Earnest money in a sale

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared 'urban lawful in sale. 'Urban means that a person pays part of the price of something and says that if the sale is completed, this will be counted towards its price; otherwise this sum is yours, and I will not take it back from you.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'Urban is not valid in fat, in fodder or in food, and 'urban applies to things other than these.

Mujahid saw no harm in 'urban.

Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) saw no harm in a person giving earnest money to a boatman or someone else, saying: "If I come with it by such-and-such a time, well and good; otherwise this money is yours."

Hamzah bin Abdullah bin Umar said: We used to conduct sales of clothes in the presence of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both); whoever paid a ransom would pay a dirham as ransom, and he neither ordered us nor stopped us.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had declared 'urban lawful in sale.

It is narrated from Abd al-Rahman bin Farrukh that Sayyiduna Nafi' bin Abd al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) bought the prison house from Sayyiduna Safwan bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) for four thousand dirhams, on the condition that if Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) approved, the sale would stand, and if Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not approve, four hundred dirhams would belong to Safwan.

Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say concerning a person who rents a house or a boat, saying: "If I come to you by such-and-such a time, well and good; otherwise this money is yours." He said: If he does not come, the money belongs to the other.

Ata and Tawus (may Allah have mercy on them) disliked 'urban in sale.

It is also narrated from Ibn Tawus, from his father, that the two of them disliked 'urban in sale.