The teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with regard to buying and selling

Praise
be to Allah.

We can sum up the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) with regard to doing business, buying and
selling, as follows: 

1.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) worked
in business before his mission began, with his paternal uncle Abu Taalib,
and he also worked for Khadeejah, and he travelled for that purpose to
greater Syria. He also did business in the markets; Majannah and ‘Ukaaz were
markets during the Jaahiliyyah to which merchants would come to buy and
sell. 

2.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to engage directly in transactions himself, as we shall see below in the
hadith about the camel of ‘Umar and the camel of Jaabir (may Allah be
pleased with them both). He also used to appoint one of his companions to do
that for him, as in the case of ‘Urwah ibn Abi’l-Ja‘d al-Baariqi, who said
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave him gave
him a dinar to buy a sacrificial animal or a sheep for him. He bought two
sheep and sold one for a dinar, and he came back with a sheep and a dinar.
He (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) prayed for
blessing for him in his business dealings, and (after that) if he had bought
dust he would have made a profit. 

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1258); Abu Dawood (3384); Ibn Maajah
(2402); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

3.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to enjoin traders to be righteous and honest and to give charity. 

It was narrated that Hakeem ibn Hizaam (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “The two parties to a transaction have the option (of cancelling
it) until they part. If they are honest and disclose any defects, their
transaction will be blessed, but if they lie and conceal defects the
blessing of their transaction will be erased.” 

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1973) and Muslim (1532). 

It was narrated from Ismaa‘eel ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Rifaa‘ah from
his father from his grandfather that he went out with the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) to the prayer place, and he saw the people
engaging in trade. He said:  “O merchants!” and they responded to the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), craning their
necks and looking up at him. He said, “The merchants will be raised on the
Day of Resurrection as evildoers, apart from those who fear Allah and are
sincere and honest.” 

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1210); Ibn Maajah (2146); classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb (1785). 

It was narrated that Qays ibn Abi Gharazah said: The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to say: “O merchants,
selling involves idle talk and oaths, so mix it with sadaqah (charity).” 

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1208); Abu Dawood (3326); an-Nasaa’i
(3797); Ibn Maajah (2145); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood. 

4.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to enjoin people to be tolerant and easy-going in buying and selling. 

It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: “May Allah have mercy upon a man who is easy-going when
he sells and when he buys and when he asks for payment.” 

Al-Bukhaari (1970) 

Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

In this hadith it is encouraged to be easy-going in
transactions, to have the most sublime of attitudes, and to avoid
miserliness, and it is encouraged to avoid putting pressure on people when
asking for payment, and to take from them what they can afford. 

Fath al-Baari
(4/307) 

Examples of the tolerance and easy-going nature of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) include the following: 

(a)

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: We were with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) on a journey, and I was riding on a recalcitrant young camel belonging
to ‘Umar. It kept getting the better of me and kept going ahead of the
people, so ‘Umar kept checking and making it go back. Then it went on ahead
and ‘Umar checked it and made it go back. Then the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Sell it to me.” He said: It is yours, O
Messenger of Allah. He said: “Sell it to me.” So he sold it to the Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “It is yours, O ‘Abdullah
ibn ‘Umar; do with it whatever you will.” 

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2610) 

(b)

It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah that he was riding
on a camel of his that had become exhausted to the point that he wanted to
let it go. He said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
caught up with me and offered supplication for me, and he hit it and the
camel started moving (energetically) as I had never seen it move before. He
said: “Sell it to me for one uqiyah.” I said: No. He said: “Sell it to me.”
So I sold it to him for one uqiyah and stipulated that I be allowed to ride
it home. When I arrived I brought the camel to him, and he gave me its
price, then I left. He sent someone after me and said: “Did you think that I
bargained with you in order to take away your camel? Take your camel and its
price; they are both yours.” 

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1991) and Muslim (715) 

5.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to give people their rights and urge others to do likewise. 

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: A man was owed a camel of a certain age by the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him), so he came to him to ask him to repay him,
and he said: “Give him.” They looked, but they could not find anything but a
camel that was older than his, so he said: “Give him.” He said: You have
paid me back in full, may Allah reward you. The Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “Verily the best of you are those who are the
best in paying off debts.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2182) and Muslim (1601). 

8. [sic]

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to urge people to let a buyer cancel the transaction if he regrets it. 

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “Whoever lets a Muslim off (a transaction), Allah will relieve him of
his distress on the Day of Resurrection.” 

Narrated by Abu Dawood (3460) and Ibn Maajah (2199); classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

Letting someone off means being easy-going and agreeing to
cancel a sale or purchase; it is indicative of generosity of spirit. 

What is meant by letting someone off a sale is: if someone
buys something from a man, then regrets his purchase, either because he
feels that he did not get a good deal, or because he no longer has any need
of it, or because he does not have the wherewithal to pay for it, so he
returns the item to the seller and the seller agrees to take it back, Allah
will remove his hardship and distress on the Day of Resurrection, because of
his kindness towards the buyer, because the transaction has been finalised,
so the purchaser could not cancel it.

End quote from ‘Awn al-Ma‘bood. 

6.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to bargain with people when buying, but he would not go so far as to
undermine the real value of the item, as we have seen above in the hadith
about the camel of Jaabir. 

It was narrated that Suwayd ibn Qays said: Makhramah al-‘Abdi
and I brought some garments from Hajar to Makkah. The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to us on foot and bargained
with us for some trousers, and we sold them to him 

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1305) – he said: it is hasan saheeh.
Also narrated by Abu Dawood (3336), an-Nasaa’i (4592) and Ibn Maajah
(2220). 

7.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to urge people to give a little more when weighing. 

It was narrated that Suwayd ibn Qays said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw a man who weighed
things for a fee and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said to him: “Weigh and give a little more.” 

This is the continuation of the hadith quoted above. 

8.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used
to enjoin people to give more time for a debtor who is in financial
difficulty, or to waive the debt. 

It was narrated that Abu’l-Yasar (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever waits for one who is in (financial) difficulty (to pay a debt) or
waives it for him, Allah will shade him in His shade.” 

Narrated by Muslim (3006) 

9.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
forbade transactions involving riba (usury), transactions involving
ambiguity, ‘Eenah transaction [which involve selling something for a price
to be paid at a later date, then buying it back for a lower price to be paid
immediately], dealing in haraam things, and cheating and deception. 

The evidence for that is abundant and well-known. 

We do not have details on his buying and selling in all of
his commercial transactions, because his trading was done during the
Jaahiliyyah, when he was not yet a Prophet such that his actions would be
transmitted from his companions. But what has been narrated of his Sunnah is
sufficient, in sha Allah.