Kitab al-Buyu: Grain Sales, Bulk Heaps, Qafiz and Unit Prices

1. Quantity and certainty in sale

The preceding lesson covered offer, acceptance and a specified price. The next passage asks how the quantity of goods can be determined, and when viewing a defined lot may suffice.

A heap of grain, a flock of sheep and a length of cloth raise different questions. The legal issue is not merely that a number is missing: the uncertainty may concern the sold goods, the total price or which specific items are transferred.

We follow the original sequence: measured and bulk grain, fixed vessels and weights, then qafiz, sheep and cubits.

2. The source text: measured and bulk sale

ويجوز بيع الطعام والحبوب مكايلة ومجازفة
Translation: Foodstuffs and grains may be sold by measured volume or as a visible bulk lot without measurement.

Mukayalah is sale by a known volumetric measure. Mujazafah is sale of an identified lot as a whole, without first determining every unit.

This general permission does not override the separate rules on ribawi exchanges. Exchanging the same grain for its own kind may require established equality and the relevant spot-delivery conditions.

3. How measured sales work

Example: a buyer orders 3 measures of wheat at 500 rupees per measure. The amount is 3 measures, the unit price 500, and the total 1,500.

When the measure is sufficiently identified, the delivery obligation is clear. It is not enough to give an unexplained number: the contracting parties should know which measure is being used.

This is the distinction between specifying an amount and leaving its scale ambiguous.

4. A defined heap sold in bulk

A merchant points to one specific pile of wheat and sells that entire pile for a fixed 10,000 rupees. The object is the physically identified lot, not an open-ended number of units.

The exact count of measures has not been calculated, but the lot and lump-sum price can still be known through identification and inspection.

An unseen, unfixed or disputable heap raises different issues; bulk sale does not mean selling wholly indeterminate property.

5. Limits: bulk sale and ribawi exchanges

A visible pile of wheat sold for money differs from trading an unmeasured quantity of wheat for another quantity of wheat.

A same-kind ribawi exchange may require established equality; an estimate does not establish legal parity. Accordingly, the general permission for bulk sale should not be applied mechanically to barter between the same ribawi goods.

This qualification is explicit in later Hanafi commentaries and is distinguished from the words of Quduri's short clause.

6. Measured amount versus identified lot

Mukayalah: “Five specified measures from this heap.” The obligation is defined by a measured quantity.
Mujazafah: “This entire heap before you.” The obligation is defined by one identified bulk lot.

A shortfall in a quantified sale and a failure to deliver the identified lot are different disputes. The formal consequences must be judged by the actual contract terms.

7. The original rule: a specified vessel

وبإناء بعينه لا يعرف مقداره
Translation: Sale may also be made using a specifically identified vessel, even if its numerical capacity is unknown.

The words bi-ina'in bi-'aynihi require a particular vessel: this container, not an arbitrary one chosen later. Its volume need not be translated into a standard numerical unit.

What matters is that the physical measure is identified and stable enough to guide delivery.

8. Practical illustration of a fixed container

Suppose a seller points to a rigid metal bowl and offers four filled measures of rice for 800 rupees. The parties know which bowl is used even if nobody knows its litre capacity.

The reference is this bowl, not any bowl later selected by either side. Substituting differently sized containers would undermine the agreed measure.

A reliable, demonstrable physical standard supplies the necessary identification.

9. Why the measure must be stable

A rigid bowl normally has a stable capacity. A soft bag or expandable sack may hold different amounts depending on packing, stretching or compression.

Hanafi commentary stresses that identifying a vessel is useful only when the physical standard genuinely reduces uncertainty.

“Fill this rigid container once” differs from an unspecified or elastic “one bag.”

10. The original rule: a specified stone

وبوزن حجر بعينه لا يعرف مقداره
Translation: Sale may likewise be made by the weight of a specifically identified stone, even if the stone’s numerical weight is unknown.

A fixed stone could function as a counterweight on a traditional balance. Its numerical mass need not be known in grams if the particular stone has been identified as the standard.

