Book of Livelihood
Chapter on Sales
وَ رَوَى زُرْعَةُ عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ: فِي اَلرَّجُلِ يَشْتَرِي اَلْعَبْدَ وَ هُوَ آبِقٌ عَنْ أَهْلِهِ قَالَ "لاَ يَصْلُحُ لَهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشْتَرِيَ مَعَهُ شَيْئاً آخَرَ وَ يَقُولَ أَشْتَرِي مِنْكَ هَذَا اَلشَّيْءَ وَ عَبْدَكَ بِكَذَا وَ كَذَا فَإِنْ لَمْ يَقْدِرْ عَلَى اَلْعَبْدِ كَانَ اَلثَّمَنُ اَلَّذِي نَقَدَهُ فِيمَا اِشْتَرَى مِنْهُ".
Zur'ah narrated from Sama'ah, from Abu Abdillah (a.s) regarding a man who purchases a slave while the slave has run away from his owner. Imam (a.s) said: "It is not permissible for him unless he purchases something else along with him and says, 'I purchase from you this item and your slave for such and such amount.' If he is unable to obtain the slave, then the payment he made will apply to what he has purchased from him."
وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ عَنِ اَلرَّجُلِ يَكُونُ لِي عَلَيْهِ أَحْمَالٌ بِكَيْلٍ مُسَمًّى فَبَعَثَ إِلَيَّ بِأَحْمَالٍ مِنْهَا أَقَلُّ مِنَ اَلْكَيْلِ اَلَّذِي لِي عَلَيْهِ فَآخُذُهَا مُجَازَفَةً فَقَالَ "لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ" قَالَ وَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ اَلرَّجُلِ يَكُونُ لَهُ عَلَى اَلْآخَرِ مِائَةُ كُرٍّ تَمْراً وَ لَهُ نَخْلٌ فَيَأْتِيهِ فَيَقُولُ أَعْطِنِي نَخْلَكَ هَذَا بِمَا عَلَيْكَ فَكَأَنَّهُ كَرِهَهُ قَالَ وَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ اَلرَّجُلَيْنِ يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُمَا اَلنَّخْلُ فَيَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ اِخْتَرْ إِمَّا أَنْ تَأْخُذَ هَذَا اَلنَّخْلَ بِكَذَا وَ كَذَا كَيْلاً مُسَمًّى وَ تُعْطِيَنِي نِصْفَ هَذَا اَلْكَيْلِ زَادَ أَوْ نَقَصَ وَ إِمَّا أَنْ آخُذَهُ أَنَا بِذَلِكَ قَالَ "لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ".
Yaqub ibn Shuayb narrated: I asked Abu Abdillah (a.s) about a man who owes me loads of goods measured by a specific scale, but he sends me loads that are less than the specified measurement I am owed. Can I take them without measuring precisely (mujazafah)? Imam (a.s) said: "There is no harm in it." He said: I also asked Imam (a.s) about a man who owes another person a hundred kur of dates and owns date palms. He comes to him and says, "Give me these date palms in place of what you owe me." It was as if Imam (a.s) disliked it. He said: I asked Imam (a.s) about two men who jointly own date palms, and one of them says to the other, "Choose, either you take this date palm for such and such a specified measure and give me half of this measure, whether it increases or decreases, or I will take it under the same terms." Imam (a.s) said: "There is no harm in it."
وَ رَوَى جَمِيلٌ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ اِشْتَرَى تِبْنَ بَيْدَرٍ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُدَاسَ تِبْنَ كُلِّ كُرٍّ بِشَيْءٍ مَعْلُومٍ فَيَأْخُذُ اَلتِّبْنَ وَ يَبِيعُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُكَالَ اَلطَّعَامُ قَالَ "لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ".
Jameel narrated from Zurara who said: I asked Abu Ja'far Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir (a.s) about a man who purchased straw from a threshing floor before it was threshed, each load of straw for a specified amount, and he took the straw and sold it before the grain was measured. Imam (a.s) said: "There is no harm in it."
وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اَلْمَلِكِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ أَشْتَرِي مِائَةَ رَاوِيَةٍ مِنْ زَيْتٍ وَ أَعْتَرِضُ رَاوِيَةً أَوِ اِثْنَتَيْنِ وَ أَتَّزِنُهُمَا ثُمَّ آخُذُ سَائِرَهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ "لاَ بَأْسَ".
It is narrated from Abdul-Malik bin Amr who said: I said to Abu Abdillah (a.s), "I purchase one hundred containers of oil, and I inspect one or two containers and weigh them, then take the rest based on that measurement." Imam (a.s) said: "There is no harm."
