Does the prohibition mentioned in the Hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam, concerning the sale of what one does not possess, include the sale of a described item that is a liability (mawsuf fi al-dhimma)?
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited the sale of what is not in the seller's possession. This prohibition applies to selling a specific commodity before the seller possesses it, due to the element of (uncertainty/risk) involved. As for selling a described item that is a dhimmah (liability/obligation), there is a difference of opinion among the scholars. Some view it as falling under the prohibition, and that salam (forward contract) is an exception by textual evidence. Others believe it does not fall under the prohibition at all, because the sale is based on the description and not on a specific entity, and descriptions do not perish in the way specific physical objects do. Al-Khattabi and Ibn Al-Qayyim differentiated between selling a specific object and selling a description, clarifying that salam is not among "selling what is not in the seller's possession" because it is the sale of something guaranteed as a liability (dhimmah).
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Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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