The rule concerns a known physical standard, not permission to leave the sold goods or their price undefined.

11. Example with an identified counterweight

A merchant uses one particular counterweight and agrees to supply dates equivalent to that weight for 300 rupees. The parties have accepted that fixed benchmark.

Replacing it later with a lighter stone changes the promised quantity. The weight need not have been translated into kilograms for the contract to refer to a definite standard.

This classical discussion does not displace applicable modern trade or weights-and-measures law.

12. What the vessel and stone share

A vessel measures volume; a stone measures weight. In both cases an identified, usable physical object supplies the standard.

That is not equivalent to saying “whatever amount turns out to be.” Identification reduces potential disagreement at delivery.

Other transactions, especially deferred forward sales, may impose additional conditions. This clause does not resolve every type of exchange.

13. The terms sabrah and qafiz

A sabrah is a collected heap of grain. A qafiz is a traditional volume unit; its exact historical size varied by context.

The plural is qufzan. “Every qafiz for one dirham” sets a unit price, but it does not itself state how many qafiz the pile contains.

The central issue is whether the whole heap and its total price are sufficiently specified.

14. The source rule: one dirham per qafiz

ومن باع صبرة طعام كل قفيز بدرهم جاز البيع في قفيز واحد عند أبي حنيفة إلا أن يسمي جملة قفزانها
Translation: Whoever sells a heap of grain at one dirham per qafiz: according to Abu Hanifah, the sale is valid for one qafiz only unless the total number of qafiz in the heap is stated.

The seller identifies the heap, but a per-qafiz price leaves the aggregate consideration dependent on an unstated number of measures.

Under Abu Hanifah's view, one definite measure is valid, while stating the full quantity removes the uncertainty surrounding the remainder. This differs from selling the entire identified pile for one fixed lump sum.

15. Why one qafiz can be identified

A homogeneous grain heap allows one standard measure to be supplied without a dispute over which individual grains belong to the buyer.

That explains why one qafiz can be treated as a known minimum unit, but it does not mean Abu Hanifah validates the remainder of an unquantified per-unit sale.

The ambiguity about aggregate quantity and price remains central.

16. Stating the total quantity

Suppose the heap has actually been measured at 8 qafiz. The seller specifies all 8 at one dirham each, giving an aggregate price of 8 dirhams.

The exception in Quduri's clause is precisely the statement of the total number of measures, which removes the relevant uncertainty.

The number eight is an illustration, not a number appearing in the original text.

17. Abu Hanifah and his two students

Abu Hanifah considers the uncounted “one dirham per qafiz” sale valid for one qafiz alone.

Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, the Sahibayn, allow the sale of the whole heap: its exact amount and total price can be established by measurement.

Quduri's quoted clause names Abu Hanifah's position. The disciples' contrasting view is supplied by al-Hidaya and Fath al-Qadir, not attributed to the short original passage.

18. Buyer option in a divided bargain

The Hanafi commentary describes a buyer's option when the originally intended whole-heap bargain stands only for one measure under Abu Hanifah's position.

The buyer sought the entire lot, but the resulting effective sale is partial. The commentary also discusses measurement or specification during the contracting session and associated options.

This is commentary evidence; the exact Quduri clause here states only the validity rule.

19. Two superficially similar heap deals

Case 1: “This entire visible heap for 5,000 rupees.” A fixed lump-sum bulk sale.
Case 2: “This entire heap at 500 rupees per qafiz,” without stating its size. Its total price depends on the unknown number of qafiz.

The same physical pile can be governed by different rules because the price formula—and the remaining uncertainty—is different.

20. The source rule: one dirham per sheep

ومن باع قطيع غنم كل شاة بدرهم فالبيع فاسد في جميعها
Translation: Whoever sells a flock of sheep at one dirham per animal: the sale is defective in respect of the whole flock.

Qati' ghanam is a flock; kullu shatin bi-dirham sets one dirham as the price of each animal.

Sheep are not homogeneous units of grain. Their age, condition and value differ, so the absence of a count and identification can leave a dispute over which animals are included.

