Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
What is the ruling on buying canned foods which we cannot see the inside of, such as beans, chic peas, olives and like?
A condition for a valid transaction in our school is that the merchandise being bought be known by sight or by seeing a part of it that indicates the rest of it. However, our imams have made an exception in some cases where the transaction is valid without seeing the item because of need or being forgiven it, as it says in the Tuhfa.
Among these things is the issue of fuqa`, which is a drink that is made from a type of raisin such as an apricot and others, as it is explained in the super-commentaries of the Tuhfa. It is usually sold in a sealed can without one seeing inside of it, and they have permitted selling it. This is because it is in the best interest of the product to be preserved in a sealed can, so seeing it is forgiven.
Al-Khatib said in the Mughni, “Indeed, it is valid without seeing it, because its preservation is in its best interest, and because of the hardship in seeing it, and because it is a small amount when the custom is tolerant towards it [s. buying it without seeing the inside] and there is no deceptive uncertainty [gharar] in it that would cause one to miss out on a recognized purpose.”
And fatwas have been given on the permissibility of buying these canned good by our Shaykh, Muhammad al-Khatib, based on the permissibility of the above-mentioned fuqa` drink.
Amjad Rasheed
[Translated by Sr. Shazia Ahmad]