Prohibition of Two Sales in One Transaction and Profiting Before Taking Possession
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
➊ Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates:
«نهى رسول الله عن بيعتين فى بيعة»
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ forbade two sales in one sale.”
In the narration of Sunan Abī Dāwūd, the wording is:
«من باع بيعتين فى بيعة فله أوكسهما أو الربا»
“Whoever sells two prices for one item, he may take the lesser of them, otherwise it will be ribā (usury).”
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 5/149; al-Tirmidhī: 1231, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ: Bāb mā jāʾa fī al-nahy ʿan bayʿatayn fī bayʿah; Abū Dāwūd: 3461; al-Nasāʾī: 4232; al-Dārimī: 1/319; Aḥmad: 2/432]
The example of this is the same as the case of “two conditions in one sale” already explained.
[al-Nihāyah by Ibn al-Athīr: 2/459]
Two common explanations given by scholars:
① A man says to another: “I sell you this cloth for ten rupees cash or twenty rupees on credit.” This sale is invalid according to the majority of scholars.
② A man says to another: “I sell you my slave for twenty dinars on the condition that you sell me your maid.” This sale is also invalid.
[Subul al-Salām: 3/1070; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/223; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/487]
Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله explains that the reason for prohibiting two sales in one transaction is the lack of a fixed price when one item is offered at two prices.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/523]
➋ Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنه narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
«ولا ربح ما لم يضمن»
“It is not permissible to make a profit from something until you bear its liability.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 1212; 3/212; al-Bayhaqī: 5/339; Musnad al-Ṭayālisī: p. 298; al-Dārimī: 2/253]
Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله explains: This applies when a person sells an item after purchasing it but before taking possession (while it is still under the seller’s liability). Such a sale is invalid, and profiting from it is impermissible.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/555]
Further clarification:
It means that a person may profit from an item only when he also bears the risk of its loss. If the risk of loss is not upon him (such as selling before taking possession, and if it perishes, the loss is on the seller), then the buyer is not permitted to profit from it.
[Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 4/307; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/493]
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
➊ Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates:
«نهى رسول الله عن بيعتين فى بيعة»
“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ forbade two sales in one sale.”
In the narration of Sunan Abī Dāwūd, the wording is:
«من باع بيعتين فى بيعة فله أوكسهما أو الربا»
“Whoever sells two prices for one item, he may take the lesser of them, otherwise it will be ribā (usury).”
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 5/149; al-Tirmidhī: 1231, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ: Bāb mā jāʾa fī al-nahy ʿan bayʿatayn fī bayʿah; Abū Dāwūd: 3461; al-Nasāʾī: 4232; al-Dārimī: 1/319; Aḥmad: 2/432]
The example of this is the same as the case of “two conditions in one sale” already explained.
[al-Nihāyah by Ibn al-Athīr: 2/459]
Two common explanations given by scholars:
① A man says to another: “I sell you this cloth for ten rupees cash or twenty rupees on credit.” This sale is invalid according to the majority of scholars.
② A man says to another: “I sell you my slave for twenty dinars on the condition that you sell me your maid.” This sale is also invalid.
[Subul al-Salām: 3/1070; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/223; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/487]
Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله explains that the reason for prohibiting two sales in one transaction is the lack of a fixed price when one item is offered at two prices.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/523]
➋ Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنه narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
«ولا ربح ما لم يضمن»
“It is not permissible to make a profit from something until you bear its liability.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 1212; 3/212; al-Bayhaqī: 5/339; Musnad al-Ṭayālisī: p. 298; al-Dārimī: 2/253]
Imām al-Shawkānī رحمه الله explains: This applies when a person sells an item after purchasing it but before taking possession (while it is still under the seller’s liability). Such a sale is invalid, and profiting from it is impermissible.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/555]
Further clarification:
It means that a person may profit from an item only when he also bears the risk of its loss. If the risk of loss is not upon him (such as selling before taking possession, and if it perishes, the loss is on the seller), then the buyer is not permitted to profit from it.
[Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 4/307; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/493]
