Can We Buy Physical Gold Online and Delivered Later to You?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Can you buy physical gold online, which is then shipped out a few days later? The gold is technically now yours, but it is just being delivered to you.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Esteemed Muftis and Jurists say that when you purchase gold from an online seller, the transaction is instantly completed. Your money is deducted from your account and transferred to the seller’s account. The seller then registers your purchase and reserves the portion of the gold for you.

According to several scholars from India and Pakistan, the exchange of gold and silver with fiat paper currencies would not be considered as an exchange of gold/silver (bay‘ al-sarf). The sale would still be considered valid if possession of the item is transferred from one party only.

[Taqi Usmani, Fatawa Uthmani]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

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I pray this helps with your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.