707 - Issue: He said: "And nothing fresh shall be sold for dried [produce] of its same genus, except for 'araya (gifts of fruit on the tree)."
He intended fresh produce from which riba (usury) arises, such as fresh dates for dried dates, grapes for raisins, fresh milk for cheese, and wet or fresh wheat for dried, or roasted for raw, and the like. This is the opinion of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Layth, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: The majority of Muslim scholars hold that the sale of fresh dates for dried dates is not permissible under any circumstances. Abu Hanifah said: It is permissible, because it is either of its own genus, in which case it is permissible according to his [the Prophet's] peace be upon him saying: "Dates for dates, equal for equal" (1); or it is of a different genus, in which case it is permissible according to his peace be upon him saying: "So if these types differ, then sell as you wish" (2). Our evidence is his peace be upon him saying: "Do not sell dates for dates" (3). And in another wording, he forbade the sale of dates for dates, and granted a concession regarding the 'ariya (the gift of fruit on the tree) to be sold by estimation, to be eaten by its people as fresh fruit. This is agreed upon (4). From Sa'd: That the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - was asked about selling fresh dates for dried dates, and he said: "Do the fresh dates decrease when they dry?" They said: Yes. So he forbade that. Narrated by Malik, Abu Dawud, al-Athram, and Ibn Majah (5). The wording of al-Athram's narration says:
(1) Its verification preceded on page 54. (2) Its verification preceded on page 62. (3) Narrated by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on the Sale of Muzabanah..., from the Book of Sales. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/98. And Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Selling Fruits Before Their Ripeness Is Apparent Without the Condition of Cutting, from the Book of Sales. Sahih Muslim 3/1168. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Sale of Fruit Before Its Ripeness Is Apparent, from the Book of Sales. Al-Mujtaba 7/231. (4) Narrated by al-Bukhari, in the Chapter on Muzabanah..., and the Chapter on the Sale of Fruit on the Palm Trees for Gold and Silver, from the Book of Sales, and the Chapter on a Man Who Has a Right of Way or Watering in an Orchard or Palm Trees, from the Book of Irrigation. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/99, 150. And Muslim, in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Selling Fresh Dates for Dried Dates Except in 'Araya, from the Book of Sales. Sahih Muslim 3/1169. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the Sale of 'Araya, from the Book of Sales. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/226. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Sale of 'Araya by Their Estimation in Dried Dates, from the Book of Sales. Al-Mujtaba 7/235. And Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on the Sale of 'Araya by Their Estimation in Dried Dates, from the Book of Commerce. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/762. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 5/190, 364. (5) Narrated by Malik, in: The Chapter on What Is Disliked Concerning the Sale of Fruit, from the Book of Sales. Al-Muwatta' 2/624. And Abu Dawud, in: =
