Buying an animal priced by the weight of its meat after slaughter

A question about buying an animal priced by the weight of its meat after slaughter, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that livestock may not be sold at a price per kilogram of meat after slaughter because the meat is unseen and gharar results, that a promise to buy followed by a sale at weighing is possible, and that a sacrificial animal must be owned alive before slaughter. ¹

The questioner asked about agreeing with a butcher to buy a sheep's meat after slaughter at a set price per kilogram, and what the ruling is if the animal is meant as a sacrifice. ¹

The Department answered that livestock may not be sold this way, at so much per kilogram of meat after slaughter, because the meat is not seen before slaughter, which leads to uncertainty and gharar, both of which invalidate sales. ¹ It said the buyer may instead promise to buy the meat after slaughter at a set price per kilogram, with the sale concluded when the meat is weighed and both quantity and price are known, which is permissible, quoting al-Khatib al-Shirbini in Mughni al-Muhtaj (2/355) that a heap of unknown measure may be sold at so much per measure because the goods are seen and the price is known in detail. ¹ It said that a sacrifice, an aqiqa or a vowed offering must be fully owned before it is slaughtered, so it may not be slaughtered while still the butcher's property; it is bought alive and then slaughtered with the intention of sacrifice or the like. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4401, dated 2 April 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.