علي بن إبراهيم بن هاشم

“There is nothing which causes fear or delight which is devoid of will [mashiyyah], destiny [qada’] and trial [ibtila’].”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that once a man came to my father and said, ‘I have inherited a certain amount of property and I knew the owner from whom I inherited received Raba’ and I know with certainty there is Riba’ in it and I do not feel happy to consume it because of my knowledge about it. I asked the scholars of law of Iraq about it and they said, ‘It is not lawful to consume it.’ Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), said, ‘If you know exactly Riba’ property in it and you know the owner also, you must separate it and return to the owner. If it is mixed you can consume it in good health and pleasure. It is your property but you must stay away from what the previous owner would do. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, granted relief to what is passed and prohibited from Riba ’ in coming times. If one is ignorant he is exempt, until he comes to know of the unlawfulness of Riba Once a person learns that Riba ’ is unlawful and punishment becomes necessary if one consumes Riba’ just as it (punishment) is necessary for one who has consumed Riba’.’”

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘I have quit doing business and have withdrawn thereof.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Why is that, are you helpless? This is how your wealth goes away. You must not quit doing business. You must continue to seek favors from Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious.’”

“He (the Imam) has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, did not give permission to Hakim ibn Hizam for business until the later promised to settle the price with a buyer who is regretful about the transaction, extend the time of payment for one who has difficulty to pay and receive the right complete or not as such.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Hoarding means buying such food supplies of a city beside which no other food supplies are available. If other food supplies are available in a city or someone else sells food, then it is permissible to buy food supplies and keep them hoarded to sell later with higher prices.’ He (the narrator) has said, I asked him about oil and he replied, ‘If it is available with people other than you then there is no offense in it.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man who hoarded food supplies and waited for higher prices. Is it permissible?’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘If there is plenty of food available to people to buy, then there is no offense in it; but if there are food shortages and people are not able to buy from other places, then it (such hoarding) is undesirable to leave people without food.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once said, ‘You must not travel to meet the caravan of suppliers out of the city before other buyers; the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, prohibited it.’ I then asked, ‘What are its limits?’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘It is less than a morning or evening’s journey.’ I then asked, ‘How much is that?’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘It is four farasikh (which is equal to six miles).”’ Ibn abu ‘Umayr has said, ‘Above this distance does not apply to “meeting suppliers.”

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If a man buys something from another man, he has the choice to dismiss the deal before they depart each other. When they depart the deal becomes binding.’ He (the narrator) has said, ‘Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), then said, ‘My father once purchased a piece of land called “al-‘Arid”. He purchased it for a few dinars and said to the seller. “I will give you a leaf (silver) for every dinar ten dirhams.” He purchased it and moved. I followed him and asked, “O father, why did you move so quickly?” He (the Imam) replied, “I wanted the transaction to become binding.’””

“I once heard abu Ja‘far (a.s.). saying, ‘The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, “The buyer and the seller each has the choice to dismiss a contract before they depart each other. In a deal for animals it is for three days . 55 5 I then asked, ‘What happens if a man buys something from another man and leaves it with the seller to keep until his return with the purchase price ? 5 He (the Imam) said, ‘If he returns within three days the contract is valid, otherwise, there is no deal . 555

“About the case of buying fruits, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘When it becomes something buying it is not harmful.’”

“This is about the case of a man who says to another man, ‘Sell to me fruits of your palm tree for two Qafiz (a certain measurement) of dates or less or more...’ specifying the amount as he likes and he sells it. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful. 5 He (the Imam) said, ‘Dates and half ripe dates of a palm tree are the same and it is not harmful. Mixing old dates and half ripe fresh dates is not valid and so also is true for raisins and grapes.’”

It is not valid without measurement.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Venturous estimation in food items which are exchanged by measurement is not valid and it is of undesirable matters in food items.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who buys hay which is on the threshing floor, each kur for a certain amount. He receives delivery of hay and sells it before measuring the hay. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful.’”

“About the case of a man who buys a certain amount of food then sells it without weighing or measurement, he (the Imam) said, ‘It is not a valid deal.’”

“About the case of a man who buys food for a few dirham of which he takes one-half and leaves the other half. Thereafter he comes back when prices have risen or have fallen down, Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If on the day of purchase he prices them and determines the amount then such price is what it is, but if he has taken a certain amount and has left the rest without pricing he must pay the price of the day that he takes whatever it is.”’

“About the case of a man who buys food, every kur (a certain amount) for a certain price, then prices rise or fall when he has measured only a certain part, and the owner of food refuses to deliver to him the rest, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If on the day of purchase he has priced the food and that the food is his, then the remaining food is also his; but if he had only bought without any condition then only what he has paid for is his.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who has various kinds of the same item of foodstuff of the same price of which one is of high quality and one is of low quality but he mixes them together; then sells them for one kind of price. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not proper for him and it is cheating the Muslims unless he informs them of the condition.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘It is not proper to sell with a Sa‘ (a certain measuring device) which is not in use in the city (land).’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man to whom I made advance payment for foodstuff. When the time arrived he sent to me dirhams. He (the Imam) said, ‘Buy foodstuff for yourself and compensate for your right.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘I deem it proper that you appoint someone else for such work until you receive what belongs to you and you alone must not undertake the task and work.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Exchanging dry dates with fresh ones is not valid; dry dates are dry and fresh are not dry. When it dries it shrinks. Exchanging barley with wheat is also not valid unless it is in equal measures.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Measuring is one and the same. It is detestable to exchange one Qafiz (a certain unit of measurement) of almond for two or one Qafiz of dates for two Qafiz of dates. However, it is valid to exchange one Sa‘ of wheat with two Sa‘ of dates and one Sa‘ of dates with two Sa‘ of raisins when they are different and in the form of dry fruits. It applies to foodstuff and fruits in the same manner.’ Or that he (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful if goods are exchanged as long as they are not exchanged in measurements and weighing.’”