Trade Conditions are of two types:
1) Valid Conditions
-> Conditions which ensure and consolidate the contract itself.
-> Conditions which benefit one of the two parties.
2) Invalid Conditions:
1) Illegal conditions which nullify the entire contract
E.g. When a party stipulates a contract within the main one, such as saying, "I'll sell you this commodity, on the condition that you rent me your house"
This is because the Prophet ﷺ forbade concluding a selling contract based on another conditional one in a Hadith.
2) Illegal Conditions which nullify the condition, but not the transaction.
E.g. The seller makes a condition that the buyer isn't allowed to re-sell it. This condition is null and void, but the actual trade that has taken place is valid.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
حَدَّثَنَا خَلاَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ أَيْمَنَ الْمَكِّيُّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ دَخَلْتُ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ دَخَلَتْ عَلَىَّ بَرِيرَةُ وَهْىَ مُكَاتَبَةٌ، فَقَالَتْ يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اشْتَرِينِي فَإِنَّ أَهْلِي يَبِيعُونِي فَأَعْتِقِينِي قَالَتْ نَعَمْ. قَالَتْ إِنَّ أَهْلِي لاَ يَبِيعُونِي حَتَّى يَشْتَرِطُوا وَلاَئِي. قَالَتْ لاَ حَاجَةَ لِي فِيكِ. فَسَمِعَ ذَلِكَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَوْ بَلَغَهُ، فَقَالَ " مَا شَأْنُ بَرِيرَةَ فَقَالَ اشْتَرِيهَا فَأَعْتِقِيهَا وَلْيَشْتَرِطُوا مَا شَاءُوا ". قَالَتْ فَاشْتَرَيْتُهَا فَأَعْتَقْتُهَا، وَاشْتَرَطَ أَهْلُهَا وَلاَءَهَا، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الْوَلاَءُ لِمَنْ أَعْتَقَ، وَإِنِ اشْتَرَطُوا مِائَةَ شَرْطٍ
Narrated Aiman Al-Makki: When I visited Aisha she said, "Buraira who had a written contract for her emancipation for a certain amount came to me and said, "O mother of the believers! Buy me and manumit me, as my masters will sell me." Aisha agreed to it.
Buraira said, 'My masters will sell me on the condition that my Wala will go to them." Aisha said to her, 'Then I am not in need of you.'
The Prophet ﷺ heard of that or was told about it and so he asked Aisha, 'What is the problem of Buraira?' He said, 'Buy her and manumit her, no matter what they stipulate.'
Aisha added, 'I bought and manumitted her, though her masters had stipulated that her Wala would be for them.' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, The Wala is for the liberator, even if the other stipulated a hundred conditions." [Agreed upon]
There's more to the story:
Bareera, the female slave, whom Ayesha was interested in buying, was married to a man named Mugheeth during slavery. After she became free, she has the choice to keep the marriage or divorce him. She chose to leave him. Mugheeth loved her so much, after she left him, he couldn't take it anymore, he went out in public weeping and chasing her, saying "Ya Bareera, just look at me or talk to me"
He went to Abu Bakr, Umar, and finally the Prophet ﷺ asking them to intercede for him. So the Prophet ﷺ felt sorry for him, and went to Bareera and asked her to take him back. She said, "Are you commanding me or are you just interceding for him?"
He ﷺ said he was interceding. She replied, "In that case, I don't want him"
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was telling AlAbbas the story, he said, "O Abbas! Isn't it amazing how much Mugheeth loves Bareerah and how much Bareerah hates Mugheeth?"
This Hadith teaches us many things:
-> We have no control over our hearts. Allah is the One who has our hearts in His hand. That's why we say: يا مقلب القلوب ثبت قلوبنا على دينك.
-> Islam is a practical religion. The Prophet ﷺ never rebuked Mugheeth for chasing his wife.
-> It demonstrates women rights in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ didn't force her to anything, it was completely her choice.
