The Ruling on Selling Goods That Are Still Lying in Their Place
It is not permissible for any Muslim to sell goods, either for cash or on credit, until he becomes their owner and has taken them into his possession, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Hakim ibn Hizam:
«لا تبع ما ليس عندك»
“Do not sell what is not with you.”
In the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet ﷺ said:
«لا يحل سلف و بيع، ولا بيع ما ليس عندك»
“A loan (salaf) and a sale (in the same transaction) are not permissible, and there is no sale of what is not with you.”
On the basis of the two hadiths mentioned above, a person who buys goods cannot sell them until he has taken them into his possession.
Also, Imam Ahmad and Imam Abu Dawud narrated from Zayd ibn Thabit, and Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim graded it sahih, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade that goods bought from a place be sold by the merchant there before he takes them to his home.
In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I saw people selling food (grain) during the time of the blessed Messenger ﷺ, and they were beaten for selling it at the place before taking it to their homes.
There are many hadiths with this meaning.
