Answer to a Question
Dear brother, Greetings,
The evidence for the prohibition of selling over the sale of another is what was mentioned in the Hadith:
لا يَبِعِ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى بَيْعِ أَخِيهِ وَلا يَخْطِبْ عَلَى خِطْبَةِ أَخِيهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْذَنَ لَهُ
"A man should not sell over the sale of his brother, nor should he propose over the proposal of his brother unless he gives him permission." (Narrated by Muslim)
And in the narration of An-Nasa'i with a sahih chain:
لا يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ حَتَّى يَبْتَاعَ أَوْ يَذَرَ
"None of you should sell over the sale of another until he buys or leaves it."
It is understood from these two Hadiths that it is prohibited for a man to sell over the sale of his brother if the sale is in a stage where either party can rescind it; that is, before the sale of the commodity becomes binding (lazim). This could be during the option of the session (khayar al-majlis) or the option of condition (khayar al-shart), meaning before the commodity is purchased and the two parties separate, or before a condition is set, such as saying, "I will buy it on the condition of such-and-such; if I find the condition met, I will proceed with the sale, otherwise I will not." In these two cases—during the period of option (khayar)—it is prohibited for a man to sell over the sale of his brother.
However, if the sale has been concluded and has become binding (lazim) such that it cannot be rescinded—meaning you bought the commodity and the two parties separated, so there is no session option, and the condition has ended, so there is no condition option—then after that, any offer is considered a new offer and a new sale. There is nothing wrong with a seller offering a buyer another commodity at a price lower than the price at which they bought the first commodity, because rescinding the first sale is not valid according to Shari'ah in this case, as the option for sale has expired. (This is not like exorbitant fraud (al-ghabn al-fahish), which is when it becomes clear to the buyer that they bought at a price far exceeding the market price—meaning they were defrauded or deceived; in this case, they have the right to return the commodity or proceed with it, which is a different subject from selling over the sale of one's brother).
In summary: If the sale is within the option period—meaning it is legally permissible to rescind it—and the seller and buyer have agreed on the sale at a specific price, it is not permissible for another person to intervene by offering the same commodity at a lower price, leading the buyer to rescind the sale with the first party and buy from the second at a lower price. This is haram, and the Hadiths apply to it.
But if the sale has been concluded in a binding manner—meaning the two parties have separated and there are no conditions—then if another person comes and offers the commodity to the buyer at a lower price, there is nothing wrong with that. This is because the buyer, in this case, cannot rescind the first sale, and as for the second commodity, they can choose to buy it at a cheaper price or not. The evidence for this is the other narration of the Hadith:
حَتَّى يَبْتَاعَ أَوْ يَذَرَ
"...until he buys or leaves it."
This means the prohibition has a limit ("until he buys"), meaning until the sale becomes binding. Thus, the prohibition is before this limit, i.e., before the sale becomes binding. This means before the expiration of the session option and the condition option.
In other words, the prohibition of selling over the sale of one's brother is only before the sale becomes binding. After the sale becomes binding, it is permissible for another seller to offer the commodity to the buyer at a cheaper price than what they bought from the first, because this new transaction is a new contract that has no connection to the first contract and does not affect it.
Accept my greetings.
18/04/2004 CE