The Conditions for Taking Possession (Qabd) Before Reselling a Commodityشروط قبض السلعة قبل بيعها

There is a scenario widely encountered nowadays regarding installment financing: a person goes to a car dealership, chooses a car, and the financing company completes the purchase on his behalf while the car remains where it is, on the lot — from whom, then, has he actually bought it? The rule is that a commodity must be relocated from its place before it may be resold; it may not be sold where it was bought until the merchants have taken it to their own quarters, as the Prophet ﷺ forbade. The commodity must be moved from where it was to another location, and only then may it be sold elsewhere. Naturally, not every commodity requires relocation in the same way; commodities can be divided into categories.

The first category is what cannot be relocated at all, such as real estate — land, houses, and the like. In this case, the rule is: "The two parties to a sale have the option [to cancel] as long as they have not separated; once they separate, the sale becomes binding" — and it then becomes one's right to sell, since one has taken possession of the commodity. The customary deeds of today, and what is called the property transfer (ifragh) at the courts, count as possession, so that it becomes one's right to dispose of the property. For "sale" here means enablement to dispose (tamkin min al-tasarruf): if I have been enabled to dispose of this land or this house, it becomes my right to sell it and to profit from it, since the commodity has entered into my liability (daman) — and had the commodity not entered into one's liability, profiting from it would not be permissible, since the Prophet ﷺ forbade profiting from what has not been guaranteed.

The second category is commodities that are countable, such as sacks of rice, cartons of soap, detergents, and the like. If you buy these from a shop intending to resell them, or for tawarruq, the Hanbalis say that counting suffices in this case: once you have counted the goods at the owner's premises, it becomes permissible for you to sell them even where they are. A second view in this matter holds that it is not permissible to sell them in place, and that mere counting is not sufficient — actual relocation is what is required — because of the possibility of some defect occurring in the sacks during transport, or a shortfall in weight, and so on. Those who hold this view cite the general wording of the hadith of Ibn 'Umar: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade that goods be sold where they were bought until the merchants take them to their own quarters." This second view is the stronger one, though it may be objected that hiring people to transport the goods could result in loss, added cost, and harm to the buyer — and this does happen and does occur in reality; should this be denied when this view is held? Permissibility, in that case, is conditioned upon the original seller guaranteeing that the commodity was sound, since the inspection takes place during the relocation, in case some defect had occurred beforehand.

The third category is to buy goods that are present in vehicles, such as those who sell dates while the dates are still in the truck, or goods present on plots of land awaiting transport. If you buy a commodity that is in a vehicle, you must take possession of it before it enters into your liability, and it is not permissible to resell it in that state, nor while it is still in the vehicle — especially goods sold at public auction, where the original owner might be tempted to deny the sale, saying "I did not sell it to you," if there were no witnesses present when you resell it at a higher price. For example: you buy a car for ten thousand riyals, then want to sell it for twenty thousand; the original owner, tempted by the profit, says, "I did not sell you my car," and then the matter is disputed before the courts, where the default is that the judge rules the commodity remains with whoever holds it — for how can you sell a commodity you have not taken possession of? Possession is therefore necessary in this case.

The fourth category is for the commodity to be sitting on land that is not owned by the seller himself, but rather belongs to the relevant authorities, as is found, for example, in some date-selling premises, where the containers are present, counted, and clearly visible before you; you say, "I have bought it," and the seller simply steps aside and you take his place. You are then free either to sell it right there or to move it elsewhere, since the location is not his to withhold from you, and everything is right in front of you; he cannot say to you that this location is not his own site and that he has some special claim to it, for it belongs to another authority altogether. The sale here consists simply of releasing the goods to you (takhliyah): he releases the place to you, and you take possession. So the correct view in this scenario is that it is permissible either way — whether you sell it in its place or move it elsewhere — since the location belongs to no particular person, and was never the seller's own site to begin with.

These, then, are four scenarios relating to the requirement of possession before resale. Accordingly, cars are moved from their place before resale, because there may be some defect in the car of which one is unaware, and this cannot become apparent except by moving it — one must drive it, even if not over long distances; what matters is that it be moved from its place so that its tires and the like can be checked, so that no harm comes to anyone else.

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