BENEFIT: Promise to Buy - (الوعد بالشراء)

Question: What is the ruling on what is called a “promise to buy”? Is it considered a form of riba? Sheikh Ibn Baz rahimahullah: A promise to buy is not the same as an actual purchase. It is only a promise. So, if a person wants to buy something and asks someone else to buy it first and then sell it to him, this is allowed as long as the first person really: (1) buys the item, (2) takes possession of it, and only then sells it to the person who requested it. This is based on the authentic hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allāh be pleased with him). He said: “O Messenger of Allāh, a man comes to me wanting to buy something that I do not have. May I sell it to him first and then go buy it?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not sell what you do not possess.” This means that once a person buys the item and it becomes his property, it is fine to sell it afterward. Another authentic hadith from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-‘Āṣ (may Allāh be pleased with them) says: “It is not allowed to combine a loan and a sale, nor to sell what you do not possess.” And Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ forbade selling goods at the place where they were bought, until the merchants move them to their own locations. From these hadiths we learn: If someone sees an item—such as a car, grain, clothes, or utensils—being sold by someone, it is allowed for him to buy it after the seller has completed his own purchase and taken possession of it. But the second buyer (the one who requested it) cannot sell it again until he moves it to another place—his home, his shop, or elsewhere—taking it away from the seller’s location. After moving it, he may sell it if he wishes. This follows the mentioned hadiths and what Al-Bukhari reported from Ibn Umar (may Allāh be pleased with them): “At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we were forbidden to sell food where we bought it, until we moved it to our own places.” And in another wording: “…until we moved it from the top of the market to the bottom, or from the bottom to the top.” And Allāh is the One who grants success. (مجموع فتاوى ومقالات الشيخ ابن باز 19/ 68).