Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Yahya)

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade the sale involving deception.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that included in fraudulent sales is: if a person's animal is lost, or a slave has run away, and its price is fifty dinars, and someone says to him: I will buy this animal or slave from you for twenty dinars. If it is found, the seller loses thirty dinars, and if it is not found, the buyer loses twenty dinars.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that there is a great deception in this; it is not known whether the animal or the slave is in the same condition or if some defect or skill has appeared in it, due to which its price has increased or decreased.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, the ruling is that buying a pregnancy is also included in fraudulent sales, as it is not known whether the child will be born or not; if born, whether it will be beautiful or ugly, complete or deformed, male or female, and the price of each differs.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that it is not permissible to sell a female animal and exclude its pregnancy, such as if someone says to another: The price of my milking goat is three dinars, so take it for two dinars, but when the kid in its belly is born, I will take it. This is disliked and not permissible.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that it is not permissible to sell olive wood in exchange for its oil, or sesame in exchange for sesame oil, or butter in exchange for clarified butter (ghee), because this falls under muzabana, and there is deception in it. It is not known whether the sesame, wood, or butter will yield the same amount of oil or ghee, or less or more.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that similarly, selling hab al-baan (seeds of the moringa tree) in exchange for roghan-e-baan (moringa oil) is not permissible. However, it is permissible to sell hab al-baan in exchange for perfumed baan, because after adding fragrance, it is no longer considered as oil.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person sells his item to someone on the condition that the buyer will not incur any loss, then this is not permissible. It is as if the seller has employed the buyer as a servant: if there is profit in that item, and if it is sold for the same amount as it was bought or for less, and the buyer's effort is wasted, then this is not correct. The buyer will receive wages according to his effort, and whatever profit or loss occurs will belong to the seller. However, this ruling applies when the buyer has already sold that item; if he has not sold it, then the sale will be annulled.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person sold his item, then the buyer, feeling regretful, said to the seller: "Reduce the price a little," and the seller refused and said: "Do not worry, sell it, you will not incur any loss," there is nothing objectionable in this, nor is it deception. Rather, the seller has merely expressed his opinion; he did not sell it on any such condition. In our view, this is the ruling.