Does the legality of a Bay' al-Wafa' transaction change if the return of the sold item is conditioned upon a promise from the buyer to the seller to return the sold item when the seller repays the price, taking into account the differences between a condition (shart) and a promise (wa'd)?
Bay' al-Wafa' (sale of fulfillment), also known as Bay' al-Amanah (sale of trust), al-Mu'amalah (transaction), or al-Ita'ah (obedience), is when a person in need sells an immovable property or a movable asset that can remain for a long period, on condition that he can reclaim it upon returning the price to the buyer. This sale is considered invalid by the majority of scholars from the Maliki and Hanbali schools, as well as by early Hanafis and Shafi'is. The resolution of the Islamic Fiqh Academy explicitly states its impermissibility.
However, some Hanafis permitted it due to necessity, differing on its exact form. Some of them prohibited the condition but permitted it with a promise, provided that the promise is binding and made after the contract. The fundamental principle is that an agreement on a binding promise made after the contract is a ruse that does not change the ruling of the sale. This sale is considered a ruse for riba (usury) and a violation of the rules of sale, and it is prohibited by the majority of scholars and fiqh academies.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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