Sale by description

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) used to dislike that a man should describe goods and sell them when they are not in his possession.

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) used to dislike selling by description when the item is not present.

Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) used to dislike this sale.

Zayd bin Aslam said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): A man says: "Buy this merchandise, and I will buy it from you." (So what is the ruling on doing this?) He (may Allah be pleased with him) disliked it.

A man asked al-Hasan about a man who bargains with another over the price of silk, and the other says that he does not have the silk, and the first says: "Buy it, so that I may then buy it from you?" He disliked this sale and said: This sale is al-muwasafah.

Al-Qasim bin Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) saw no harm in this sale.

Ibrahim bin Maysarah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Tawus: A man bargained with me over merchandise that I do not have, and he says: "Buy it, and I will buy it from you." And were it not for him, I would not have bought it? Tawus disliked this sale.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning a man who says to another: "Buy this cloth, and I will buy it from you." Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) disliked this sale.