Is Advance-Payment Sale Based on Ambiguity?
As-Salamu `alaykum. I have tried to understand the concept of ambiguity (gharar) in contracts. It seems to me that the salam sale, where the price is paid in advance, is a contract that is based on ambiguity, yet it is accepted in the Shari`ah. To my knowledge, construction projects are based upon an agreed sum of money to be paid in advance and a certain deadline by which the project has to be completed and delivered to the purchaser. However, it only rarely happens that the project is completed on time. Don't you think an element of ambiguity is involved, as the contractor does not know whether or not he will be able to complete the project in time?A related question: If I agree to deliver a certain amount of fruit by a certain date to the purchaser who pays in advance, wouldn't I be making a contract that involves ambiguity, since I am not sure that the product will be available to me by the deadline?
