care whether he can write or not; rather, I want compensation for the missing attribute. Does he have that right?
The answer is that there is a difference of opinion regarding this. Some say that he is entitled to compensation for the missing attribute, because the seller deceived him. The slave is therefore appraised as one who can write and then appraised as one who cannot write, and the difference between the two values is deducted from the price and paid to the purchaser.
Others say that he is not entitled to compensation for the missing attribute. Rather, he must either accept it without the attribute he stipulated or return it.
The correct view in this matter is that if it becomes clear that the seller practised deception and misled the purchaser, then the purchaser is entitled to compensation for the missing attribute. But if the seller was not deceptive, then the purchaser has the choice between retaining it without compensation or returning it. This is because the seller, too, may have been mistaken; he may say, “I agreed to sell it only for this price, and I do not agree to any reduction in the price.”
Likewise, it is valid for the seller to stipulate that he may reside in the house for one month, or that the camel be ridden to a specified place; or for the purchaser to stipulate that the seller carry the firewood, chop it, sew the garment, or cut it to size, …
His statement, “Likewise, that the seller stipulate residence in the house for one month”: that is, if the seller stipulates that he may reside in the house for one month, this is a valid condition.
His statement, “the house”: the definite article indicates a mentally understood referent; that is, the house being sold, for one month.
For example, he says: “I have sold you this house of mine for one hundred thousand dirhams, on condition that I reside in it for one month.” The sale is valid, and the condition is valid. The evidence for this is both general and specific.
As for the general evidence, it is the Prophet’s statement: “Every condition not found in the Book of Allah is invalid.” (1)