Prohibition of Selling Ḥabl al-Ḥabalah, Mulāmasah, and Munābadhah in Islam

Prohibition of Selling the Offspring of a Pregnant Animal, ‘Mulāmasah’, and ‘Munābadhah’ in Sharīʿah


Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori

1. Prohibition of Selling ‘Ḥabl al-Ḥabalah’ (Pregnant Offspring Sale)​

Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of Ḥabl al-Ḥabalah.


In the Age of Ignorance, this sale was:
A man would buy a she-camel on the condition that its price would be paid when it gives birth, and then that calf (still in its mother’s womb) grows and gives birth.
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1514; al-Muwaṭṭaʾ: 2/653; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2143; al-Tirmidhī: 1229; Abū Dāwūd: 3380; Musnad Aḥmad: 2/63; al-Nasāʾī: 4624)

2. Prohibition of Selling ‘Mulāqiḥ’ and ‘Muḍāmin’​

Ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the sale of Mulāqiḥ and Muḍāmin.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr: 6937; Kashf al-Astār: 1267; Naṣb al-Rāyah: 4/10)

• Muḍāmin – plural of Muḍminah: the semen in the backs of male camels or stallions (used for breeding).
• Mulāqiḥ – plural of Mulqūḥah: the fetuses in the wombs of pregnant females.
  (Subul al-Salām 3/1105; al-Musawwī 2/23)

3. Scholarly Explanations of Ḥabl al-Ḥabalah​

1. View of Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī – Selling the unborn offspring of an unborn offspring (i.e., selling what will be born from a fetus after it matures) is prohibited.
2. View of Aḥmad, Isḥāq, al-Tirmidhī – Selling an animal on the condition that the buyer will get the offspring of its unborn calf.

Preferred View – Ibn Ḥajar and al-Nawawī preferred the first explanation.


Reason for Prohibition – It involves selling something non-existent and unknown, falling under gharar (uncertainty) and tadlis (deception).
(References: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/93; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 4/482; Nayl al-Awṭār 3/517; Subul al-Salām 3/1061)

4. Prohibition of ‘Mulāmasah’ and ‘Munābadhah’ Sales​

Ḥadīth of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade Mulāmasah and Munābadhah in sales.

• Mulāmasah – The buyer touches the seller’s garment (by day or night) without inspecting it further, and the sale becomes binding merely by touch.
• Munābadhah – A person throws his garment to another as an offer, and without examination or mutual agreement, the sale is considered concluded.

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2144; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 512; Abū Dāwūd: 3377; al-Nasāʾī: 7/260; Ibn Mājah: 217; al-Dārimī: 2/169; Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 730; Ibn al-Jārūd: 592; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 14987; Abū Yaʿlā: 976; al-Bayhaqī: 5/342)


Reason for Prohibition – These sales involve deception, ignorance about the goods, and nullification of the option of the session (Khyār al-Majlis).
(Nayl al-Awṭār 3/521)


Conclusion:
The following sales are ḥarām due to gharar, jahālah (unknown description), and potential injustice:

• Ḥabl al-Ḥabalah (sale of unborn offspring of an unborn offspring) –
• Mulāqiḥ (sale of fetuses in wombs) –
• Muḍāmin (sale of semen in male animals) –
• Mulāmasah (sale concluded by mere touch) –
• Munābadhah (sale concluded by throwing goods without inspection) –