Quduri states this sale is fasid in its entirety.

21. Why sheep differ from measured grain

One measure taken from a reasonably homogeneous heap is largely interchangeable with another. A random “one sheep” taken from a flock may instead differ in age, health and value.

The uncertainty is not just how many but which animal is being transferred.

Under Abu Hanifah's analysis, the validity of one qafiz does not carry over automatically to one unspecified sheep.

22. Making the flock bargain determinate

A clearer formulation identifies ten marked sheep and a price of 5,000 rupees each, making the total 50,000. The animals, count and aggregate price are known.

By contrast, a price “for every sheep in the flock” without determining the relevant animals or count may retain the uncertainty under discussion.

This illustration explains contract clarity, not every condition required for a valid livestock sale.

23. The source rule: cloth sold per cubit

وكذلك من باع ثوبا مذارعة كل ذراع بدرهم ولم يسم جملة الذرعان
Translation: The same applies to one who sells a piece of cloth by the cubit at one dirham per cubit without stating the total number of cubits.

Mudara'ah means selling by a length measured in cubits. A dhira' is a historical length measure.

If a piece of cloth is offered at one dirham per cubit with no statement of its total length, Quduri treats it like the defective flock sale under Abu Hanifah's view.

Knowing the per-cubit price does not always determine the total object sold and the aggregate price.

24. Why one cubit is not always a substitute

If only “one cubit” of a cloth is identified, where is it cut—from the start, middle or end? Borders, patterns and condition may differ.

Classical Hanafi commentary distinguishes an interchangeable measure from a grain heap from an unspecified portion of a cloth.

The risk is a dispute over the particular part of the fabric as well as its quantity.

25. A clearly priced cloth sale

“This identified roll contains 12 cubits, at 100 rupees per cubit, totaling 1,200” supplies both a quantity and an aggregate price.

“Every cubit of this roll is 100; we will find out the total later” raises the original uncertainty addressed in the clause.

Specifying a unit rate is not equivalent to specifying the total length.

26. The disciples’ position on whole-unit sales

Al-Hidaya reports that Abu Yusuf and Muhammad permit the sale of the whole flock or cloth by stated unit rates because the total count or length can subsequently be established.

Abu Hanifah rejects these cases because the effective aggregate is left uncertain and the constituent parts can differ, unlike one interchangeable measure of grain.

The text of Quduri itself gives the fasid ruling in these two clauses; the other views are drawn from the commentary.

27. Three distinct sources of uncertainty

Uncertainty of quantity: the total number of qafiz, animals or cubits is unspecified.
Uncertainty of the object: it is unclear which particular animal or fabric portion will transfer.
Uncertainty of the price: a known unit rate leaves the aggregate consideration unstated.

The legal analysis turns on what remains uncertain and whether it can lead to a substantive dispute.

28. Comparison of four practical contracts

1. A specific visible heap of rice for 6,000 rupees: fixed lot and lump sum.
2. An uncounted heap at 500 per qafiz: Abu Hanifah's special one-qafiz issue.
3. All sheep at 5,000 per head without a count or clear specification: the flock uncertainty.
4. Cloth at 200 per cubit without a stated total length: the mudara'ah issue.

Seeing the goods is not necessarily the same as defining every legal element of the bargain.

29. A practical checklist for present-day sales

For measured grain, identify the unit, quantity and rate. For a bulk lot, define which heap is included and its total price.

For livestock, specify the animals and count. For cloth, specify the total length and aggregate price.

These are modern clarity practices illustrating the classical issues; they do not independently constitute a new legal rule or override other transaction requirements.

30. What the six consecutive source clauses establish

The six consecutive clauses covered: measured and bulk grain; a fixed vessel; a fixed stone; an uncounted heap priced per qafiz; a flock priced per sheep; and a cloth priced per cubit.

Their core lesson is to distinguish known unit price from a known total subject and consideration.

The next original clause begins with “wa-man ibta'a sabratan...” and discusses a sale in which the actual delivered quantity differs from the stipulated quantity.