Is it permissible for an intermediary to request a commodity (such as chickens) from a seller and sell it to a buyer, noting that the seller produces the commodity after the intermediary’s request and delivers it directly to the buyer, while the intermediary pays the price to the seller on credit or in cash? And is this transaction considered a Salam sale, which requires prompt payment of the price, or is it a sale of what one does not own, or does it resemble the practice of "talaqqi al-rukban" (meeting riders outside the city) or "bay’ al-hadir li al-badi" (a city dweller selling on behalf of a desert dweller) in terms of raising prices without an effective role for the intermediary?
The origin of this issue relies on the ruling concerning salam (forward contract) in animals. The Hanafis prohibited it due to the variation in an animal's financial valuation, whereas the majority of scholars permitted it by analogy to the permissibility of borrowing animals, which is the more apparent view. Salam in animals is permissible under certain conditions, the most important of which is the full payment of the price at the contracting session. This is done through two separate contracts (parallel salam). The reason for the prohibition in the mentioned transaction is the failure to expedite full payment in both contracts. As for prohibiting the transaction due to its resemblance to "intercepting riders," this is incorrect, because the reason for prohibiting "intercepting riders" is to deceive the seller or cause general harm, both of which are absent in salam and parallel salam contracts.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/194270