Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Yahya)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade mulamasa and munabadhah.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that "Mulamasa" is when a man buys a cloth by touching it, without unfolding it or looking inside, or buys it in the darkness of night, not knowing what is in it. And "Munabadhah" is when the seller throws his cloth towards the buyer, and the buyer throws his cloth towards the seller, without any thought or consideration; this one in exchange for that, and that one in exchange for this. Both of these are prohibited.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that it is not permissible to sell a folded piece of cloth, or a sheet tied up in a bundle, until it is opened and the inside is seen.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, this ruling is agreed upon: Whoever buys cloth in one city and brings it to another city, then wishes to sell it as murabaha, should not include in the original cost the broker’s commission, the fee for folding, the wage for tying and bundling, his own expenses, or the rent of the house. However, he may include the cost of transporting the cloth, but should not take profit on it unless he informs the buyer, and if the buyer agrees to pay profit on that as well, then there is no objection.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the cost of washing and dyeing clothes will be included in the expense, and profit may be taken on it, just as profit is taken on the cloth itself. If the clothes are sold and the condition of these things is not mentioned, then no profit will be gained on them. Now, if the cloth is destroyed, the cost of transportation will be calculated, but no profit will be added to it. If the cloth is still present, the sale will be annulled, when both parties agree on any matter.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person bought some goods in exchange for gold or silver, and on that day the rate of silver to gold was such that ten dirhams equaled one dinar, then the buyer took this merchandise to another city, and wanted to sell it there as murabaha at the same rate of gold and silver as it was on that day. If he had bought it in exchange for dirhams and sold it for dinars, or bought it for dinars and sold it for dirhams, and the goods are still present and not destroyed, then the buyer has the choice to take it or not. And if the goods have been destroyed, then the buyer will be given the price for which the seller had bought it, after calculating the profit, from the buyer.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person sold his item, which had cost him one hundred dinars, at a profit of ten percent, and then it was found out that the item had actually cost ninety dinars, and that item was lost while with the buyer, then the seller will have the option to either take the market price of that item, the price on the day the item came into the possession of the buyer, but in the case where the market price is more than the price that was originally agreed upon, that is, more than one hundred and ten dinars, then the seller will not get more than one hundred and ten dinars, and if he wishes, he can take ninety-nine dinars by adding profit to ninety dinars accordingly, but in the case where this price is less than the value, then the seller will have the option.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person sold something on murabaha and said, "It cost me one hundred dinars," then later it became known that it actually cost him one hundred and twenty dinars, then the buyer will have the option: if he wishes, he may pay the seller the market price of the day on which he acquired the item, and if he wishes, he may pay the price at which it was purchased plus the profit, up to whatever amount it reaches. However, in the case where the market price is less than the first price (i.e., the one stated as one hundred dinars), then the buyer does not have the right to pay less than that, because the buyer has already agreed to it. But if the seller stated more than the actual price, then the buyer does not have the option to reduce it below the original price.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the ruling of selling barnamaj is not like that; it is permissible, because people have always been doing it, and deception is not intended by it.