وَ رَوَى حَمَّادٌ عَنِ اَلْحَلَبِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ اَلرَّجُلِ يَكُونُ لَهُ اَلدَّيْنُ وَ مَعَهُ رَهْنٌ أَ يَشْتَرِيهِ قَالَ "نَعَمْ".
Hammad narrated from Al-Halabi, from Abu Abdillah (a.s), who said: I asked Imam (a.s) about a man who has a debt and holds collateral along with it, can he purchase it? Imam (a.s) said: "Yes."
وَ رَوَى اِبْنُ مُسْكَانَ عَنِ اَلْحَلَبِيِّ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ: "مَا كَانَ مِنْ طَعَامٍ سَمَّيْتَ فِيهِ كَيْلاً فَلاَ يَصْلُحُ مُجَازَفَةً".
Ibn Muskan narrated from Al-Halabi who said that Abu Abdillah (a.s) said: "Any food for which a specific measure has been stipulated cannot be sold without measurement."
وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ سِرْحَانَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: كَانَ مَعِي جِرَابَانِ مِنْ مِسْكٍ أَحَدُهُمَا رَطْبٌ وَ اَلْآخَرُ يَابِسٌ فَبَدَأْتُ بِالرَّطْبِ فَبِعْتُهُ ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُ اَلْيَابِسَ أَبِيعُهُ فَإِذَا أَنَا لاَ أُعْطَى بِالْيَابِسِ اَلثَّمَنَ اَلَّذِي يَسْوَى وَ لاَ يَزِيدُونِّي عَلَى ثَمَنِ اَلرَّطْبِ فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ أَ يَصْلُحُ لِي أَنْ أُنَدِّيَهُ قَالَ "لاَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تُعْلِمَهُمْ" قَالَ فَنَدَّيْتُهُ ثُمَّ أَعْلَمْتُهُمْ قَالَ "لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ إِذَا أَعْلَمْتَهُمْ".
It is narrated from Dawood bin Sirhan, from Abu Abdillah (a.s), who said: I had two sacks of musk-one was moist, and the other was dry. I started with the moist one and sold it. Then I took the dry one to sell, but I found that I was not offered the price it was worth, and they would not pay me more than the price of the moist musk. So I asked Imam (a.s) about that, whether it was permissible for me to mix them. Imam (a.s) said: "No, unless you inform them." He said: "So I mixed them and then informed them." Imam (a.s) said: "There is no harm in it if you inform them."
وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ عَنْ وَلَدِ اَلزِّنَا أَ يُبَاعُ وَ يُشْتَرَى وَ يُسْتَخْدَمُ قَالَ "نَعَمْ " قُلْتُ فَيُسْتَنْكَحُ قَالَ "نَعَمْ وَ لاَ تَطْلُبُ وَلَدَهَا ".
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Sinan who said: I asked Abu Abdillah (a.s) about a child born out of wedlock, can he be sold, purchased, and employed as a servant? Imam (a.s) said: "Yes." I said: "Can he be married?" Imam (a.s) said: "Yes, but do not seek her offspring."
وَ سَأَلَهُ سَمَاعَةُ: عَنْ شِرَاءِ اَلْخِيَانَةِ وَ اَلسَّرِقَةِ قَالَ "إِذَا عَرَفْتَ أَنَّهُ كَذَلِكَ فَلاَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ شَيْئاً تَشْتَرِيهِ مِنَ اَلْعُمَّالِ".
Sama'ah asked him about purchasing stolen or embezzled goods. Imam (a.s) said: "If you know that it is so, then no, unless it is something you are buying from the authorities."
وَ رَوَى مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ اَلْفُضَيْلِ عَنْ أَبِي اَلصَّبَّاحِ اَلْكِنَانِيِّ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ عَنِ اَلْمُضَارَبَةِ يُعْطَى اَلرَّجُلُ اَلْمَالَ فَيَخْرُجُ بِهِ إِلَى أَرْضٍ وَ يُنْهَى أَنْ يَخْرُجَ بِهِ إِلَى أَرْضٍ غَيْرِهَا فَعَصَى وَ خَرَجَ إِلَى أَرْضٍ أُخْرَى فَعَطِبَ اَلْمَالُ فَقَالَ "هُوَ ضَامِنٌ وَ إِنْ سَلِمَ وَ رَبِحَ فَالرِّبْحُ بَيْنَهُمَا ".
Muhammad bin Al-Fudayl narrated from Abu Al-Sabbah Al-Kinani who said: I asked Abu Abdillah (a.s) about a partnership in which a man is given wealth and instructed to take it to a specific land, but he disobeys and takes it to another land, and the wealth is lost. Imam (a.s) said: "He is liable. However, if it is safe and profits are made, then the profit is to be shared between them."
