Types of “Two Sales in One Transaction” (Bay‘atayn fī Bay‘ah) and Its Application on Installment Purchases
Source: Aḥkām wa Masā’il, Issues of Buying and Selling, Vol. 1, p. 371
❖ Question:
How many forms can the ḥadīth «نَهٰی عَنْ بَيْعَتَيْنِ فِی بَيْعَةٍ» (“He forbade two sales in one transaction”) take, and how does this apply to goods purchased on installments?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d!
✔ Relevant Aḥādīth:
① First ḥadīth:
«نَهَی عَنْ بَيْعَتَيْنِ فِيْ بَيْعَةٍ»
Meaning: “The Prophet ﷺ forbade two sales in one transaction.”
② Second ḥadīth:
«مَنْ بَاعَ بَيْعتَيْنِ فِيْ بَيْعَةٍ فَلَهُ أَوْکَسُهُمَا أَوِ الرِّبَا»
(Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Buyū‘, Bāb fī man bā‘a bay‘atayn fī bay‘ah)
Translation:
“Whoever conducts two sales in one transaction, then he is entitled only to the lower of the two prices, or else it is ribā (usury).”
✔ Application on Installment Purchases:
This ḥadīth explicitly applies to goods purchased on installments, especially when the total installment price is higher than the cash price.
- If an item is sold such that the cash price is one figure and the installment price is another figure, and both options are offered in a single sale without specifying which one applies, this falls under “two sales in one transaction.”
❖ Conclusion:
Any transaction in which the installment price is set higher than the cash price, and both are treated as one sale, falls under the prohibition of this ḥadīth. Such a transaction becomes impermissible because of the risk of ribā or deception.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
