Ruling on buying diamonds on the Internet

Question

Praise be to Allah.

In the answer to question no.
34325 it says that it is not
permissible to sell gold or silver on the Internet. That is because this
transaction delays taking possession of the price for the product, which is
not permissible when selling gold and silver.

As for selling diamonds, it is permissible to pay the price
in advance or to delay it.

Based on that, there is nothing wrong with buying or selling
them on the Internet.

But there is another problem, which is that it is difficult
to grade diamonds precisely, so they should not be bought except after
seeing them, because the grades vary a great deal and the price and the
purchaser’s interest in buying may vary accordingly.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

With regard to things of which the quality cannot be known
through (general) description only, such as gemstones and pearls and the
like, it is not permissible to sell them on the basis of (general)
description, because they may vary greatly. One pearl may be worth, for
example, a thousand riyals and another may be worth ten riyals, so it is
difficult to know the exact quality. So it is essential to grade them
precisely so that there will be a clear understanding of the item and there
will be no dispute when it is delivered.

End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 8/150

Based on that, if it is possible to convey a precise idea of
the quality of an item through a description in terms known to people of
expertise or if a photograph can be taken and presented in such a way as to
convey this precise idea, then there is nothing wrong with selling it on the
internet. But if the description is not sufficient and the picture is not
sufficient either, then it is not permissible to sell it (on the Internet),
because that will lead to disputes between the seller and purchaser in most
cases.

And Allah knows best.