Chapter Two
Postponed-payment Sale (Bay’ An-Nasi’ah)
Nasi’ah sale is: the postponement of paying the price for a certain period after the completion of the contract.
1036. If the contract is complete in its conditions without one of the two parties making postponing the payment of the price conditional, the payment becomes due as soon as the contract is complete. But if one of them made postponing the payment of the price for a certain period conditional, it becomes binding on the party on which the condition was made. If the party who made the condition was the buyer, the seller would have no right to request payment before the postponement date, but he must receive it and accept it if it was paid before that date, unless there is an indication that the seller wanted to receive it at the specified date.
1037. The postponement date must be clear for the two parties with the least of efforts, so it is not valid to specify a date that requires thinking, calculation and turning to experienced people, even if it would be precise and known after the calculation, such as if making it pending the sun entering a certain sign of the zodiac, not to mention its invalidity if it was specified that at a certain time it is open to increase or decrease, such as the harvesting season of the like, or some unknown matter, such as the return of a traveller. That said, knowledge is not affected if it was specified on a lunar month that can have an increase or decrease (in the number of days) and the like.
1038. If the price was to be paid immediately, or postponed to an unspecified date, the seller is not allowed to demand a higher price in exchange for postponing it to a specific date; nor allowed demand a higher priceover and above the payment postponed to a specified date in exchange for increasing the postponement; nor to increase the period in exchange for the other party paying some of the debt earlier. However, it is allowed for the seller to reduce the price in exchange for bringing forward the date of the postponed payment, something which may be done to relieve the buyer of the responsibility for a part of the price.
1039. If it is a question of a specific asset/thing, or an unspecific (amount) of a specific type of asset/thing, it is allowed to sell the postponed ‘more’ –– for the immediate ‘less’, when what is involved is something that is neither weighed (measured by wazn, i.e. weight) nor measured (measured by kayl, i.e. a measuring vessel), otherwise it is not allowed since this is interest (ribā). However, if the item sold was unspecific and to be handed over in the future, it would then be a kind of bay‘ as-Selef (lending sale), that will be explained.
1040. It is allowed for the buyer to sell what he bought as Nasi’ah after the completion of the contract, before the arrival of the postponement date or after it, at an increase or reduction in its price or the same price, whether the second sale was to be paid immediately or postponed and whether the buyer was the seller or anyone else. However, it is invalid that the seller in this postponement sale puts a condition on the buyer to sell it back to him in cash for a price that is less than the price at which he bought it from him, nor is it valid for the cash buyer to put a condition on the seller to buy it from him as a postponed-payment sale at a price higher than the price at which he sold it to him cash – the sale is invalid in both of these cases.
1041. There is no objection to the merchant putting one price on his goods when sold for cash and another higher price for them if sold postponed – whichever the buyer chooses and accepts, the sale is valid without problem. That said, the sale is invalidated if the seller offers two different prices when the selling the goods in a way that reflects a possibility of more than one price and confusion regarding the price at which the sale has taken place, such as if he says: ‘I am selling you this book for eight pounds cash and ten if payment is postponed’; also the sale is invalidated if he says: ‘I am selling you this book for eight pounds if payment is postponed for two weeks, and ten if it is postponed for one month’, because the price is generally unknown (certain).
Chapter Two
Postponed-payment Sale (Bay’ An-Nasi’ah)
Nasi’ah sale is: the postponement of paying the price for a certain period after the completion of the contract.
1036. If the contract is complete in its conditions without one of the two parties making postponing the payment of the price conditional, the payment becomes due as soon as the contract is complete. But if one of them made postponing the payment of the price for a certain period conditional, it becomes binding on the party on which the condition was made. If the party who made the condition was the buyer, the seller would have no right to request payment before the postponement date, but he must receive it and accept it if it was paid before that date, unless there is an indication that the seller wanted to receive it at the specified date.
1037. The postponement date must be clear for the two parties with the least of efforts, so it is not valid to specify a date that requires thinking, calculation and turning to experienced people, even if it would be precise and known after the calculation, such as if making it pending the sun entering a certain sign of the zodiac, not to mention its invalidity if it was specified that at a certain time it is open to increase or decrease, such as the harvesting season of the like, or some unknown matter, such as the return of a traveller. That said, knowledge is not affected if it was specified on a lunar month that can have an increase or decrease (in the number of days) and the like.
1038. If the price was to be paid immediately, or postponed to an unspecified date, the seller is not allowed to demand a higher price in exchange for postponing it to a specific date; nor allowed demand a higher priceover and above the payment postponed to a specified date in exchange for increasing the postponement; nor to increase the period in exchange for the other party paying some of the debt earlier. However, it is allowed for the seller to reduce the price in exchange for bringing forward the date of the postponed payment, something which may be done to relieve the buyer of the responsibility for a part of the price.
1039. If it is a question of a specific asset/thing, or an unspecific (amount) of a specific type of asset/thing, it is allowed to sell the postponed ‘more’ –– for the immediate ‘less’, when what is involved is something that is neither weighed (measured by wazn, i.e. weight) nor measured (measured by kayl, i.e. a measuring vessel), otherwise it is not allowed since this is interest (ribā). However, if the item sold was unspecific and to be handed over in the future, it would then be a kind of bay‘ as-Selef (lending sale), that will be explained.
1040. It is allowed for the buyer to sell what he bought as Nasi’ah after the completion of the contract, before the arrival of the postponement date or after it, at an increase or reduction in its price or the same price, whether the second sale was to be paid immediately or postponed and whether the buyer was the seller or anyone else. However, it is invalid that the seller in this postponement sale puts a condition on the buyer to sell it back to him in cash for a price that is less than the price at which he bought it from him, nor is it valid for the cash buyer to put a condition on the seller to buy it from him as a postponed-payment sale at a price higher than the price at which he sold it to him cash – the sale is invalid in both of these cases.
1041. There is no objection to the merchant putting one price on his goods when sold for cash and another higher price for them if sold postponed – whichever the buyer chooses and accepts, the sale is valid without problem. That said, the sale is invalidated if the seller offers two different prices when the selling the goods in a way that reflects a possibility of more than one price and confusion regarding the price at which the sale has taken place, such as if he says: ‘I am selling you this book for eight pounds cash and ten if payment is postponed’; also the sale is invalidated if he says: ‘I am selling you this book for eight pounds if payment is postponed for two weeks, and ten if it is postponed for one month’, because the price is generally unknown (certain).