Islamic Commercial Matters FAQ #

Original Question: Some people sell goods that they do not currently have in their possession. Is this allowed in Islam?

Selling goods that are not in the seller’s possession is of two folds.

First is selling homogenous goods with no unique perceived attributes and are viewed as identical in the customers’ eyes, such as vegetables, fruits, or grains.

Second is selling heterogeneous goods with attributes that are significantly different from each other, such as speciality goods or collectable items.

For homogenous goods, it is permissible to sell it before possession happened based on ‘sale according to attributes’ (bay’ al-muwasafah) or ‘sale by description’ (bay’ bil-sifah).

As for heterogeneous goods, it is impermissible to sell it before possession.

This is because of the ambiguity in delivery should any adverse circumstances happen that would cease the delivery of the ordered heterogeneous goods.