LEASE SECTION · 70 – SELLING PROPERTY NOT IN YOUR POSSESSION
Hakim ibn Hizam, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
He said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: “O Messenger of Allah, a customer comes to me requesting an item that I do not have in my shop. Should I tell him that I will procure it for him from the marketplace?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: "No, do not sell what you do not possess." [279]
**EXPLANATION:**
Selling something one does not own is like selling air. Even if the price of the item is established in the marketplace, its owner may refuse to sell it or may not be satisfied with the offered price. As mentioned in the subsequent hadith, this relates to both *salaf* (pre-existing goods) and advance purchase. If the sale is made on a cash basis for one thousand [dirhams], and on credit for two thousand, selling an item one does not possess and consuming its money is impermissible. However, if they agree that the customer will take it on a cash basis for one thousand, and they reach agreement on this, then the transaction is permissible because the customer knows upon what he has settled. The uncertainty in the transaction is removed.
Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “Two things in a sale are [unacceptable]: selling something one possesses not, and specifying a profit on something whose price is uncertain.”