A type of sale (bay’), which is an exception to the general rule for sale contracts that the object of sale must exist at the time of sale (i.e., in the possession of the seller, actually or constructively). This sale represents an agreement between two parties, the seller and buyer, by virtue of which the buyer pays in advance a specified price (al-thaman) for some article or item that is to be delivered at some future date. In other words, bay’ al-salam involves the purchase of a commodity for deferred delivery in exchange for immediate payment. The price, known as the salam capital, is paid at the time of contracting, while the delivery of the object of sale, known as al-muslam fihi, is deferred. The seller and the buyer are known as al-muslam ilaihi and al-muslim, respectively.

Bay’ al-salam (بيع السلم) is also known as bay’ al-salaf (or in English, deferred delivery sale or Islamic forward sale).