Arabic (بيع حبل الحبلة) for a type of prohibited sale that was prevalent in pre-Islamic Arabia where the fetus of a camel was sold while it was still in the womb of the she-camel.

Specific fuqaha defined this sale as a spot sale of a camel’s fetus, while others defined it as a deferred sale whereby the price would be paid at the time a she-camel gives birth to the fetus, subject-matter of the contract. In both cases, this sale is forbidden because, according to the first definition, it amounts to the sale of a non-existent, unknown, and non-deliverable object (which is also not owned or possessed by the seller), while, according to the second definition, it is a sale in which the price payment is deferred to an unspecified or unknown date, with deferment being accounted for in the price.