Can We Sell Goods Right Away at the Location Where They Were Purchased?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it haram to sell something, like a piece of land, in the place it was bought because the land was purchased where the land is located, so is it haram to sell it in that location?

Could you explain this hadith narrated by Daraqutni and Abu Dawud from Zayd ibn Thabit, that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade selling goods where they were bought before the merchants moved them to their places?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are well.

The hadith you mention is in the full below:

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَوْفٍ الطَّائِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ الْوَهْبِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ حُنَيْنٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ ابْتَعْتُ زَيْتًا فِي السُّوقِ فَلَمَّا اسْتَوْجَبْتُهُ لِنَفْسِي لَقِيَنِي رَجُلٌ فَأَعْطَانِي بِهِ رِبْحًا حَسَنًا فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَضْرِبَ عَلَى يَدِهِ فَأَخَذَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ خَلْفِي بِذِرَاعِي فَالْتَفَتُّ فَإِذَا زَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ فَقَالَ لاَ تَبِعْهُ حَيْثُ ابْتَعْتَهُ حَتَّى تَحُوزَهُ إِلَى رَحْلِكَ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَى أَنْ تُبَاعَ السِّلَعُ حَيْثُ تُبْتَاعُ حَتَّى يَحُوزَهَا التُّجَّارُ إِلَى رِحَالِهِمْ ‏.‏

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) narrated: “I bought olive oil in the market. When I became its owner, a man met me and offered a good profit for it. I intended to settle the bargain with him, but a man caught hold of my hand from behind. When I turned, I found that he was Zayd ibn Thabit. He said, ‘Do not sell it on the spot where you have bought it until you take it to your house, for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) forbade to sell the goods where they are purchased until the tradesmen take them to their houses.’” [Abu Dawud]

Commentators of hadith say the following hadith means one should not sell a purchased item straightaway until one has full possession of it.  The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) emphasized possession by moving the item away from its place of purchase to one’s house or business place.

However, in the Hanafi school, one can sell immovable items before taking full possession of them. In the modern day, one will have to possess the title deeds to a house or building before selling it off to another. [Badr al-Din al-Ayni, Nukhab al-Afkar Fi Sharh Mani al-Athar; Abbad, Sharh al-Sunan Abi Dawud; Khalil Saharanpuri, Badhl al-Majhid Li Sharh Abi Dawud]

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani