Business Transactions (Mu'amalat) in Hanafi Law

The mu'amalat (commercial transactions) section of Al-Hidayah is one of its most practically significant parts, covering the full range of commercial law that governed Islamic commercial life across the vast territories of the Hanafi world — from the Ottoman Empire to Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Al-Marghinani's treatment reflects the Hanafi school's sophisticated commercial law tradition, developed in the commercially vibrant cities of Iraq and Central Asia.

The Hanafi school approaches commercial transactions with a strong commitment to the principle of permissibility: all transactions are permitted unless specifically prohibited by Quran or Sunnah. The school's broad application of analogy and juristic preference (istihsan) gives it considerable flexibility in accommodating new commercial instruments while maintaining the foundational prohibition of riba (interest) and gharar (excessive uncertainty).

For contracts of sale (bay'), the Hanafi school requires: two legally competent parties, an offer and acceptance in the same meeting (majlis al-aqd), a subject matter that exists and is deliverable, a known price, and both subject matter and price being permissible in Islamic law. The Hanafi school does not recognize the 'option during the session' (khiyar al-majlis) — the right to cancel the sale as long as the parties remain in the same physical location. This is one of the most well-known Hanafi positions distinguishing it from the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, which accept this option based on the hadith: 'The two parties to a sale have the option as long as they have not separated.' Al-Marghinani addresses this hadith by interpreting 'separation' as the conclusion of the verbal contract, not physical parting.

The prohibition of riba is addressed through the six ribawi commodities (gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates, salt) established by the authenticated hadith in the collections of Muslim and others. The Hanafi school extends the riba prohibition to all commodities sharing the same genus and same effective cause — either being measured by weight or by volume — applying it broadly to protect against exploitative exchange. The school also prohibits any exchange contract where a ribawi commodity is exchanged for a commodity of the same genus with a delay in one side of the exchange.

The Hanafi school's doctrine on partnerships is particularly well-developed. Al-Marghinani discusses four types: sharikah al-inan (a limited partnership in which the partners contribute capital and share profits by agreement), sharikah al-mufawadah (an equal comprehensive partnership), sharikah al-abdan (a partnership of labor without capital, by craftsmen), and sharikah al-wujuh (a partnership based on the partners' creditworthiness). The Hanafi school accepts all four as valid, giving it one of the most flexible partnership doctrines in classical Islamic law.

The mudarabah contract — in which one party provides capital and the other provides labor and management, with profits shared by agreement and losses borne by the capital provider — is recognized as valid and important. Al-Marghinani addresses the detailed rules: the capital must be present cash (not goods); the profit share must be a fraction, not a fixed sum; the mudarib (managing partner) may not invest in a third mudarabah without the capital provider's permission.

The salam contract (advance sale with deferred delivery) is permitted as an exception to the general rule against selling what one does not yet possess, based on the Prophet's explicit permission: 'Whoever enters a salam contract, let him specify the measure, the weight, and the time of delivery' (al-Bukhari, Muslim). The conditions for valid salam in the Hanafi school include full advance payment of the price, precise specification of the goods, and a fixed delivery date.

Al-Marghinani's commercial law chapters reflect the Hanafi school's awareness of the practical needs of merchants — a tradition that extends back to Imam Abu Hanifah himself, who was a fabric merchant before becoming a full-time jurist.