An-Nawawi's Forty HadithHadith 45

Selling what Allah has forbidden

تحريم بيع ما حرّمه الله

What Allah forbids to be used is forbidden to be sold, and a forbidden thing does not become lawful by changing its form.

Sahih

The hadith

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ حَرَّمَ بَيْعَ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْتَةِ وَالْخِنْزِيرِ وَالأَصْنَامِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَرَأَيْتَ شُحُومَ الْمَيْتَةِ فَإِنَّهُ يُطْلَى بِهَا السُّفُنُ وَيُدْهَنُ بِهَا الْجُلُودُ وَيَسْتَصْبِحُ بِهَا النَّاسُ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ هُوَ حَرَامٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ ‏"‏ قَاتَلَ اللَّهُ الْيَهُودَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهَا أَجْمَلُوهُ ثُمَّ بَاعُوهُ فَأَكَلُوا ثَمَنَهُ

Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying in the Year of Victory while he was in Mecca:Verily Allah and His Messenger have forbidden the sale of wine, carcass, swine and idols, It was said: Allah's Messenger, you see that the fat of the carcass is used for coating the boats and varnishing the hides and people use it for lighting purposes, whereupon he said: No, it is forbidden, Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May Allah the Exalted and Majestic destroy the Jews; when Allah forbade the use of fat of the carcass for them, they melted it, and then sold it and made use of its price (received from it)

Reported by
al-Bukhari, Muslim
Added by
Ibn Rajab, completing the fifty of Jami' al-'Ulum wal-Hikam

Lessons

Ibn Rajab draws a general rule: when Allah forbids a thing because its use is forbidden, He forbids its sale and its price too. This covers wine, carrion and pork, whose use means consuming them, and idols and the like, whose use is the forbidden thing itself. A minor use of such a thing does not make selling it lawful.

The Prophet's ﷺ words about those who melted forbidden fat and sold it warn against tricks that keep a prohibition in name and break it in fact. In practice: earn from what is lawful, avoid selling what will be used for sin, and do not look for a device to reach what Allah has closed.

Evidence

Sahih

Sahih Muslim 1581a

Grades
GraderVerdict
MuslimSahih (included by Muslim in his Sahih) (Sahih)
Full narration

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا لَيْثٌ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي حَبِيبٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ أَبِي، رَبَاحٍ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ عَامَ الْفَتْحِ وَهُوَ بِمَكَّةَ ‏"‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ حَرَّمَ بَيْعَ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْتَةِ وَالْخِنْزِيرِ وَالأَصْنَامِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَرَأَيْتَ شُحُومَ الْمَيْتَةِ فَإِنَّهُ يُطْلَى بِهَا السُّفُنُ وَيُدْهَنُ بِهَا الْجُلُودُ وَيَسْتَصْبِحُ بِهَا النَّاسُ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ هُوَ حَرَامٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ ‏"‏ قَاتَلَ اللَّهُ الْيَهُودَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهَا أَجْمَلُوهُ ثُمَّ بَاعُوهُ فَأَكَلُوا ثَمَنَهُ ‏"‏‏.‏

Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying in the Year of Victory while he was in Mecca:Verily Allah and His Messenger have forbidden the sale of wine, carcass, swine and idols, It was said: Allah's Messenger, you see that the fat of the carcass is used for coating the boats and varnishing the hides and people use it for lighting purposes, whereupon he said: No, it is forbidden, Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May Allah the Exalted and Majestic destroy the Jews; when Allah forbade the use of fat of the carcass for them, they melted it, and then sold it and made use of its price (received from it)

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