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Q&A · Business & Finance

Can I take full payment now for goods I will only deliver later (a salam contract)?

Yes, this is the contract of salam, and it is an explicitly permitted exception to the rule against selling what you do not yet possess. Its conditions are that the price be paid in full at the contract session (the Mālikīs allow a delay of up to three days), that the commodity be defined by kind, quality and exact measure or weight, that the delivery date be fixed and known, and that the item be of a type generally available in the market when that date arrives — so salam is valid for described fungible commodities but not for a unique, one-of-a-kind item. This is why it suits farmers, manufacturers and pre-orders, but not "I will pay you now for this particular horse of yours next year." The basis is the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās: the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah while the people were paying in advance for fruit for a year or two, so he said, "Whoever pays in advance for something, let him pay for a known measure and a known weight, for a known term" — and Ibn ʿAbbās also recited the verse of documented deferred dealings, Qurʾan 2:282, as the Qurʾanic sanction for it.

Evidence — the daleel
Sahih al-Bukhari 2240 ṢaḥīḥSahih Muslim 1604 ṢaḥīḥQuran 2:282
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Informational, not a personal fatwa. Consult a qualified scholar for rulings on your situation.

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