Condition for Selling Grain and the Ruling on Exceptions in Sale
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
① Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
نهى رسول الله عن بيع الطعام حتى يجرى فيه الصاعان ، صاع البائع وصاع المشترى
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of grain until two measures have been applied to it: one by the seller and one by the buyer."
References: Hasan — Sahih Ibn Mājah 1812, Kitāb al-Tijārat…, Ibn Mājah 2228, Daraqutni 3/8, Bayhaqi 5/316
② In a narration from Hazrat ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا ابتعت فاكتل وإذا بعت فكل
"When you buy, measure it; and when you sell, measure it."
References: Sahih — Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 5/179, Bukhari (muʿallaqan) 5/75, Ahmad 1/62, Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/76
Majority Opinion:
If a person purchases something by measure, he may not sell it to another without measuring it again at the time of resale, even if it was already weighed or measured earlier.
Hadith: Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهي عن الثنيا إلا أن تعلم
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade making exceptions in a sale unless they are specified."
References: Muslim 1536, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ…, Abu Dawood 3375, Tirmidhi 1313, Ibn Mājah 2266, Nasa’i 7/296, Ahmad 3/313
Explanation:
Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) states: Exception in sale means selling something but excluding part of it.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/354
Imam Nawawi (رحمه الله) also holds the same view.
Reference: Sharḥ Muslim 10/195
Example of a Valid Exception:
When Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) sold his camel to the Prophet ﷺ for one uqiyyah, he stipulated:
واشترطت حملانه إلى أهلي
"I stipulated that I ride it until I reach my family."
References: Bukhari 2406, Kitāb fī al-Istiqlāḍ…, Muslim 715, Abu Dawood 3505, Nasa’i 4637, Ahmad 3/299
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Prohibition of Selling Grain Before Proper Measurement
① Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
نهى رسول الله عن بيع الطعام حتى يجرى فيه الصاعان ، صاع البائع وصاع المشترى
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of grain until two measures have been applied to it: one by the seller and one by the buyer."
References: Hasan — Sahih Ibn Mājah 1812, Kitāb al-Tijārat…, Ibn Mājah 2228, Daraqutni 3/8, Bayhaqi 5/316
② In a narration from Hazrat ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا ابتعت فاكتل وإذا بعت فكل
"When you buy, measure it; and when you sell, measure it."
References: Sahih — Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 5/179, Bukhari (muʿallaqan) 5/75, Ahmad 1/62, Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/76
Majority Opinion:
If a person purchases something by measure, he may not sell it to another without measuring it again at the time of resale, even if it was already weighed or measured earlier.
- Imam al-Shawkani (رحمه الله): This is the correct opinion.
Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār 3/533
Ruling on Exceptions in Sale (استثناء)
Hadith: Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) narrates:
أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهي عن الثنيا إلا أن تعلم
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade making exceptions in a sale unless they are specified."
References: Muslim 1536, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ…, Abu Dawood 3375, Tirmidhi 1313, Ibn Mājah 2266, Nasa’i 7/296, Ahmad 3/313
Explanation:
Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) states: Exception in sale means selling something but excluding part of it.
- If the excluded part is known (e.g., one specific tree, a particular room in a house, or a certain plot in land), then the sale is valid by consensus.
- If the excluded part is unknown (e.g., saying “I sell this pile but some part is excluded” without specifying which), the sale is invalid due to uncertainty and potential deception.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/354
Imam Nawawi (رحمه الله) also holds the same view.
Reference: Sharḥ Muslim 10/195
Example of a Valid Exception:
When Hazrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) sold his camel to the Prophet ﷺ for one uqiyyah, he stipulated:
واشترطت حملانه إلى أهلي
"I stipulated that I ride it until I reach my family."
References: Bukhari 2406, Kitāb fī al-Istiqlāḍ…, Muslim 715, Abu Dawood 3505, Nasa’i 4637, Ahmad 3/299