In another Hadith, two men proposed to another female companion. Her family wanted her to get married to the one who had more money, but she wanted to marry the other one, who wasn't as rich. When the Prophet ﷺ was informed of this, he said, "There is nothing better for two in love than marriage"
In [30:21]:
And this is why we have Hijab, Niqab, segregation between man and woman, and no dating in Islam. Complications don't arise. When it's done properly, the love will come. Allah is the One who puts love in the hearts.
And if you find that due to some outside factor which is out of your hands, and it's not possible, then you're not responsible to stay together. And that is what Bareerah did.
We had to prolong on this, because we live in societies where there are modern concepts of love, same-sex marriage and other rubbish are coming out, so we have to highlight its place in Islam.
So that concludes the conditions of trade.
Options in Trade Transactions
There are so many options which can be applied during the transaction. Obviously this doesn't apply to a bottle of juice, ice-cream, a loaf of bread, etc. but more important transactions, like when you're buying a car, boat, house, etc. This shows us the leniency, ease, and comprehensiveness of Islam. Everything which we need and require is covered in the Qur'an and Sunnah. And Islam cares for the interest of Muslims and makes things easy for us.
There are 8 types of options:
1) Option during the Session
Both the seller and buyer have the option to cancel the deal, as long as both haven't separated from the place of the deal - unless they've already finalized the deal.
Evidence: The Prophet ﷺ said, "Both the buyer and the seller have the option (of cancelling or confirming the bargain) as long as they have not parted and are still together" [Agreed upon]
If the person gets up and walks to the bathroom, it doesn't mean you've parted.
Ibn AlQayyim said:
"The Lawgiver has ordained the option during the session while concluding transactions for the interests of the two parties to achieve full content and satisfaction which Allah stipulates when He says in [4:29]:
Sometimes a contract is concluded without being reconsidered or reviewed. Therefore, the perfect Shari'ah necessitates the existence of a session during which the two parties can reconsider the deal.
Thus, according to the aforementioned Hadith, both the seller and the buyer have the choice to confirm or cancel the deal as long as they have not separated from the place of the deal.
However, if the two parties, or one of them, ignores this aspect of choice, the deal is still deemed valid once it is concluded. This choice is a right related to both the seller and the buyer, and each of them is allowed to ignore it '...as long as they have not parted and are still together, or one of them gives the other the option (of keeping or cancelling the bargain)' as the Prophet ﷺ said.
However, it is prohibited for each of the two parties to hasten to leave the other in order to prevent him from reconsidering the deal.
Amr Ibn Shu'ayb reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, "...and it is not permissible for one of them to seperate from the other for fear that the latter may demand that the bargain be rescinded"
2) Option of Stipulation
The two parties can stipulate during or after concluding the contract a certain period of option to reject or accept the deal specified.
E.g. You can buy this car from me, and you have a month to decide if you want to keep it and return it, provided you return it in good condition.
The validity of this option is indicated in the general meaning of the verse [5:1]:
And the Prophet ﷺ said, "Muslims must keep to the conditions they make" [Abu Dawud]
3) Option in case of Deception
If the buyer or seller is gravely deceived through misjudgment, he is allowed to cancel the deal. But if the loss is insignificant and the type that commonly happens amongst people, the deceived isn't allowed to cancel.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "One should not harm others nor should one seek benefit for himself by causing harm to others" [Ibn Majah]
Many times people only think of themselves when they're dealing. Sometimes we bargain so much, without realizing that the seller may be in dire need of the momey for the item they're selling. We become so ignorant and arrogant that benefit from the situation of the seller, and he makes no profit.
Deception can occur in various ways. The scholars have identified three scenarios:
a) Deceiving a stranger who sets out to buy and sell in the market, by meeting him before he arrives and deceiving him with regards to the price. If you enter in a transaction this way, and find out you've been paid less than you could've received, you legally have the option to cancel the transaction, because this is fraud.
