Fatwa ID: 03506

Answered by: Shaykh Umer Khan

Question

The Hadith which mentions that a person should not interfere with the transaction of his brother, when does this apply? In other words, is it referring to that he can’t interfere after the ijab and qabool takes place or before that, i.e. when the buyer and seller are discussing business with each other (before ijab and qabool occur)?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have decreed, "One should not try to cancel a bargain already agreed upon between some other persons (by offering a bigger price). And a man should not ask for the hand of a girl who is already engaged to his Muslim brother, unless the first suitor gives her up, or allows him to ask for her hand."[1]

This refers to the time after a proposal has been made (ījāb) and accepted (qabūl) – in other words, the transaction or engagement is complete.[2] It is permissible for a second person to propose after the first person has proposed (i.e. ījāb was done) as long as the first proposal was not yet accepted (i.e. qabūl did not happen).

Only Allah knows best

Written by Shaykh Umer Khan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

1 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadīth 5142

2 Al-Baḥru al-Rā'iq, 6/107, Raddu al-Muḥtār, 5/102