dispose of it and we were to validate his disposal, we would wrong the seller. Therefore, we say: neither the seller nor the purchaser may dispose of the item sold during the option period.
His statement, “the item sold,” means that which has passed from the seller to the purchaser.
The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that such disposal is invalid in every case, even leasing; thus, anything that can be leased must remain unused. A house, for example, would remain unleased, because leasing is a form of disposal, and because if he leased it and the seller subsequently chose to rescind, the lessee’s right would attach to it, thereby restricting some of the owner’s rights. The correct view, however, is that it may be leased, because leasing it is better than leaving it unused. Then, if the sale is confirmed, the rent belongs to the purchaser; but if it is rescinded, the rent belongs to the seller.
His statement, “and its specified consideration therein,” means that which has passed from the purchaser to the seller. The author restricted the consideration—that is, the price—to its being specified, because the purchaser may dispose of a price that remains a debt obligation as he wishes. Thus, if he says, for example, “I bought this watch from you for ten riyals,” the item sold here is specified, while the price is stipulated but unspecified. He did not say to him, “with these ten riyals.” The ten riyals therefore become a debt owed by the purchaser, because they were not specified. If the purchaser had ten riyals in his pocket and intended to pay those ten riyals as the price of the watch, but the ten riyals were then stolen, the sale would not be dissolved, because the price is not the ten riyals in his pocket; rather, it remains a debt obligation.
An example of specified consideration is for him to say: “I bought this watch from you with these ten riyals.” The contract is then concluded upon the very ten riyals, just as it is concluded upon the watch itself. Accordingly, the price is either a debt obligation or specified property.