In the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
we used to be called brokers, but the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
came upon us one day, and called us by a better name than
that, saying: O company of merchants, unprofitable speech
and swearing takes place in business dealings, so mix it
with sadaqah (alms).
A man seized his debtor who owed ten dinars to him. He
said to him: I swear by Allah, I shall not leave you until
you pay off (my debt) to me or bring a surety. The Prophet
(peace_be_upon_him) stood as a surety for him.
He then brought as much (money) as he promised. The
Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) asked: From where did you
acquire this gold? He replied: From a mine. He said: We
have no need of it; there is no good in it. Then the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) paid (the debt) on
his behalf.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A time is
certainly coming to mankind when only the receiver of
usury will remain, and if he does not receive it, some of
its vapour will reach him. Ibn Isa said: Some of its dust
will reach him.
Asim ibn Kulayb quoted his father's authority for the
following statement by one of the Ansar: We went out with
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) to a funeral, and
I saw the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) at the
grave giving this instruction to the grave-digger:
Make it wide on the side of his feet, and make it wide
on the side of his head. When he came back, he was
received by a man who conveyed an invitation from a woman.
So he came (to her), to it food was brought, and he put
his hand (i.e. took a morsel in his hand); the people did
the same and they ate. Our fathers noticed that the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was moving a morsel
around his mouth.
He then said: I find the flesh of a sheep which has
been taken without its owner's permission.
The woman sent a message to say: Apostle of Allah, I
sent (someone) to an-Naqi' to have a sheep bought for me,
but there was none; so I sent (a message) to my neighbour
who had bought a sheep, asking him to send it to me for
the price (he had paid), but he could not be found. I,
therefore, sent (a message) to his wife and she sent it to
me.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Give
this food to the prisoners.
I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say in
the Farewell Pilgrimage: "Lo, all claims to usury of the
pre-Islamic period have been abolished. You shall have
your capital sums, deal not unjustly and you shall not be
dealt with unjustly.
Lo, all claims for blood-vengeance belonging to the
pre-Islamic period have been abolished. The first of those
murdered among us whose blood-vengeance I remit is al-Harith
ibn AbdulMuttalib, who suckled among Banu Layth and killed
by Hudhayl."
He then said: O Allah, have I conveyed the message?
They said: Yes, saying it three times. He then said: O
Allah, be witness, saying it three times.
I and Makhrafah al-Abdi imported some garments from
Hajar, and brought them to Mecca. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
came to us walking, and after he had bargained with us for
some trousers, we sold them to him. There was a man who
was weighing for payment. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
said to him: Weigh out and give overweight.
(The tradition mentioned above (No. 3330) has also been
transmitted by AbuSafwan ibn Umayrah through a different
chain of narrators.)
This version has: AbuSafwan said: I came to the Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) at Mecca before his
immigration. He then narrated the rest of the tradition,
but he did not mention the words "who was weighing for
payment".
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: (The standard)
weight is the weight of the people of Mecca, and the
(standard) measure is the measure of the people of Medina.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) addressed us
and said: Is here any one of such and such tribe present?
But no one replied.
He again asked: Is here any one of such and such tribe
present? But no one replied.
He again asked: Is here any one of such and such tribe?
Then a man stood and said: I am (here), Apostle of
Allah.
He said: What prevented you from replying the first two
times? I wish to tell you something good.
Your companion has been detained (from entering
Paradise) on account of his debt. Then I saw him that he
paid off all his debt on his behalf and there remained no
one to demand from him anything.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: After the grave
sins which Allah has prohibited the greatest sin is that a
man dies while he has debt due from him and does not leave
anything to pay it off, and meets Him with it.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) would not say
funeral prayer over a person who died while the debt was
due from him. A dead Muslim was brought to him and he
asked: Is there any debt due from him? They (the people)
said: Yes, two dirhams. He said: Pray yourselves over your
companion.
Then AbuQatadah al-Ansari said: I shall pay them,
Apostle of Allah. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
then prayed over him.
