Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
➊ Ḥadīth of Jābir رضي الله عنه:
«أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم اشْتَرَى عَبْدًا بِعَبْدَيْنِ»
“The Prophet ﷺ purchased one slave in exchange for two slaves.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1602, Kitāb al-Masāqāh, Bāb Jawāz Bayʿ al-Ḥayawān; Abū Dāwūd: 3358; al-Tirmidhī: 1239; Ibn Mājah: 2869; Aḥmad: 3/349; al-Bayhaqī: 5/286)
➋ Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما:
The Prophet ﷺ instructed him to prepare an army. When camels were exhausted, he was told to borrow camels against camels from the camels of ṣadaqah. The narrator says:
«فكنت آخذ البعير بالبعيرين إلى إبل الصدقة»
“I used to take one camel in exchange for two camels from the camels of ṣadaqah (to be repaid later).”
(Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 1358; Aḥmad: 2/171; Abū Dāwūd: 3357, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ; al-Dāraquṭnī: 3/70; al-Ḥākim: 2/56; al-Bayhaqī: 5/278)
➌ Ḥadīth of Anas رضي الله عنه:
“The Prophet ﷺ purchased Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها from Dihyah al-Kalbī in exchange for seven slaves.”
(Aḥmad: 3/123; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1365; Abū Dāwūd: 2997; Ibn Mājah: 2272; al-Bayhaqī: 5/287)
➍ Ḥadīth of Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه:
«أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن بيع الحيوان بالحيوان»
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade selling an animal for another animal on deferred payment.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1841; al-Mishkāt: 2822; Abū Dāwūd: 3356; al-Tirmidhī: 1237; Ibn Mājah: 2270; al-Dārimī: 2/254; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 4/60; al-Bayhaqī: 5/288)
Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله reconciled the prohibition and permission by explaining that the ḥadīth forbidding it refers to both sides having deferred payment (bayʿ al-kālīʾ bil-kālīʾ).
Imām al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله also preferred this view.
(Maʿālim al-Sunan: 5/29; Subul al-Salām: 3/1130)
The opinion of the majority (jumhūr) is stronger — it is permissible.
(Subul al-Salām: 3/1136)
Evidences from the Sunnah
➊ Ḥadīth of Jābir رضي الله عنه:
«أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم اشْتَرَى عَبْدًا بِعَبْدَيْنِ»
“The Prophet ﷺ purchased one slave in exchange for two slaves.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1602, Kitāb al-Masāqāh, Bāb Jawāz Bayʿ al-Ḥayawān; Abū Dāwūd: 3358; al-Tirmidhī: 1239; Ibn Mājah: 2869; Aḥmad: 3/349; al-Bayhaqī: 5/286)
➋ Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما:
The Prophet ﷺ instructed him to prepare an army. When camels were exhausted, he was told to borrow camels against camels from the camels of ṣadaqah. The narrator says:
«فكنت آخذ البعير بالبعيرين إلى إبل الصدقة»
“I used to take one camel in exchange for two camels from the camels of ṣadaqah (to be repaid later).”
(Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 1358; Aḥmad: 2/171; Abū Dāwūd: 3357, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ; al-Dāraquṭnī: 3/70; al-Ḥākim: 2/56; al-Bayhaqī: 5/278)
➌ Ḥadīth of Anas رضي الله عنه:
“The Prophet ﷺ purchased Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها from Dihyah al-Kalbī in exchange for seven slaves.”
(Aḥmad: 3/123; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1365; Abū Dāwūd: 2997; Ibn Mājah: 2272; al-Bayhaqī: 5/287)
➍ Ḥadīth of Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه:
«أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن بيع الحيوان بالحيوان»
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade selling an animal for another animal on deferred payment.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1841; al-Mishkāt: 2822; Abū Dāwūd: 3356; al-Tirmidhī: 1237; Ibn Mājah: 2270; al-Dārimī: 2/254; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 4/60; al-Bayhaqī: 5/288)
Scholarly Reconciliation
Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله reconciled the prohibition and permission by explaining that the ḥadīth forbidding it refers to both sides having deferred payment (bayʿ al-kālīʾ bil-kālīʾ).
Imām al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله also preferred this view.
(Maʿālim al-Sunan: 5/29; Subul al-Salām: 3/1130)
Scholarly Opinions on the Issue
- Majority (Jumhūr), al-Shāfiʿī, Isḥāq: Permissible to sell one animal for another with difference in number or value, whether cash or deferred.
- Mālik: Permissible only if the species is different.
- Ḥanafīs, al-Thawrī, Aḥmad: Absolutely prohibited if deferred payment is involved.
(Ḥilyat al-ʿUlamāʾ: 4/154; al-Ḥāwī: 5/100; al-Mabsūṭ: 12/122; al-Hidāyah: 3/62; al-Mughnī: 6/64; Subul al-Salām: 3/51)
Preferred (Rājiḥ) Opinion:
The opinion of the majority (jumhūr) is stronger — it is permissible.
(Subul al-Salām: 3/1136)
