Is the sale of an item whose contents are hidden but not damaged by inspection permissible?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
The sale of an item whose contents are hidden is impermissible if inspection does not cause damage, because the contents remain outside their vessel without harm and their essence remains present. This is analogous to selling a pearl while it is still inside its shell (sadaf). The ruling on selling an item enclosed in its container is contingent upon the ruling for selling clarified butter (samn) in its container.