Permissible To Sell Fruits Before They Are Ripe
Fatwa No: 413521

Question

Assal?m alaykum warahmatullahi wabarak?tuh.
I read of the hadeeth of Ras?lullah SAW about not selling fruits until they're ripe in my country we've a staple food green bananas or (plantains) it is famously grown in tropical countries and harvested while it's still green in colour not yellow is it permissible for me to sell it when it's green because that's how people eat it's basically peeled then cooked like any other food.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

One of the conditions for the permissibility of selling fruits is that they must appear to be in good condition, as evidenced by the Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar in which the Messenger of Allah said: “Do not sell or buy fruits before they become evidently in good condition (i.e. become ripe).” [Al-Bukhaari]

The version cited by Ahmad and Abu Daawood reads: “He (the Prophet, ) forbade the sale of fruits until they were clearly in good condition (appear to be ripe); he forbade both the seller and the buyer.” [End of Quote]

However, Muslim jurists stated that the forbiddance in this regard is not absolute, and that there are exceptions. One exception is that if the fruits can be of benefit prior to full ripening, it is permissible to sell them on condition of cutting them down (picking them). Al-Qastallaani said in Sharh Al-Bukhaari: “It is unanimously deemed permissible to sell fruits before they are evidently ripe on condition of cutting them down if the unripe fruits that are picked are of benefit, as is the case with immature grapes.” [End of Quote]

According to Al-Mawsoo‘ah Al-Fiqhiyyah: “Jurists, however, set some restrictions on the ruling, as they held that it is permissible to sell fruits before they appear to be ripe provided that they are cut down straight away. Some of those restrictions are agreed upon, while others are set by a group of jurists apart from the others. These restrictions are as follows:

The first condition: the unripe fruits must be of benefit. The Hanafi scholars – according to the most correct opinion in their school of Fiqh – along with the Maaliki scholars held that the unripe fruits must be of benefit with no restrictions … the Shaafi‘i and Hanbali scholars limited the benefit to immediate use. The Shaafi‘i scholars further restricted the benefit to be intended for a Sharee‘ah-acceptable purpose...” [End of Quote]

So if that fruit (plantain) is, as you mentioned, of benefit and edible before it is ripe, then there is nothing wrong with selling it.

Allah knows best.

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