SHOPPING SECTION · 19 – BARGAINING
From Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) forbade selling the fresh date on the tree at the same measure as dates on the ground, nor the fresh grape from the vine at the same measure as dried grapes, nor unthreshed wheat at the same measure as threshed wheat. [194]
EXPLANATION
In legal terminology, *muzabanah* refers to selling a fresh fruit still attached to the tree by estimating its value and selling it for the equivalent of a measured amount of the dried fruit that has already been harvested.
If one measure of fresh dates is sold for the same measure of dried dates, there is a significant difference between them. For the fresh date diminishes considerably when it dries and shrinks. The same applies to fresh grapes and unthreshed wheat. One measure of fresh grapes does not remain as one measure when they dry. Therefore, selling one measure of fresh grapes for one measure of dried grapes is not permissible.