When Allah granted conquests to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him),
he said: I am nearer to every believer than himself, so if
anyone (dies and) leaves a debt, I shall be responsible
for paying it; and if anyone leaves property, it goes to
his heirs.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Gold is
to be paid for with gold, raw and coined, silver with
silver, raw and coined (in equal weight), wheat with wheat
in equal measure, barley with barley in equal measure,
dates with dates in equal measure, salt by salt with equal
measure; if anyone gives more or asks more, he has dealt
in usury. But there is no harm in selling gold for silver
and silver (for gold), in unequal weight, payment being
made on the spot. Do not sell them if they are to be paid
for later. There is no harm in selling wheat for barley
and barley (for wheat) in unequal measure, payment being
made on the spot. If the payment is to be made later, then
do not sell them.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was brought a necklace
in which there were gold and pearls.
(The narrators AbuBakr and (Ahmad) Ibn Mani' said: The
pearls were set with gold in it, and a man bought it for
nine or seven dinars.)
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: (It must not be
sold) till the contents are considered separately. The
narrator said: He returned it till the contents were
considered separately. The narrator Ibn Asa said: By this
I intended trade.
I used to sell camels at al-Baqi for dinars and take
dirhams for them, and sell for dirhams and take dinars for
them. I would take these for these and give these for
these. I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
who was in the house of Hafsah. I said: Apostle of Allah ,
take it easy, I shall ask you (a question): I sell camels
at al-Baqi'. I sell (them) for dinars and take dirhams and
I sell for dirhams and take dinars. I take these for
these, and give these for these. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
then said: There is no harm in taking them at the current
rate so long as you do not separate leaving something to
be settled.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) commanded him
to equip an army, but the camels were insufficient. So he
commanded him to keep back the young camels of sadaqah,
and he was taking a camel to be replaced by two when the
camels of sadaqah came.
Zayd AbuAyyash asked Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas about the sale
of the soft and white kind of wheat for barley. Sa'd said:
Which of them is better? He replied: Soft and white kind
of wheat. So he forbade him from it and said: I heard the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say, when he was
asked about buying dry dates for fresh. The Apostle of
Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Are fresh dates diminished
when they become dry? The (the people) replied: Yes. So
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade that.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade to
sell spoils of war till they are appointed, and to sell
palm trees till they are safe from every blight, and a man
praying without tying belt.
Yunus said: I asked AbuzZinad about the sale of fruits
before they were clearly in good condition, and what was
said about it.
He replied: Urwah ibn az-Zubayr reports a tradition
from Sahl ibn AbuHathmah on the authority of Zayd ibn
Thabit who said: The people used to sell fruits before
they were clearly in good condition. When the people cut
off the fruits, and were demanded to pay the price, the
buyer said: The fruits have been smitten by duman, qusham
and murad fruit diseases on which they used to dispute.
When their disputes which were brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
increased, the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said
to them as an advice: No, do not sell fruits till they are
in good condition, due to a large number of their disputes
and differences.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) forbade the sale of
fruits till they were clearly in good condition , and
(ordered that) they should not be sold but for dinar or
dirham except Araya.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) forbade selling fruits
years ahead, and commanded that unforeseen loss be
remitted in respect of what is affected by blight.
A time is certainly coming to mankind when people will
bite each other and a rich man will hold fast, what he has
in his possession (i.e. his property), though he was not
commanded for that. Allah, Most High, said: "And do not
forget liberality between yourselves." The men who are
forced will contract sale while the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
forbade forced contract, one which involves some
uncertainty, and the sale of fruit before it is ripe.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) having said:
Allah, Most High, says: "I make a third with two partners
as long as one of them does not cheat the other, but when
he cheats him, I depart from them."
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave him a dinar to buy
a sacrificial animal or a sheep. He bought two sheep, sold
one of them for a dinar, and brought him a sheep and dinar.
So he invoked a blessing on him in his business dealing,
and he was such that if had he bought dust he would have
made a profit from it.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) sent with him
a dinar to buy a sacrificial animal for him. He bought a
sheep for a dinar, sold it for two and then returned and
bought a sacrificial animal for a dinar for him and
brought the (extra) dinar to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him).
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave it as alms (sadaqah)
and invoked blessing on him in his trading.
