Selling an Item of Merchandise Which the Seller Does Not Yet Have in His Possession

9. Certain persons of our people have narrated from Ali ibn Asbat from abu Mukhallad al-Sarraj who has said the following: “Once, we were with abu ‘Abd Allah عليه السلام, when Mu‘attib came in and said, ‘There are two people at the door.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Bring them inside.’ The two men came inside and one of them said, ‘I am a butcher. Can I sell the skin before I slaughter the sheep?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not unlawful. However, say from the sheep is from so and so land.’”