, the sale will become binding.”
The narrator of the hadith, Hazrat Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, has given this definition, as will be mentioned ahead.

(4)
The seller sells an item and says to the buyer,
“When you touch it,
your khiyar majlis (option of choice while still in the place of transaction) will end without changing the place of the deal.”

There are also four definitions given for bay‘ munabadhah:

(1)
The sale becomes binding merely by throwing an item,
without the buyer examining it.

(2)
Each of the seller and buyer throws his own cloth towards the other,
and the sale is concluded without seeing and without mutual consent.
Or they say to each other, “Throw what you have towards me, and I will throw what I have towards you.”

(3)
Throwing the goods
ends the option (of choice).

(4)
“I throw a pebble; whichever item it lands on, its sale will be concluded,”
that is, the meaning of bay‘ hisah (sale by pebble) is intended.

Explanation:
1:
Because there is deception in it,
the object of sale (the commodity) is unknown.

The cloth is mentioned merely as an example; otherwise, if anything is sold or bought in this manner, it will be termed mulamasah and munabadhah. It is also not necessary that the items on both sides be of the same kind, as has been mentioned in the commentary; rather, even if the transaction is with cash, the same ruling applies. The point is that any transaction in which there is ambiguity or the possibility of deception is prohibited, because such transactions later become a cause of disputes and quarrels. Furthermore, their basis is selfishness and deceit, and both of these are contrary to humanity and to Islam.

(1) Bay‘ mulamasah is forbidden because it is nothing but pure deception, whereas, both legally and ethically, deceiving someone is absolutely impermissible.

(2) It is also understood from the hadith that bay‘ munabadhah is forbidden. The reason for this is the same as mentioned above.

(3) From this blessed hadith, there is also a subtle indication that in the days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), the unlawful transactions that were prevalent among people, and which led to mutual conflict and severance of relations, the Lawgiver (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was extremely eager to distance his ummah from all such dealings that could become a cause of discord in their mutual relations and could give rise to enmity and hatred among them. Bay‘ mulamasah and munabadhah, and other prohibited sales, are also of this category. However, despite all this, the greed and desire for wealth and money have blinded the majority of people; accumulating wealth has been considered the very purpose of life, and in this pursuit, no distinction is made between what is lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram).

The interpretations of mulamasah and munabadhah may vary, but one thing is common between them: apart from touching and throwing, there remains no further scope for certainty or satisfaction. This very ambiguity is, in fact, the reason for the prohibition of such types of sales, while at the same time, in all these cases, an element of deception is also present.