I Ammar, and Sa'd became partners in what we would
receive on the day of Badr. Sa'd then brought two
prisoners, but I and Ammar did not bring anything.
Amr ibn Dinar said: I heard Ibn Umar say: We did not
see any harm in sharecropping till I heard Rafi' ibn
Khadij say: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has
forbidden it. So I mentioned it to Tawus. He said: Ibn
Abbas told me that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
had not forbidden it, but said: It is better for one of
you to lend to his brother than to take a prescribed sum
from him.
Zayd ibn Thabit said: May Allah forgive Rafi' ibn
Khadij. I swear by Allah, I have more knowledge of Hadith
than him. Two persons of the Ansar (according to the
version of Musaddad) came to him who were disputing with
each other. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said:
If this is your position, then do not lease the
agricultural land. The version of Musaddad has: So he (Rafi'
ibn Khadij) heard his statement: Do not lease agricultural
lands.
We used to lease land for what grew by the streamlets
and for what was watered from them. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
forbade us to do that, and commanded us to lease if for
gold or silver.
Hanzalah ibn Qays said that he asked Rafi' ibn Khadij
about the lease of land. He replied: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) forbade the leasing of land. I asked:
(Did he forbid) for gold and silver (i.e. dinars and
dirhams)? He replied: If it is against gold and silver,
then there is no harm in it.
AbuRafi' came to us from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade us
from a work which benefited us; but obedience to Allah and
His Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) is more beneficial to us.
He forbade that one of us cultivates land except the one
which he owns or the land which a man lends him (to
cultivate).
Usayd ibn Zubayr said: Rafi' ibn Khadij came to us and
said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbids you
from a work which is beneficial to you; and obedience to
Allah and His Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) is more
beneficial to you. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
forbids you from renting land for a share of its produce
and he said: If anyone is not in need of his land he
should lend it to his brother or leave it.
AbuJa'far al-Khatmi said: My uncle sent me and his
slave to Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab. We said to him, there is
something which has reached us about sharecropping. He
replied: Ibn Umar did not see any harm in it until a
tradition reached him from Rafi' ibn Khadij. He then came
to him and Rafi' told him that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
came to Banu Harithah and saw crop in the land of Zuhayr.
He said: What an excellent crop of Zuhayr is! They said:
It does not belong to Zuhayr. He asked: Is this not the
land of Zuhayr? They said: Yes, but the crop belongs to
so-and-so. He said: Take your crop and give him the wages.
Rafi' said: We took our crop and gave him the wages. Sa'id
(ibn al-Musayyab) said: Lend your brother or employ him
for dirhams.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade
muhaqalah and muzabanah. Those who cultivate land are
three: a man who has (his own) land and he tills it: a man
who has been lent land and he tills the one lent to him; a
man who employs another man to till land against gold (dinars)
or silver (dirhams).
Rafi' had cultivated a land. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
passed him when he was watering it. So he asked him: To
whom does the crop belong, and to whom does the land
belong? He replied: The crop is mine for my seed and
labour. The half (of the crop) is mine and the half for
so-and-so. He said: You conducted usurious transaction.
Return the land to its owner and take your wages and cost.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone sows in
other people's land without their permission, he has no
right to any of the crop, but he may have what it cost
him.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) used to send Abdullah
ibn Rawahah (to Khaybar), and he would assess the amount
of dates when they began to ripen before they were eaten
(by the Jews). He would then give choice to the Jews that
they have them (on their possession) by that assessment or
could assign to them (Muslims) by that assignment, so that
the (amount of) zakat could be calculated before the fruit
became eatable and distributed (among the people).
When Allah bestowed Khaybar on His Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
as fay' (as a result of conquest without fighting), the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) allowed (them) to
remain there as they were before, and apportioned it
between him and them. He then sent Abdullah ibn Rawahah
who assessed (the amount of dates) upon them.
Ibn Rawahah assessed them (the amount of dates) at
forty thousand wasqs, and when Ibn Rawahah gave them
option, the Jews took the fruits in their possession and
twenty thousand wasqs of dates were due from them.