Ruling on buying apricot orchards before they become ripe
Question

                What is the Islamic ruling on buying apricot orchards before they become ripe, where the dealer hastens to buy them from the peasants when they are still immature?.
Praise be to Allah.Firstly: 
It is not 
    permissible to sell fruits before their condition is known, according to 
    scholarly consensus, because it is proven from the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) that that is forbidden. 
It was 
    narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade selling fruits 
    before their condition is known, and he forbade both the seller and the 
    buyer. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2194) and Muslim (1534). 
So it is 
    more appropriate that it is not permissible to sell fruits before they 
    appear. The scholars are also unanimously agreed that this is forbidden. 
The reason 
    why it is forbidden to sell fruits before their condition is known is the 
    fear that the crop may be destroyed and stricken with blight before its 
    condition is known. Fruits are often destroyed before their condition is 
    known, and it is proven in the hadeeth of Anas (may Allaah be pleased with 
    him) that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 
    “Do you think that if Allaah withholds the crop, why would you regard your 
    brother’s wealth as permissible?” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1488) and Muslim 
    (1555).   
What is 
    meant by their condition becoming known is when the fruit first appears and 
    becomes fit to eat. It does not mean when it is fully ripe. Hence it says in 
    the hadeeth, “until their condition is known” and it does not say, “until 
    they become fully fit to eat.” 
Muslim 
    (1536) narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) 
    that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) forbade selling produce until it is fit to eat, and according to 
    another report, until it is ripe. 
Al-Nawawi 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo’ (11/150):   
Its 
    condition becoming known has to do with a change in the produce, so it 
    varies from one type to another. Despite the differences between them, it 
    comes down to one thing which they all have in common, which is when it is 
    fit to be eaten. End quote. 
Shaykh Ibn 
    ‘Uthaymeen said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (4/33): 
The 
    guideline is when it can be eaten and becomes palatable, because when it 
    reaches that point it can be benefited from, but before that it cannot be 
    benefited from except with difficulty, When it reaches that point of 
    ripeness, it is less likely to be affected by blight. End quote. 
With regard 
    to apricots, which are mentioned in the question, the scholars have stated 
    that they become fit to eat when they begin to turn yellow and sweet. 
See 
    al-Majmoo’ (11/151). 
Secondly: 
But some 
    exceptions may be made to the ruling that it is haraam to sell crops until 
    their condition is known, in which case it may be permissible to sell the 
    crops even though they are not yet fit to eat. 
1 – When the 
    fruits are sold along with the trees. This is permissible, whether the 
    condition of the fruits is known or not, and there is no difference of 
    opinion among the fuqaha’ concerning this, because the sale of the fruit in 
    this case is connected to the trees, and the basic principle according to 
    the scholars is that rules may be relaxed when an item is sold along with 
    another item, but not when it is sold on its own. 
2 – The 
    fruits may be sold before their condition is known so long as the purchaser 
    cuts them down straight away, and does not wait until they ripen. This sale 
    is valid according to scholarly consensus, and the scholars gave the reason 
    that the prohibition on selling before the condition of the fruits is known 
    is due to the fear that the fruits may be destroyed by blight before they 
    are picked, but there is no risk of that if they are cut down straight 
    away. 
The 
    condition of cutting them down straight away applies in some cases where the 
    fruits may be used before they ripen, such as if they may be used as animal 
    feed and other ways of benefiting from them. 
Thirdly: 
If there is 
    just one orchard, it is not essential that the condition of the fruits on 
    every tree be known, rather each kind of fruit should be considered on its 
    own, and it is sufficient for the condition of the fruits of one tree of 
    each type to be known. 
For example, 
    if the orchard contains different types of dates such as barhi and sukkari 
    for example, then the condition of the barhi dates is not sufficient for the 
    sukkari dates to be sold, rather the condition of each type must be known, 
    even if it is only one tree. 
Shaykh Ibn 
    ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ 
    (4/31): 
If the 
    condition of one tree is known, that suffices for all the other trees of 
    that type in the orchard. End quote. 
See: 
    al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (9/190-194) 
And Allaah 
    knows best.