The Prophet ﷺ clearly states this, "Don't meet a merchant on his way and enter into a business transaction with him. Whoever meets him and buys from him and then the owner of the merchandise comes into the market (and finds that he has been paid less), he has the option (to declare the transaction null and void" [Muslim]
b) When a fake bidder bids on a merchandise to increase its price, with no intention whatsoever for buying or acquiring the merchandise. This is an illegal act, which involves fraud. If this is known, you're allowed to cancel the merchandise.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Do not outbid in a sale in order to ensnare (others)" [Muslim]
A similar form is when selling occurs when the owner of the commodity lies to the buyer and tells him he has bought the commodity for such and such price, when he really didn't, in order to inflate the value and get the buyer to pay more.
When we study the prices in the market all over the world, we find in every single country, and almost every business, the inflation in prices is due to this.
If it was for 200 dollars, they'll say 50%, 70% discount and everyone rushes to buy it. Do you think that they wanted 200 dollars in the beginning? They're deceiving us. The merchandise might be worth 20 dollars.
As Muslims, we should be honest and upfront in the beginning. We're not allowed to do this. And Allah will put بركة in your trade. Allah is going to bring you customers.
c) When the buyer is a gullible person - who doesn't know the actual value of goods and isn't good at buying. He's innocent and kind and trusts the seller, so when he is gravely deceived, he has the right to cancel the deal.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Cheating a gullible person (is a kind of) Riba" [AlBayhaqi]
E.g. If a person comes with merchandise to sell in the market, and the local business man agree to not bid on it, and this person will sell it for a far more lower price, and then they'll buy it for less and divide it amongst themselves.
4) Option in case of Cheating
The Prophet ﷺ made it clear that cheating is not part of Islam. There are two kinds of transactional cheating:
a) Hiding the products defects
b) Overpolishing the product in order to raise the price
The Shari'ah permits the buyer to cancel the deal, for if he knew the truth, he wouldn't have paid that much.
This would occur at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. They wouldn't milk their camels, goats, and sheep before displaying it, to give the impression to buyers that they always give a lot of milk.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Do not keep camels or sheep without milking for a long time, for whoever buys such an animal has the option to milk it and then decide whether to keep it or return it to the owner along with one Sa' of dates (in compensation for milking it)" [Agreed upon]
And truthfulness is a means of attaining بركة in your trade, whereas lying destroys all the بركة.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "The seller and buyer have the right to keep or return goods as long as they have not parted. If both parties speak the truth and point out the defects and qualities (of the goods), then they will be blessed in their transaction. But if they tell lies or hide something, then the blessings of their transaction will be destroyed" [Agreed upon]
Little money gained by truthfulness will have loads of بركة, whereas a lot of money earned through deception will be deprived of بركة.
5) Option in case of Defect
The buyer has the option to cancel the deal in case of defect which has been concealed from you. The defect should decrease the value of the commodity or the material of the commodity itself.
Once determined that the defect falls under the aforementioned, the buyer is legally permitted to confirm the deal and take some form of compensation for the defect, or cancel it and return the commodity and get back his money.
6) Option in case of False Price
This can happen in four ways:
a) When the seller claims he's selling the commodity for the same price he bought it. Later on you find out he lied, so you have the option of cancelling the deal.
b) When two people become partners, and one finds out that the other paid less capital than he actually stated, he's allowed to annul the partnership.
c) When the seller claims that he'll gain only a certain sum of money from the buyer in comparison to what he bought it for, and the buyer finds out that the actual price is less.
d) When the seller claim that he'll sell the commodity for less than what he paid for, and the buyer discovers that the actual price is less than that.
7) Option in case of Difference
This occurs when the buyer and seller can't come to an agreement for the price of the commodity, it's amount and quality, and have no proof. In this case they need to swear buy Allah that they're speaking the truth. And either party is allowed to cancel the deal if he's not satisfied with the oath of the other.
E.g. You understood him differently, and when the time comes, each swears they're on the right. They may both retract and the merchandise belongs to the seller, and the buyer takes his money back.
8) Option in case of Quality Change
When you buy a commodity, and when the time comes for you to collect it, you find that the quality has changed. In this case you have the option to confirm or cancel the deal.
We need Allah's blessings in our trade and time, so we should use our wealth and time to please Him. That's our purpose in life. To worship Allah; and use this wealth to pave our way to Paradise.
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