Skip to main content

Q&A: Selling flour for bread? | Sheikh 'Ata Abu Al-Rashtah

[Translated]

Question:

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh,
Our beloved Shaykh, may Allah (swt) help you in your cause and guide you to that which pleases Him.

Another question:

Some people give the baker at the main bakery a bag of flour and in return take a specific amount of bread daily for a month; is this permissible? Does this matter enter into the context of hiring or selling, although none of the two parties proclaim any of this?

Please be quick in responding if that is possible. May Allah swt support you, give you success and grant you victory and succession, and may He (swt) unite us with you in the Dar of Islam, Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

Answer: 

This issue, my brother, is not a new one, the Jurists (Fuqahaa') have discussed it in their early ages, and have thus differed in its matter as they have differed in their answers to this question:

If the usurious (ribawi) materials changed through the manufacturing process, such as grain being fried, or grain that turns into flour, dough or baking... and so on, would it be considered the same type which means that the term "wheat" is applied to all of it, and therefore it cannot be sold unless it is conducted hand to hand and equal in amount? Or will it become a different type? And is the different type usurious, thus it is allowed to sell it unequally but hand to hand? Or is the different type not usurious hence can be sold by credit (as a debt)? The following shows the different opinions on the matter:

1. Those who considered it as (all being) the same type had one problem, which is that likeness cannot be drawn between them. How can wheat be weighed or measured against bread, or flour weighed against dough, or with transaction ... etc.therefore they concluded that it is not permissible to sell wheat with bread or flour because of the impossibility of drawing similarities.

2. Others said they are of different types, but they are usurious, i.e. wheat is a usurious item, flour is a usurious item, bread is a usurious item... they therefore concluded that since they are not of the same type, then it is allowed to sell it, i.e. it is allowed to sell wheat with flour or bread, however you like, as long as it is done hand to hand.

3. Another group who said that they are different classifications, and the changeable classification of the wheat is not considered usurious, but something else, therefore, bread, or dough, or ........, are not usurious items, and therefore, it is permissible to sell wheat with bread and flour however you like and by credit too, because they are not considered usurious items, i.e. wheat is sold with a different item that is not usurious...
  • Accordingly, the opinions of the Mujtahideen (fiqhi scholars) differed on this matter... and I will present to you the valid opinions of some of the Fuqahaa':
a) The opinion of Shafi'i in the impermissibility of selling:

It was mentioned in the Al-Majmoo' for Nawawi Al-Shafi'I (deceased 676 AH): "it is not permissible to sell flour through baking it because he has entered it into the fire and mixed it with salt and water which prevents likeness to occur, and because the bread is weighed and the wheat is measured, it would not be possible to know the equality between them".

b) Abu Hanifa's opinion in the impermissibility of selling:

It was mentioned in Al-Binaya Sharh al-Hidayah for Badru-Din Al-‘Ayni Al-Hanafi (deceased: 855 AH)... "it was mentioned by Abu Hanifa that there is no good in it i.e. in the selling of bread with wheat and flour, which means that it is impermissible".

c) The opinion of the friends of Abu Hanifa (Abu Yousuf and Mohammad) of the permissibility of selling unequally (in measurement and weigh) hand to hand:

It was mentioned in Al-Binaya Sharh Al-Hidaya: "It is permissible to sell bread with wheat and flour unequally as long as it is done hand to hand", and he added: "selling bread with bread unequally (in amount and/or weigh) is permissible according to Abu Yousuf and Mohammad may Allah swt have mercy on them, (done) hand to hand".

It was also mentioned in Al-Binaya Sharh Al-Hidaya "the Fatwa regarding the first" i.e. "on the permissibility of selling bread with wheat and flour".

d) The opinion of Abu Yousuf in the permissibility of selling with credit, i.e. with debt:

It was mentioned in Al-binaya Sharh Al-Hidaya: "if the wheat was a debt then it is also permissible, and if the bread was by debt then it is permissible according to Abu Yousuf, and the Fatwa is passed accordingly".
In any case, you can follow in this matter whichever Mujtahid whose Ijtihad reassures you, and may Allah be with you.

Your brother,
Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

The link to the answer from the Ameer‟s Facebook page.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An advice to Muslims working in the financial sector

Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullah wabarakatahu, Dear Brothers & Sisters, We are saddened to see Muslims today even those who practise many of the rules of Islam are working in jobs which involve haram in the financial sector. They are working in positions which involve usurious (Riba) transactions, insurance, the stock market and the like. Even though many of the clear evidences regarding the severity of the sin of Riba are known, some have justified their job to themselves thinking that they are safe as long as they are not engaged in the actual action of taking or giving Riba. Brothers & Sisters, You should know that the majority of jobs in the financial sector, even the IT jobs in this area are haram (prohibited) as they involve the processing of prohibited contracts. If you work in this sector, do not justify your job to yourself because of the fear of losing your position or having to change your career, fear Allah as he should be feared and consider His law regard

Q&A: Age of separating children in the beds?

Question: Please explain the hukm regarding separation of children in their beds. At what age is separation an obligation upon the parents? Also can a parent sleep in the same bed as their child? Answer: 1- With regards to separating children in their beds, it is clear that the separation which is obligatory is when they reach the age of 7 and not since their birth. This is due to the hadith reported by Daarqutni and al-Hakim from the Messenger (saw) who said: When your children reach the age of 7 then separate their beds and when they reach 10 beat them if they do not pray their salah.’ This is also due to what has been narrated by al-Bazzar on the authority of Abi Rafi’ with the following wording: ‘We found in a sheet near the Messenger of Allah (saw) when he died on which the following was written: Separate the beds of the slave boys and girls and brothers and sisters of 7 years of age.’ The two hadiths are texts on the separation of children when they reach the age of 7. As for the

Q&A: Shari' rule on songs, music, singing & instruments?

The following is a draft translation from the book مسائل فقهية مختارة (Selected fiqhi [jurprudential] issues) by the Mujtahid, Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud Abdul Latif al-Uweida (May Allah protect him) . Please refer to the original Arabic for exact meanings. Question: What is the Shari’ ruling in singing or listening to songs?  What is the hukm of using musical instruments and is its trade allowed? I request you to answer in detail with the evidences? Answer: The Imams ( Mujtahids ) and the jurists have differed on the issue of singing and they have varying opinions such as haraam (prohibited), Makruh (disliked) and Mubah (permissible), the ones who have prohibited it are from the ones who hold the opinion of prohibition of singing as a trade or profession, and a similar opinion has been transmitted from Imam Shafi’i, and from the ones who disliked it is Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who disliked the issue and categorised its performance under disliked acts, a similar opinion has been tran