Definition of gharar In the dictionary of al-Mawrid 1995, gharar or bring the means of ( khatar) or risk, peril, hazard danger

r or jeopardy. Gharar or khatar happened if it is proven that any uncertainty or contingencies exist on liability of any or all of the parties of the contract i.e. uncertainty regarding the subject matter or the price. Prohibition of gharar Gharar is prohibited in Islam due to the nature of it that can cause hardship on the parties in the contract. Existence of gharar in a contract promotes the value of unfairness and deceit which is cannot be tolerated. It is stated in the Holy Book of Quran, chapter of al-Maaidah verse 1; O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations. It is reported by Ibn Katsir that this phrase according to Ibn Abbas; "Refers to the covenants, meaning, what Allah permitted, prohibited, ordained and set limits for in the Qur'an. Therefore, do not commit treachery or break the covenants. This verse promotes the responsible upon the parties to fulfill their obligation in the contract. However, the existence of gharar can cause the parties to not be able to fulfill their obligation to the contract. The prohibition of buying and selling the habal al-habalah which means the unborn animals because it consist of uncertainty of its gender, or whether it is only one or two, or whether it is born alive or having any imperfection. These are the typical characteristic of gharar or uncertainty that usually happened during the reign of the Prophet (PBUH) Another narration pertaining to gharar is the narration from Ibn Umar as stated in Umdat al-Ahkam; The Prophet (PBUH) prohibits the selling of unripe fruits. He forbidden the seller as well as the buyer. This prohibition is due to the nature of the fruits which can be easily damaged by plight especially when it is still not ripen. Such prohibition is to protect the interest of the buyer which if he bought the unripe fruits; they will not give him any benefits. Thus, in other narration stated that the act of selling the unripe fruits can cause the seller to devour anothers wealth unlawfully. From Abu Said al-Khudri that has been recorded by Ahmad and Ibn Majah; The Prophet (PBUH) has forbidden the purchase of the unborn animal in its mothers womb, the sale of the milk in the udder without measurement, the purchase of spoils of war prior to their distribution, the purchase of charities prior to their receipt, and the purchase of the catch of a diver. However, the scholars classified this hadeeth as weak.

Malik bin Anas has included the chapter of Prohibition against Seling Fruit until Starting to Ripens in the Muwatta, and he said that; The way of doing things among us about selling melons, cucumbers, watermelons, and carrots is that it is halal to sell them when it is clear that they have begun to ripen. Then the buyer has what grows until the season is over. There is no specific timing laid down for that because the time is well-known to people, and it may happen that the crop will be affected by blight and put a premature end to the season. If blight strikes and a third or more is damaged, an allowance for that is deducted from the price of purchase. Why gharar is prohibited These prohibitions on gharar render that such sales are defective and contracts are void thus the value that is promoted in bai al-gharar or selling and buying or trading in risk includes; cheat (al-tadlis) and fraud (al-ghubn). These corrupting factor caused by gharar can lead to disputation and hatred, and such that a party to devour anothers wealth unlawfully which is strictly prohibited in Islam. While as in another factor, gharar might possibly lead to a form of gambling. Mahmoud A. El-Gamal (2006) said; The possibility if unanticipated loss to at least one party may be a form of gambling that may lead to ex post disputation between parties. The prohibition of bai al-gharar (the sale of gharar) may thus be seen as a prohibition of the unbundled and uncessary sale of risk. Of course, the most extreme form of unbundled sale of risk is gambling. Types of gharar The scholars have divided gharar into two; i. ii. Gharar fahisy (great or major risk) Gharar yasir (light risk)

Muhammad Ayub (2005) however describe gharar into two distinctive character which is gharar kathir (abundant risk) and gharar qalil (nominal risk). However, it can be understood that this two resembles the previous. According to Hassan O. Ahmed (1999), gharar fahisy refers to; an uncertainty which is so great that it becomes unacceptable or it is so vague that there is no means of quantifying it. How can gharar affect the contract? As discussed, existence of gharar to the subject mattered could cause the contract to become invalid and null. And how gharar can tamper the validity of the contract is probably is as what has been classified by Syaikh Dr Siddiq al-Dhareer (1997); i. Gharar in terms and essence of the contract which includes; a. Two sales in one b. Downpayment sale

ii.

c. Pebble, touch and toss sales (referring to Bai al-Hasat) d. Suspended (muallaq) sale e. Future sale Gharar in the object of the contract includes a. Ignorance of the genus b. Ignorance of the species c. Ignorance of the attributes d. Ignorance about the quantity of the object e. Ignorance about the specific identity of the object f. Ignorance about the time of payment in deferred sales g. Explicit or probable inability to deliver the object h. Contracting on a nonexistent object i. Not seeing the object