CHAPTER ON RENT · 45 – MEETING THE SELLER BEFORE REACHING THE MARKETPLACE
Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Let none of you make a sale dependent on another sale. Do not meet the goods coming to the market before they reach it.” [239]
**Explanation:**
A Muslim must adhere to Islamic etiquette even in trade. It is not appropriate for a believer who has sold an item for fifty dirhams to dissuade a buyer by saying, “I will give you this same commodity for forty-five dirhams,” thereby angering the first seller. This is a matter of propriety. Goods come from villages to cities; these goods descend into the market, and everyone fulfills their needs from there. But it is forbidden to intercept the goods before they reach the city and learn the market prices, as doing so would be deceiving the seller. Furthermore, adding a markup to goods encountered on the road and then selling them in the market would harm the buyers.
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade me from objecting to the buyer bringing goods. He said, "If a customer meets the goods, then purchases them on the road, the owner of the goods is free to sell or not sell when he arrives at the market (and learns the prices)."
Abū Alī says:
I heard Abū Dāwūd say: “The meaning of Sufyān’s saying, ‘Let none of you make a sale upon another's sale,’ is like one of you saying to him, 'I have something better than yours for ten dirhams.’”