Question
Please advise on the ruling of buying and selling something without being in actual stock. E.g. I want to sell something from a catalogue. I show it to the customer, and ask them to make a down payment, after which I order online and when it’s received, they pay me the balance. I am open to them that I don’t have stock and that it’s on order. If not, what alternatives would you suggest?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The basic principle of trade is that one may not derive benefit/profit from any transaction until he takes upon himself the liability of the merchandise by taking possession of it. Possession is the underlying factor for the permissibility of the transaction.
The scenario you have mentioned is a type of drop-shipping, which is not permissible.[i]
The Shari’ah compliant alternative for this type of transaction is to conduct the transaction through the model of Salam, which is similar to your scenario but with extra conditions attached. However, this will only be permissible if the commodity is Makili (one that is sold by measure), Mawzuni (one that is sold by weight) or ‘Adad-e-Mutaqarib (one that has similar/identical units and is sold as a unit).
When transacting with the customer, the following conditions should be clearly mentioned and agreed upon:
- The seller is not in possession of the item and will arrange its delivery once the customer has paid the money.
- The price of the goods.
- The quantity of goods.
- The exact specifications and grade/quality of the goods.
- The place of delivery.
- The date of delivery. If an exact date cannot be set due to freight and customs logistics, a safe date that is later than the expected date should be set and the customer should be informed that the goods shall arrive ‘by this date’. If he is unwilling to take delivery before that date, the seller will have to wait for the set date in order to deliver.
- Full payment of goods should be made upfront.[ii]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Checked and Approved by
Mufti Nabeel Valli.
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
[i] الأصل المعروف بالمبسوط للشيباني (5/ 31)
وَلَا يجوز أَن يَبِيع مَا لم يقبض وَقد جَاءَ قي الْأَثر عَن رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم أَنه نهى عَن بيع الرجل مَا لم يقبض
الجوهرة النيرة على مختصر القدوري (1/ 203)
وَأَمَّا نَهْيُهُ عَنْ بَيْعِ مَا لَمْ يَقْبِضْ يَعْنِي فِي الْمَنْقُولَاتِ، وَأَمَّا نَهْيُهُ عَنْ بَيْعِ مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَهُ فَهُوَ أَنْ يَبِيعَ مَا لَيْسَ فِي مِلْكِهِ، ثُمَّ مَلَكَهُ بِوَجْهٍ مِنْ الْوُجُوهِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ إلَّا فِي السَّلَمِ فَإِنَّهُ رُخِّصَ فِيهِ
بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع (5/ 180)
(وَمِنْهَا) الْقَبْضُ فِي بَيْعِ الْمُشْتَرِي الْمَنْقُولَ فَلَا يَصِحُّ بَيْعُهُ قَبْلَ الْقَبْضِ؛ لِمَا رُوِيَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – «نَهَى عَنْ بَيْعِ مَا لَمْ يُقْبَضْ»
[ii] النتف في الفتاوى (1/ 459)
شرائط السلم
قال وشرائط السلم ثمانية اشياء في قول ابي حنيفة أولها ان يعين الجنس حنطة او شعيرا
والثاني أن يعين المقدار كيلا او وزنا
والثالث ان يبين الشرب سهليا او جبليا تمرا كرمانيا او سجزيا
والرابع ان يبين الصفة جيدا او رديئا او وسطا
والخامس ان يبين الاجل سنة او شهرا او اياما واقله ثلاثة ايام
والسادس ان يبين المكان الذي يوجد فيه ان كان للسلم حمل ومؤنة
والسابع ان يكون رأس المال معلوما
والثامن ان يكون رأس المال مدفوعا قبل الافتراق وفي قول ابي يوسف ومحمد وابي عبد الله شرائطه ستة اشياء وهي ما قال ابو حنيفة الا اثنين وهما ان يكون رأس المال غير مقوم جاز وانه لم يبين المكان جاز
بدائع الصنائع (7/ 146) [العلمية]
وَرُوِيَ عن مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّهُ قَدَّرَ بِالشَّهْرِ وهو الصَّحِيحُ لِأَنَّ الْأَجَلَ إنَّمَا شُرِطَ في السَّلَمِ تَرْفِيهًا وَتَيْسِيرًا على الْمُسْلَمِ إلَيْهِ لِيَتَمَكَّنَ من الِاكْتِسَابِ في الْمُدَّةِ وَالشَّهْرُ مُدَّةٌ مُعْتَبَرَةٌ يُمَكَّنُ فيها من الِاكْتِسَابِ فَيَتَحَقَّقُ مَعْنَى التَّرْفِيهِ فَأَمَّا ما دُونَهُ فَفِي حَدِّ الْقِلَّةِ فَكَانَ له حُكْمُ الْحُلُولِ وَاَللَّهُ عز وجل أَعْلَمُ