"When the Prophet ﷺ came (to Al-Madinah), they used to pay in advance for dates, two or three years in advance. He said: 'Whoever pays in advance for dates, let him pay for a known amount or a known weight, to be delivered at a known time.’”  

قَدِمَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ وَهُمْ يُسْلِفُونَ فِي التَّمْرِ السَّنَتَيْنِ وَالثَّلاَثَ فَقَالَ مَنْ أَسْلَفَ فِي تَمْرٍ فَلْيُسْلِفْ فِي كَيْلٍ مَعْلُومٍ وَوَزْنٍ مَعْلُومٍ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مَعْلُومٍ  

"A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, 'The tribe of Banu so-and- so, who were descended from the Jews, have become Muslim, and they are starving, and I am afraid that they may apostatize.' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Who has something with him?' A Jewish man said: 'I have such and such, and he named it, and I think he said three hundred Dinar for such and such 'an amount (of produce) from the garden of the tribe of Banu so-and-so.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'For such and such a price at such and such a time, but not from the garden of the tribe of Banu so-and- so."'  

جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَ إِنَّ بَنِي فُلاَنٍ أَسْلَمُوا لِقَوْمٍ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ وَإِنَّهُمْ قَدْ جَاعُوا فَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَرْتَدُّوا فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَنْ عِنْدَهُ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ عِنْدِي كَذَا وَكَذَا لِشَىْءٍ قَدْ سَمَّاهُ أُرَاهُ قَالَ ثَلاَثُمِائَةِ دِينَارٍ بِسِعْرِ كَذَا وَكَذَا مِنْ حَائِطِ بَنِي فُلاَنٍ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِسِعْرِ كَذَا وَكَذَا إِلَى أَجَلِ كَذَا وَكَذَا وَلَيْسَ مِنْ حَائِطِ بَنِي فُلاَنٍ  

"Abdullah bin Shaddad and Abu Barzah had a dispute about paying in advance. They sent me to 'Abdullah bin Abu Awfa to ask him about it. He said: 'We used to make payments in advance at the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the time of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, for wheat, barley, raisins and dates, to people who did not yet possess those things.' I asked Ibn Abza, and he said something similar."  

كُنَّا نُسْلِمُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَعَهْدِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ فِي الْحِنْطَةِ وَالشَّعِيرِ وَالزَّبِيبِ وَالتَّمْرِ عِنْدَ قَوْمٍ مَا عِنْدَهُمْ فَسَأَلْتُ ابْنَ أَبْزَى فَقَالَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