Question Regarding Selling Goods in One's Possession

[Ibn Rafiq]

I wanted to clarify a point about the impermissibility of selling goods before one has them in his "possession". I placed an order with a supplier and the goods have been fully paid for. Are they in my "possession" now even though they are currently at sea with an estimated arrival of 10 days? I'm assuming possession does not mean same physical location (but whether I own them) since they will be stored in a warehouse in a different country anyway?

Can I take pre-orders - start selling them from now while they are at sea (taking money from the customer and letting them know that they will be delivered when the goods are back in stock)? The customer will be informed that it may take another 4 weeks to ship the goods to them.

Or do I have to wait until they arrive at the port, are cleared by customs and have been transported to the warehouse before I can start selling them?

Jazakallahu khairan.

[Sharing_knowledge]

Wa Alaikum as Salam brother,

Very good question. I really feel happy when brothers enquire about every single thing. This means we are really protective of our Imaan and Deen.

Brother, before I answer your question in detail you have to keep in mind one ruling. A thing will be considered as yours, only when you have it in your " Milkiyat " ( possession ). Selling smthng which you don't have is prohibited by the Beloved Prophet of Allah Muhammad salllahu alaihi wa sallam. Right now I cant remember what this is called in Fiqh. One of the reason is that you don't know that it is going to reach you. Therefore until you possess that thing and become the owner of it you can't sell that. So you need to wait until it reaches your warehouse. I suggest you meet a good Aalim near you so that he can explain it to you in more detail.

[Abu-Abdullah]

Wa Alaikum Salam brother,

if you take the money of other people, and say if something goes wrong and you end up not recieving the goods?, there'd be the problem of giving people their money back and this may dissuade same customers from buying from you in the future, so best to wait untill goods are safely in your warehouse, then you can sell

salaam

[yousufs]

وعليكم السلام

You can sell them when you have at least constructive possession, if not physical possession. Constructive possession in brief can be described as, you have its ownership (papers etc) and you are able to deliver/ take it when you want. The goods being in sea is not it this state. Therefore it'll not be a constructive possession.

If the goods were in your or your friend's or someone else's office/home, from where you could easily take the goods by showing your ownership papers, you could sell it. But since they are in sea, you can't get the goods until they arrive and until you clear from port, so you can't sell them.

In summary, you have to wait until it arrives and after the port clearance.

Hope this answers your question.

I wanted to clarify a point about the impermissibility of selling goods before one has them in his "possession". I placed an order with a supplier and the goods have been fully paid for. Are they in my "possession" now even though they are currently at sea with an estimated arrival of 10 days? I'm assuming possession does not mean same physical location (but whether I own them) since they will be stored in a warehouse in a different country anyway?

Can I take pre-orders - start selling them from now while they are at sea (taking money from the customer and letting them know that they will be delivered when the goods are back in stock)? The customer will be informed that it may take another 4 weeks to ship the goods to them.

Or do I have to wait until they arrive at the port, are cleared by customs and have been transported to the warehouse before I can start selling them?

Jazakallahu khairan.